http://www.nyobserver.com/cgi-win/homepage.exe?nyo1/f5112999 New Yorkers Laughed at Y2K Hype, But Now They're Finally Scared

by William Berlind

Over the past year New Yorkers have heard dire predictions about the millenniumfrom computer meltdowns, to power outages, to economic collapseand they were blasi. They figured it was all hype. Let the rubes spend New Years Eve in a bomb shelter with their canned goods and transistor radios. Well be just fine, thank you. If the computers want to make like its 1900, we can play along. Well just listen to Scott Joplin and wear boaters and spats and go for a stroll in the park.

And yet  and yet  well, there is the small matter of the American Red Crossnot known as a particularly alarmist organizationtelling people to make preparations. Stock disaster supplies to last several days to a week, goes the advice on the www.redcross.org Web site. The disaster relief experts at the Red Cross also ask citizens to keep extra cash and travelers checks on hand. And theres more: Have extra blankets, coats, hats and gloves to use to keep warm. Anything else? Be prepared to relocate to a shelter for warmth and protection during a prolonged power outage.

While some citizens remain less than impressed by the possibility of some Y2K-related disaster, the city is taking the matter seriously, fearing that something could go wrong when those estimate one million people celebrate in Times Square on New Years Eve.

According to Brendan Sexton, the president of the Times Square Business improvement District, there will be about 5,000 police officers on duty that night, when the crystal ball drops which2,000 more than last year. Each cop in Times Square will be equipped with an extra duty flash light. You know, just in case the power goes out. Even if the lights go out, 5,000 flashlights is a lot of light, Mr. Sexton said. It would be the brightest block in the city.

The city will also equip the Times Square blocks with extra power generators, in addition to the ones normally in place for a New Years celebration. You know, just in case the power goes out.

Mr. Sexton said the blocks around Times Square could be emptied in 90 seconds or less. You know, just in case.

But what could go wrong? Mr. Sexton asked.

The citys cautious approach seems silly to some citizens and not safe enough for others.

I made the plans of not doing anything, said poet and translator Richard Howard, a resident of Waverly Place whose translation of Stendahls The Charterhouse of Parma has just been released by the Modern Library. I would never go Times Square anyway, but I certainly wouldnt go this year and I wouldnt go to Europe either. It seems very wise to remain at home. Im perfectly prepared to remain in the dark. I have food here and champagne and thats about it. It seems foolish to invite difficulties when its very pleasant to be here.

Publicist Bobby Zarem has said no thanks to clients wanting his services for New Years Eve events. Im going to be in my house with my sheets pulled over my head, he said. I think a persons got to be insane to be out in New York on that night, in that scene, with all those people. Ive been offered to name my fee to handle events in New York and you couldnt pay me a million dollars to be there that night.

Mr. Zarem said he was inclined to believe in the Red Cross advisory, because he has promoted some of their events. I found them to be very smart, he said. So there must be some rhyme and reason to what theyre saying, there must be some reason they think something can happen. Accordingly, hell spend New Years Eve in Savannah, Georgia.

To review, the Y2K bug, if it proves to be a bug at all, seems to have been caused unwittingly by computer programmers back in the dark days of computer technology, when memory to run programs was scarce. The programmers needed every bit of memory they could find. So they used two digit codes to record four digit dates, a practice that persisted long after the need to save space had disappeared. When the year 2000 comes, these outdated computers will not be able to distinguish between the years 2000 and 1900. Time-sensitive programs could miscalculate or shut down altogether. Even the computer that have been fixed may still malfunction. No one knows for sure.

Poet Ron Kolm is looking forward to Y2K, because he believes a catastrophe might delegitimize late capitalism, he said. Sure, Im going stock up on stuff like cat food and water, just a couple days worth, he said. Then Ill watch the news to see what happens in New Zealand.

Kurt Andersen, author of the novel Turn of the Century, said, This kind of elaborate, advanced Y2K disaster planning, New Yorkers consider themselves too busy or too cool to care about it. Whether theyre now getting concerned or not, I dont know. For his part Mr. Anderson said he was not concerned. I guess I could imagine taking out a few extra dollars a few days before, but nothing of the magnitude of Beef Jerky and Uzis, he said. Whats the worst that could happen?

Mr. Andersen will be spending this New Years Eve in Dutchess County.

Rabbi Andrew Bachman at Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at New York University said: I wouldnt go to Times Square. But its on Friday night, so I would be at home anyway. Well be eating and singing songs. Besides, its always best to err on the side of caution.

In the same office, Bronfman Center administrator Randi Jaffe has made extensive preparations for Y2K. Ms. Jaffe, who holds a Masters Degree in English from Columbia University said, Any small thing that goes wrong is magnified the way these computers work. Weve got one gallon of water per person, per day, enough to last a few days. Weve also got a tremendous supply of double A batteries. She and her husband have also collected two thousand dollars in cash just in case.

Lucianne Goldberg, who tried to bring down President Clinton and lives on the Upper West Side, believes that its all going to be a big nothing. Y2K is caca, she said. I think its all hype. Im gong to buy to buy two bottles of champagne and a two lobsters and stay home.

Ms. Goldberg would not go to Times Square but not for computer-related reasons. The only reason Im afraid of Times Square, she said, is that Im terrified of Bridge and Tunnel people. She wont stock up on water either. Im just going to turn on the faucet, she said.

What about the Red Crosss warning?

I dont think they have anything better to do.

Author Benjamin Cheever, a Westchester County guy, said, There is this theory put out in the boonies, that the cities are going to go and well return to some sort of rural community. I think if New York goes, we all go. I think after the invention of the Bomb, the idea of an individual personal destiny is questionable. If some big catastrophe occurs, were all going to be doomed.

Father Joseph OHare, president of Fordham University, is taking Y2K seriously: Theres been a lot of talk from some religious people who believe theres going to be some divine punishment. But I dont believe that God works in round numbers. I am concerned about computers and computer specialists, which is why Im not flying, and I advise everybody to stay home. Im a Jesuit. I depend on Providence.

Larry King Jr.s Two Cents Worth

I feel a nice buzz after one beer, but nothing after two  How many one-day sales can Macys have?  Why isnt anybody a wise-ass anymore?  Steve Martin was a better actor before he learned how to act  Funniest animal? The lemur 

Life is fun, overall  Everybody mocks him now, but Somerset Maugham knew how to give readers their dollars worth  Teddy Roosevelt would disapprove of most of us living today  Coffee has to be the most frequently spilled beverage 

Kids love trophies  Im fat  Dogma blows  Novembers afternoon sunlight makes me melancholy  Prediction: me, you and everybody else, fighting for our lives, right here in the U.S.A., against invading Chinese armies in 2015  These new guys cant be better than L.L. Cool J 

College kids are selfish; high school kids are nice  Sorry, but Dame Edna doesnt tickle my funny bone  Paul Thomas Andersons movies (Boogie Nights, Hard Eight) are slow and fast at the same time  George W. Bush is just a likable guy, end of story  Lots of people are going to be sad when Stevie Wonder dies 

No one has ever stopped reading my dads USA Today column in the middle  Lunch makes me sleepy  Id do Meredith Viera  Does anybody really believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ?  Saturday Night Live is having its worst year in a long, long time  Who doesnt like fresh school supplies?  If youre against Christopher Columbus, you should be against space exploration  War and Peace is a good read 

Sure, its a great exhibit, but those Bronx Zoo gorillas look miserable in the cold New York weather  Its amazing, that were all really going to die  When its all said and done, Chinese food is better than Indian food  For getting in shape, you still cant beat push-ups and sit-ups  And thats my two cents worth.

Larry King Jr.

-- Brooklyn (MSIS@cyberdude.com), November 24, 1999

Answers

Well, if LUCIANNE GOLDBERG says there won't be any problem, that certainly makes up MY mind...

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), November 24, 1999.

Brooklyn,

I enjoyed the article. Thanks!

Sincerely,
Stan Faryna

Ready for Y2K? Got 14 days of water, food, way to keep warm and cook?
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Gas masks, potassium iodide, solar ovens, etc
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-- Stan Faryna (faryna@groupmail.com), November 24, 1999.

Mr. Sexton said the blocks around Times Square could be emptied in 90 seconds or less.

Emptied where? One million people in 90 seconds.

BWWAAAAAHHAAAAAAHHHAAAAAAHAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

-- Jim (x@x.x), November 24, 1999.

Wow!

Foolish and short-sighted quotes abound ieven this article: from "I'm not worried about the water ... I'll just turn on the tap" to "lot's of caca.." to "What's the worst that could happen?"

Even the "reasonable" and prudent ones aren't looking any further than the tunnels and blocks around Times Square....incredible.

No wonder they vote Democratic....they need the governmetn to hold their hands just to get water. there is abolutely no sign of imdependence and self-support out there. Funny - the writer seems determined to give the background of each who is quoted in trms of their literary skills or efforts - does that matter in talking about computer failures and ifrastructure problems and interfaces?

If there are problems - if these people interviewed are typical in the their awareness and preparations, the problems downtown cities will become immediately much, much worse much faster than I ever feared at first.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), November 24, 1999.

The first half of the article was good, but the youthful cynicism makes me want to upchuck. Does anyone really believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ? I think so...

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), November 24, 1999.

Any Jewish New Yorker who does nothing and then has to board a bus to go to a shelter may have some serious flashbacks to a foreign land and a time not so far ago. And if they think about it all they may remember what ethnic group gets blamed first when things get bad.

For me, the words Never Again mean something!

-- cgbg jr (cgbgjr@webtv.net), November 24, 1999.

Any Jewish New Yorker who does nothing and then has to board a bus to go to a shelter may have some serious flashbacks to a foreign land and a time not so long ago. And if they think about it at all they may remember which ethnic group gets blamed first when things get bad.

For me, the words Never Again mean something!

-- cgbg jr (cgbgjr@webtv.net), November 24, 1999.

Robert,

If I recall correctly, there is a republican at the helm of NYC and we don't see any ADVICE coming from his lips do we?

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), November 25, 1999.