City feels the burn

99 degrees breaks record set in 2002

By VERONIKA BELENKAYA, LISA MUÑOZ and JONATHAN LEMIRE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

The city's temperature soared to a record for the day yesterday just hours after wild winds and heavy rain battered Long Island.

The mercury in Central Park hit 99 degrees, topping the 98 degrees recorded for the same date in 2002. The heat index made it feel like 106 degrees yesterday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The blazing heat was hardest on the elderly and less fortunate, including residents of a Queens homeless shelter suffering without air conditioning.

"It's so hot that the ice in the freezer melts," said Luis Ramos, 26, who lives in Astoria's LaGuardia Family Center, a 52-room private facility that provides long-term shelter under contract with the city. "It's like locking yourself in an elevator with the door closed."

According to residents, the shelter's air conditioning has been broken for weeks, forcing children to battle heat rashes and asthmatic coughs while their parents leave their room doors open - exposing themselves to thieves - in a futile effort to release some heat.

"My daughter, she can't hardly sleep because of the heat," said Doris Feliz, 22, who is five months pregnant, as she held her 2-year-old daughter. "I have a fan, but it just blows hot air."

Center spokesman Joe Fitzpatrick acknowledged that the air conditioning had been out for two weeks but said it should be fixed tomorrow after a part arrives.

Homeowners in Glen Cove, L.I., which was hardest hit by the nasty storm late Friday, were convinced a tornado was to blame for the extensive damage in their community.

"That was a tornado. It just ripped through here and flipped the trees and power lines onto homes," said Mimi Murphy, who lives in the waterfront town.

But the weather service could not confirm that a twister had touched down. Meteorologist Bill Goodman said the "damage was relatively widespread" and likely the result of a thunderstorm.

The severe weather likely was brought on by the oppressive heat that has gripped the metro area for days, Goodman said.

Some relief is in sight. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 90s today, and the thermometer will dip back into the mid-80s tomorrow, meteorologists predicted.

Originally published on August 14, 2005

pelo jeito, terei que andar armada.