Strong winds blew across the five boroughs on Monday, delaying flights, disrupting subway service and knocking construction fences down, which led to several pedestrian injuries, officials said.

A wind advisory was in effect for the city until 11 p.m. on Monday, according to the National Weather Service, as wind gusts neared 60 mph at times. The windy conditions were due to a strong storm system located over Nova Scotia in Canada.


What You Need To Know

  • The city's Department of Buildings said high winds caused two separate construction fence collapses in Queens and Manhattan that left five people injured
  • The strong winds led to airport delays and some subway service disruptions
  • Winds are expected to ease by Tuesday, when warmer weather is set to roll in

The city's Department of Buildings said the high winds caused two separate construction fence collapses in Queens and Manhattan.

The first incident happened near Northern Boulevard and 31st Street in Long Island City around 11:20 a.m., when an approximately 8-foot-wide section of a barricade with an attached chain-link fence was blown into a pedestrian by the wind, the DOB said.

The pedestrian was transported to a local hospital in stable condition, according to the DOB. Inspectors said the barricade was not locked together, and was not filled with water or sand, as required by the city.

The department said it hit the site's general contractor with a violation for failure to comply with the manufacturer’s specifications.

Less than two hours later at around 12:40 p.m., four pedestrians were hurt when a long construction fence comprised of barriers and chain link collapsed onto a public sidewalk on First Avenue near East 99th Street in East Harlem, the DOB said.

The four pedestrians were transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition, the agency said. That fence's barriers were not filled with sand or water or locked together either, according to the DOB.

Violations were issued to the general contractor for failure to safeguard and failure to comply with manufacturer’s specifications, officials said.

The Department of Parks and Recreation said the city received 67 reports regarding downed trees Monday. The actual number of total downed tress may end up being lower, an official from the city later noted, as reports from the public are often duplicates.

Monday's winds also disrupted subway service along several lines. As of Monday evening, B train service was severely delayed in both directions after crews removed a downed tree from the tracks near Avenue M in Brooklyn. Q train service was also affected by the downed treee.

Additionally, passengers at area airports were experiencing delays due to the high winds Monday.

A long line is pictured in Terminal A at LaGuardia Airport in Queens Monday evening.
There were long lines inside Terminal A at LaGuardia Airport Monday evening. (Spectrum News NY1/Justine Re)

As of 5:30 p.m., LaGuardia Airport had seen 578 delays and two cancellations, according to FlightAware. John F. Kennedy International Airport had seen 168 delays and 11 cancellations. Newark Liberty International Airport had seen 452 delays and 30 cancellations.

NYC Ferry also suspended service along the Rockaway route and along the Bay Ridge, St. George and Sunset Park landings Monday due to high winds.

Winds are expected to ease by Tuesday, when warmer weather and sunny skies are set to roll in.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that more than 60 trees were downed due to high winds Monday. The total number of downed trees is not known.