Christie may have done a service to the people living east of the Hudson. By PARTIAL closure of one of many arteries, he proved nobody except those with private helicopters will get out of NYC when the SHTF!
Do you recall what happened on September 11, 2001? The authorities had shut down all the bridges and tunnels and commuter railroads by 11 a.m. Commercial ferries were boarded and locked down before noon. Clever entrepreneurial types who owned small boats started ferrying people who, acting with great good sense, wanted to get out of town and home to their families in New Jersey and other points west, as well as north and east to Connecticut and Long Island. Many of these resourceful people—who were after all providing an invaluable service to honest men and women who, like the rest of us, then had no idea what was happening or what might still be in store—soon found themselves detained at gunpoint and saw their boats confiscated and frequently sunk or "accidentally" damaged beyond repair. In several instances of which I'm aware, impromptu ferriers were beaten badly by police thugs for the crimes of failing to worship the government and of helping people get out of Hymietown without a proper license.
That morning, at roughly 9:15, I was able to drive without problem north from Manhattan to central Westchester, where I then worked. But by lunchtime even the Tappan Zee Bridge was shut, though only briefly, thank goodness.