New York & New Jersey Still Mopping up from Sandy

On 09-11-01, New York City had suffered from a man-made disaster!! Now it is suffering from a NATURAL disaster!!

America's largest city and parts of New Jersey is STILL in dire straits, as they continues the cleanup process of the mess and devastation left behind from Hurricane Sandy!

The subway system or some of it has been cleaned up, but still, part of it is still submerge in ceiling-deep water!!

Motorists entering the city are restricted to having at least 3 poeple in their vehicles! A crane that was used toin the construction of a 74-story luxury condo tower has collapsed because of strong winds, and has been left to just dangle in midair!!

The steetts, or some of them, have been closed to help keep people out of danger from the dangling crane. Over 100 homes in Queens have burnt down, the gale forced high winds began fanning the flames and the fire spread like a wild cancer!! No injuries or deaths were reported in that area.

Even Ground Zero where the new WTC is being built was also walloped with a flood!!

It is not officially know just exactly when the massive mess will be cleaned up, but it could take weeks or even MONTHS before some headway is made in the cleanup process!! The city has had much more than its share of terrorist attacks, would-be terrorist attacks, crane collapses, detroyed buildings, muggings and killings!! Now this latest bomshell has the city reeling from a different type of onslaught, but I'm sure that in time, they'll bounce back!!

An ineresting account.

I went into NYC yesterday morning. In Manhattan, there is poweer above 40th street. Below 40th street, on the east side is dark. On the weest side, the power went out at about 26th st. I did not venture into lower Manhattan, which I am told is dark.

I drove in as there was no three person restriction yesterday (That I knew of). One of my larger customers is at Park Ave and 32nd St. It was absolutely erey driving down Park ave before sunrise and seeing all of the darkened buildings. I parked in the street at 31st and 5th Ave. Since I was in bfore 6 AM it was no problem.

I had to move customers in a building there. After tht, I had a call at 54th and 5th Ave. I took a cab. Funny thing there, some of the cabbies had shut the meter off and were charging per trip (at a pretty good clip). The buses were running a full schedule annd they ar running for free.

I went outside about 1:30 PM on my way uptown and noted that half the world had driven in and parked on the streeet. The city was very crowded. I have to applaud the New Yorkers, they are incredibly resilient. I have seeen teehm through 9/11, the blackout and now this. They are really great.

While NYC is garnering a lot of attention, don't forget NJ. An awful lot of the "barrier islands" have been devastated. This is the Jersey Shore. I have seen pix on th WEB of Seaside Heights which is in virtual ruins. There have been railroad cars washed upon the New Jersey Turnpike. You can go to http://www.njtransit.com and see some of the damage to mass transit. For those of you not familiar with the area, the pix there of Penn Station are taken in Penn Station NYC at 34th and between seventh and eighth.

I did not go in today, as I was helping a NJ customer get his business back open. Hug areas of Northern NJ are without power. We installd a generator to power the file server and six computers and threee printers.

I have power, no Internet, phones or TV. I am online at the moment with a laptop and a cable hotspot. My only other way online is with my handheld. I am extremely fortunate as going as little as one block in most directions and there is no power.

All I can tell you from first hand experience in Andrew was it takes time. We went almost a full two weeks before the national guard showed up, a full month before FEMA showed up and 4 months before water, phones and electricity was back up. Meanwhile most that didn't or couldn't get out had to just suck it up.

A lot of displaced people are complaining, saying that FEMA and the military are responding way to slow.

People were interviewed on TV and were yelling and screaming in frustration over having lost there homes. Well, weren't they told to get out and try to seek shelter elsewhere before the storm came?

Not all of them Sherman. Also, would an evacuation order even if obeyed diminish ones frustration and anger at losing ones home?

One of the first things to remember is that even if the home and contents are destroyed the mortgages are still intact. The family must now find another place to live AND bear all of the costs associated with repairing or replacing their homes and belongings. It is a safe bet that insurance will cover as little as they can.

It is all very reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina seven years ago.

And we're not done yet!!!

Not only are the remains of Sandy still hovering around us, but weather advisors are saying that a nor'easter might be headed this way between Tusday and Wednesday!!! And that it could possibly make ends meet with another storm coming from the West!!!

Please no, not another storm. That's the last thing that you need.

Please no is right. I had a nor'easter and an arctic blast just before everything met up with that hurricane. I've had enough. Hate nor'easters.

FEMA is in town now going from house to house inspecting and turning peoples meters off. If they do that means no heat, power, hot water or cooking. Shelter is now in police academy in Mahwah pretty far from here. Lots of meters were under water. I think we are safe but my fuel tank needed to be stood back up. The furnace still works but the fuel tank is pretty far from where it should be. I hope they don't say thats a problem. Keeping my fingers crossed. I really don't want to have to leave. I need to get back to work. I already lost a week of work. May have to travel to PA to get gas because stations with power around here are out of gas. Stations in other areas are gauging up to $1.50 OVER normal price!!

Thoughts and prayers to those hit by Sandy. We felt the affects all the way up here. A tree lost a limb and it blocked my driveway. I am blessed it could have been lots worse.

Good to see you, Susan!

I think of you often and hope you and your Mom are okay.

I miss seeing some of your decadent confection concoctions!

Lee

Hi Susan - Glad to see you.

Peeps - Hoping for the best for you and yours.

Andy

Leni said:

Please no, not another storm. That's the last thing that you need.

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I wish that it weren't true,but it is what it is.

I'm so sickk to death of those storms as well myself!!

They are so blasted aggravating, not to mention disrupting and crippling essential services in and around the city, like public transportation!!!

A Noreaster is bad because life still has to go on. I do a lot of walking and it's mighty unpleasant walking in big winds and torrential rain.

With the hurricane, no one expected anything of me. I was safely at home.

So was I.

I don't go out in bad weather like that!!

The wind was howling and a torrential downpour was washing the kitchen and back room windows with a fire hose!!!

But I was in the house nice, warm, comfy and dry!!! The best place to be when the weather has gone completely sour!!

And I was unhappy because of clear skies and 90+ degree weather. Too hot for me. I should keep my mouth shut.

Hope everything goes okay for all of you back there in the nasty weather. Peeps, I agree. That does sound like a threat but keeping your children safe is much more important.