Hurricane Sandy 2012

[San]

Hi Monkeys & San

I was naive thinking the marathon was to help the human spirit.

Who is paying for the generators for the marathon, is it the runners-fee? TIA

Not sure, if this article is 100 percent accurate, tabloids, sometimes, exaggerate.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/this_is_no_way_to_get_us_up_running_egrMk4ukpzFCGhSF8oM5kN

It was just announced that Mayor Bloomberg has officially cancelled the Marathon.

[MuffyBee]

Hi Monkeys & San

I was naive thinking the marathon was to help the human spirit.

Who is paying for the generators for the marathon, is it the runners-fee? TIA

Not sure, if this article is 100 percent accurate, tabloids, sometimes, exaggerate.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/this_is_no_way_to_get_us_up_running_egrMk4ukpzFCGhSF8oM5kN

Looks like the NY Marathon has been cancelled. 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204712904578095160605290492.html
Marathon Canceled After Becoming Lightning Rod For Criticism
November 2, 2012

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and organizers of New York City Marathon cancelled the race Friday amid growing concerns that holding the event would divert resources from cleanup efforts in the wake of superstorm Sandy.
Mr. Bloomberg had said as recently as early Friday afternoon that the marathon, scheduled to start Sunday morning, would go on and serve as a demonstration that the city was recovering from the storm and moving forward.

But other elected officials from around the city said holding it so soon after a would be an insult to hard-hit residents still cleaning up and worried that it would get in the way of recovering from a storm that killed at least 41 people in New York City alone.
 ::snipping2::
The debate over whether to hold the race had grown heated Friday. Asked earlier in the day whether discussions were under way about the viability of the race as public pressure mounts, a spokesman for the group that organizes the race, New York Road Runners Club, had said: "The situation is a fluid one and continues to evolve."

That statement come just hours after Mr. Bloomberg reasserted his support for holding the race.

Several public officials had said holding the race Sunday could drain resources from the city's recovery efforts. In addition, the leader of the Police Benevolent Association said the department was stretched too thin to facilitate what he called "essentially a citywide party."

Mary Wittenberg, chief executive of the New York Road Runners, had attempted to recast the marathon as a "Race to Recovery" highlighted by a fundraising drive to support relief efforts. Already those efforts have raised $1.1 million from the Rudin family, a longtime sponsor of the marathon, a $1 million commitment from the Road Runners, $500,000 from ING, the event's title sponsor, and what will likely be hundreds of thousands more from runners who have been asked to donate $26.20 to recovery efforts.

"They're running this race to help New York City and the donations from all the runners in the clubs will be a big relief to our efforts," Mr. Bloomberg said this afternoon.

Pressed further to defend the decision and asked whether the race would divert police resources needed elsewhere in the city, Mr. Bloomberg said it would not, and he invoked former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's decision to hold the marathon after the Sept. 11 attacks. He said police would no longer be needed by Sunday to oversee traffic at intersections where lights are out and that the return of mass transit will significantly improve quality of life for the city's residents. He has repeatedly noted the marathon's ability to bring business and tax revenue to the city .

"You have to keep going and doing things and you have to grieve. You can cry and you can laugh, all at the same time," Mr. Bloomberg said. "That's what human beings are good at."

A growing number of public officials, many of them planning runs for Mr. Bloomberg's job next year, came out and called on the mayor and the NYRR to cancel the event. City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn said in a statement that holding the marathon "is not a decision I would have made," but added that people needed to move forward and focus on assistance. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio were also among those calling for the marathon to be postponed or canceled, as well as several others from hard-hit areas in Queens and Staten Island.

Patrick J. Lynch, president of the police officers' union and an occasional adversary of Mr. Bloomberg's, said police staffing was simply too low, with many members of the department suffering the effects of Hurricane Sandy, to hold the marathon. "We are spread far too thin fighting crime, terrorism and the effects of this disaster," Lynch said in a statement.
 ::snipping2::

Comments

[MuffyBee]

The article below was published before the Marthon was cancelled.

http://www.northjersey.com/columnists/doblin/doblin_110212.html
Doblin: Bloomberg is wrong on NYC Marathon
November 2, 2012

I’M NOT a disinterested party. I am a runner. I have completed 10 marathons, including the one in New York City six years ago. There is no way that the ING New York City Marathon should be held Sunday.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg disagrees. On Wednesday, he said that the race should go on, that small businesses depend on the marathon. He went further down this slippery slope: “It’s a great event for New York, and I think for those who were lost, you’ve got to believe they would want us to have an economy and have a city go on for those that they left behind,” Bloomberg said.

That statement is somewhere between insensitive and idiotic.

To suggest that anyone who died as a result of Hurricane Sandy would give a hoot about the New York City Marathon shows how out of touch Michael Bloomberg is with real people, despite moments of brilliant leadership this week. By contrast, Governor Christie told folks he doesn’t give a damn about Election Day. Christie gets it. Right now, the only thing that matters is ensuring that everyone is safe and has shelter, and that basic services are restored. That will take more than a few days.

Staten Island was pretty hard hit from the storm; as of Thursday, 19 people died there. Its residents are in need of many things; more than 40,000 runners, plus support personnel, are not on the list. ::snipping2::

[Tamikosmom]

New York City Marathon is canceled in wake of Hurricane Sandy
Published November 02, 2012

The New York City Marathon was canceled on Friday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg after mounting criticism that this was not the time for a race while the region is still recovering from Superstorm Sandy.

With people in storm-ravaged areas still shivering without electricity and the death toll in New York City at more than 40, many residents recoiled at the prospect of police officers being assigned to protect Sunday's race.

An estimated 40,000 runners from around the world had been expected to take part in the 26.2-mile event. The race had been scheduled to start in Staten Island, one of the hardest-hit areas by this week's storm.

A few hours after Bloomberg insisted the race would be held, he reversed his decision when top city officials lined up against him.

<snipped>

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/02/generators-reportedly-being-used-to-power-nyc-marathon-tents-while-storm/

[MuffyBee]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/nyregion/anger-grows-at-the-red-cross-response-to-the-storm.html?_r=0
Anger Grows at Response by Red Cross
November 2, 2012

The American Red Cross struggled on Friday to reassure beleaguered New York City residents that its disaster-relief efforts were at last getting up to speed, after the agency’s delayed arrival in devastated areas of Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens drew intense criticism.
As of Friday, the Red Cross said, 25 of its emergency response vehicles — retrofitted ambulances each carrying 2,000 pounds of water, meals and snacks — had begun making their way through the hardest hit parts of the five boroughs. More were on the way, the agency promised.

The Red Cross had not yet opened the three temporary mobile kitchens that it announced on Thursday would be set up on Staten Island, in Riis Park in the Rockaways, and at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, the agency confirmed. The kitchens, which can produce 10,000 meals a day, would begin operating by Saturday, it said.

The organization’s response to Hurricane Sandy came under fire from public officials and volunteers, beginning with a televised tirade on Thursday by James P. Molinaro, the Staten Island borough president; he called the agency’s apparent absence from the relief effort an “absolute disgrace” and called on residents to stop donating money to the Red Cross.

Mr. Molinaro described visiting a shelter and seeing people arriving barefoot.
 ::snipping2::
One Red Cross spokesman also sought to shift blame for the organization’s slow response to the Bloomberg administration. In an interview on NY1 on Thursday, the spokesman, Sam Kille, responded to questions by repeatedly saying that the Red Cross was merely following emergency-response plans “drawn up by the New York City Office of Emergency Management.”

Mr. Kille did not mention that the Red Cross played a role in formulating those plans.
 ::snipping2::
James O’Connell, the logistics coordinator for a 40-person search-and-rescue nonprofit group that was volunteering in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, called the Red Cross response to the storm “a figment of everyone’s imagination.”

“I’ve come across one Red Cross canteen truck on Staten Island last night,” Mr. O’Connell said. “Two people inside. They said, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ And then they asked us for drinking water.”

He added: “I have tremendous respect for what they’ve done in the past. They have simply dropped the damn ball here.”

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57544627/power-returns-to-much-of-new-york-city/
Power returns to much of New York City
November 2, 2012

NEW YORK Big chunks of blackout-plagued Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens and the Bronx have gotten their power back this evening.
Con Edison says the lights went back on around 5 p.m. for over 65,000 homes, apartment buildings and businesses on the Lower East Side and in the East Village. Power also returned to many residences in Chelsea, on the west side of Manhattan, downtown by City Hall and by Madison Square Park.

The energy company also announced that power had been restored to at least 122,000 customers in Brooklyn, 29,000 in Queens, 39,000 in the Bronx and 85,000 in Staten Island -- a borough particularly hurt by the storm and home to about half of the city's Sandy-related deaths.

The utility says it still can't give a timetable for when service would be back for the rest of the city still without power.

Much of Staten Island, Brooklyn and the southern third of Manhattan has been dark since Monday evening, leaving many New Yorkers -- including the disabled and elderly -- desperate for heat, light and the internet.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/02/nyc-nj-ct-to-carry-on-with-election-day-despite-massive-storm-damage/
States hit hard by Sandy vow to be ready on Election Day, even if voters aren't
November 2, 2012

Come hell or high water - which superstorm Sandy brought - elections will go on as scheduled in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, officials vowed.

While elections officials can't do much about the effect Sandy's aftermath will have on turnout, they said those who want to vote will get the chance on Tuesday, even if it's by filling out a paper ballot or making their choice in a makeshift booth aboard an Army truck. While the three states hit hardest by the storm are solidly blue, all but ensuring their electoral votes go to President Obama, votes from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will skew popular vote totals, and there are House and Senate races that will be affected.

“This is unprecedented, we won’t really know what will happen until that day,” New Jersey-based GOP pollster Adam Geller said to FoxNews.com. “My guess would be that turnout will be low especially in areas affected by the storm. There will probably be a lot more provisional ballots.
More...

[grace-land]

First the good news, SAN has power    Also, everyone in her family is safe 

Bad news, one entire floor of San's house flooded.  They have a lot of damage.  No heat yet the last I heard.  Please keep her and her family in your thoughts.  Not sure what their next step is.  Right now they are going thru and throwing away everything including furniture that is ruined.   

Keep in mind when this area floods it's not just sea water it's also sewage.   

Oh, happy day!... 
Continued prayers for San and her family. 

[Tamikosmom]

States hit hard by Sandy vow to be ready on Election Day, even if voters aren't
By Perry Chiaramonte
Published November 02, 2012

Come hell or high water - which superstorm Sandy brought - elections will go on as scheduled in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, officials vowed.

While elections officials can't do much about the effect Sandy's aftermath will have on turnout, they said those who want to vote will get the chance on Tuesday, even if it's by filling out a paper ballot or making their choice in a makeshift booth aboard an Army truck.

<snipped>

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/02/nyc-nj-ct-to-carry-on-with-election-day-despite-massive-storm-damage/

[seahorse]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/left_in_the_muck_nKt2UDi527OclxfSCKnPrM


Residents in Rockaways, Brooklyn complain of lack of assistance after Hurricane Sandy
By LORENA MONGELLI, IKIMULISA LIVINGSTON and LEONARD GREENE
Last Updated: 6:30 AM, November 3, 2012
Posted: 2:00 AM, November 3, 2012


 ::snipping2::
We haven’t gotten any help,” said Kathy Gambino, 51, who lives on flooded Rockaway Beach Boulevard. “Politicians are just driving by in their nice cars. Why don’t they come speak to us and tell us what we need to do?”

Gambino’s neighbor Regina McManus evacuated, as Mayor Bloomberg asked, but returned to a first-floor home that had absorbed four feet of water.

 
Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesIN DEEP: Men clear debris from a flood-ravaged street yesterday in Rockaway, Queens, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy.“It’s November, and it’s getting cold,” said McManus, 53. “I have three kids. How am I supposed to keep them warm?”

http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2012/11/03/news/web_photos/03.1n010.rockaways.VC--300x200.jpg
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

I really can't see throwing things at the workers out in the field. What is accomplished?  It's biting your nose off to spite your face, isn't it?   If residents aren't being served, then they should look higher up to who makes decisions. The crews are dispatched. JMHO

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/02/bridgeport-utility-workers-report-having-objects-thrown-at-them-by-residents/?intcmp=trending
Utility workers pelted with eggs after Bridgeport, Conn. mayor blasts provider
November 2, 2012

Angry residents pelted utility crews with eggs as they tried to restore power in Bridgeport, Conn., after the mayor claimed the local power company had "shortchanged" the state's largest city as it tries to recover from superstorm Sandy.

United Illuminating workers reported eggs and other objects being thrown at them a day after Mayor Bill Finch said the utility was taking care of wealthy suburbs while his constituents suffered. The unrest caused United Illuminating to pull its workers out until the city agreed to provide police protection.
 ::snipping2::West said it started with verbal abuse and escalated.

"We communicated with the city and said if you don’t provide police support, we can't have our crews there in harm's way," he said.

West also took issue with Finch's claims, made at a Wednesday press conference.

"I'm sick and tired of Bridgeport being shortchanged," Finch said, noting that Bridgeport has the largest number of United Illuminating ratepayers and claimingg it should be treated better by the New Haven-based utility.

United Illuminating has denied giving priority to wealthy customers, while ignoring Bridgeport residents.

"Clearly people took to heart what they heard, even though it was not factual," West said of the reported incidents Wednesday. "We don’t choose favorites."

He said the city agreed to provide police support to UI workers after the company made the request.

[seahorse]

I really can't see throwing things at the workers out in the field. What is accomplished?  It's biting your nose off to spite your face, isn't it?   If residents aren't being served, then they should look higher up to who makes decisions. The crews are dispatched. JMHO

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/02/bridgeport-utility-workers-report-having-objects-thrown-at-them-by-residents/?intcmp=trending
Utility workers pelted with eggs after Bridgeport, Conn. mayor blasts provider
November 2, 2012

Angry residents pelted utility crews with eggs as they tried to restore power in Bridgeport, Conn., after the mayor claimed the local power company had "shortchanged" the state's largest city as it tries to recover from superstorm Sandy.

United Illuminating workers reported eggs and other objects being thrown at them a day after Mayor Bill Finch said the utility was taking care of wealthy suburbs while his constituents suffered. The unrest caused United Illuminating to pull its workers out until the city agreed to provide police protection.
 ::snipping2::West said it started with verbal abuse and escalated.

"We communicated with the city and said if you don’t provide police support, we can't have our crews there in harm's way," he said.

West also took issue with Finch's claims, made at a Wednesday press conference.

"I'm sick and tired of Bridgeport being shortchanged," Finch said, noting that Bridgeport has the largest number of United Illuminating ratepayers and claimingg it should be treated better by the New Haven-based utility.

United Illuminating has denied giving priority to wealthy customers, while ignoring Bridgeport residents.

"Clearly people took to heart what they heard, even though it was not factual," West said of the reported incidents Wednesday. "We don’t choose favorites."

He said the city agreed to provide police support to UI workers after the company made the request.

Mayor F, incided the people, shame on him.  IMO

[MuffyBee]

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Dangling-NYC-high-rise-crane-boom-now-tethered-4006087.php
Dangling NYC high-rise crane boom now tethered
November 3, 2012

[MuffyBee]

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2012/11/04/nyc-marathon-2012-hurricane-sandy-photos/1680421/
Photo: NYC marathon runners volunteer for Sandy victims
November 4, 2012

[MuffyBee]

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1104/Superstorm-Sandy-update-Falling-temperatures-add-urgency-to-recovery
Superstorm Sandy update: Falling temperatures add urgency to recovery.
Falling temperatures on Sunday put more people at risk in a region already battling gasoline shortages, stubborn power outages, and spasms of lawlessness in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
November 4, 2012

Falling temperatures on Sunday put more people at risk in a region already battling gasoline shortages, stubborn power outages, and spasms of lawlessness in the wake of Superstorm Sandy
 ::snipping2::
The city opened warming shelters in areas without power and Bloomberg was urging older residents without heat to move to them. The city also was handing out 25,000 blankets to residents who insist on staying in powerless homes.

"So please," Bloomberg said, "I know sometimes people are reticent to take advantage of services. The cold really is something that is dangerous."
 ::snipping2::

[Tamikosmom]

What a nightmare!!

 

Lack of power, gas rationing and bitter cold next up for Sandy storm victims
Published November 04, 2012

Shivering victims of Superstorm Sandy went to church Sunday to pray for deliverance as cold weather settling in across the New York metropolitan region -- and another powerful storm forecast for the middle of the week -- added to their misfortunes and deepened the gloom.

With overnight temperatures sinking into the 30s and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses still without electricity, New York City officials handed out blankets and urged people to go to temporary warming shelters set up during the day at senior citizen centers.

At the same time, government leaders began to grapple with a daunting, longer-term problem: where to find housing for the tens of thousands of people whose homes could be uninhabitable for weeks or months because of a combination of storm damage and cold weather.

<snipped>

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/04/over-2-million-remain-without-power-after-sandy-as-bloomberg-warns-gas/

[Mere]

Sad story of loss of life on Staten Island....and connection to family in New Orleans area.


http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2012/11/following_hurricane_sandy_gret.html

[Mere]

With so many people living in high rises, I worry about the elderly and disabled who cannot walk down stairs and who may not have family or friends looking after them....

http://www.wral.com/elderly-face-challenges-coping-with-sandy-s-impact/11736861/

[Tamikosmom]

Price gouging, looting and rage: Superstorm Sandy brings out the worst in some
Published November 05, 2012

Superstorm Sandy exposed the true nature of the people in its path, bringing out tales of hope and heroism -- as well as stories of callous cruelty.

Looting, price gouging and misguided rage all compounded the unprecedented storm, and left many folks shaking their heads and wondering just how low people could sink. Gas was siphoned from cars, criminals posed as relief workers, cruel thieves picked through the unprotected possessions of neighbors who had lost nearly everything. Utility crews working around the clock to restore power to citizens were even assaulted by angry residents.

<snipped>

Read More:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/05/superstorm-sandy-starting-to-bring-out-worst-in-public-along-east-coast/

[Tamikosmom]

NY Gov. Cuomo signs order allowing Sandy victims to vote anywhere
Published November 05, 2012

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has agreed to issue an executive order that will allow displaced voters to cast ballots by affidavit at any polling site they can reach Tuesday.

The order will permit voters to sign affidavits that they're legally registered to vote in the presidential and state races and cast ballots at any open polling site, even those outside their neighborhoods.

But they won't be able to vote for state legislative candidates unless the polling place is within the proper legislative district.

<snipped>

Read More:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/05/cuomo-signs-order-allowing-sandy-victims-to-vote-anywhere/