Hurricane Sandy Status Report

[verizonbear]

Survived the storm

alot of wind and rain, power stayed on the entire time, basement stayed dry. No looting , civill disturbance despite the number of people I saw in the liqour and gun stores . I am very thankful and plan to donate the Red Cross and have my employer match it.

 

[arbilab]

Glad to hear from so many responders within the area on this board and others that they're OK. Acknowledging there are those who aren't OK or unable to respond. Unprecedented event.

 

[launderess]

Mail Came Today

Much of the city seems to be coming back, but then again you cannot really keep NY'ers down. I mean I've seen persons trying to get to work or whatever day after a major snowstorm, blackout, etc... so that's us for you.

Traffic is a MESS! Little Napoleon (Mayor Bloomberg)just annouced that as of this evening through Friday the East River bridges will be restricted to "HOV" cars only. So if you are planning to drive in by yourself, think again. IIRC the scheme only applies from around 6AM until 6PM or so. Today the city was packed with cars mainly because there are few other ways for persons to get into work. Subways aren't running, neither is the SI Ferry, Metro-North, PATH and the list goes on.

An annoucement was just made that starting tomorrow there will be *limited* subway service for NYC. Don't know about the other broughs but no trains will be running below 42nd or 34th streets in Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan is still pretty much flooded and without power. Same for parts of Kips Bay (no power). It could be several days before that is all sorted out.

NYS's Washington delegation held a press conference (got to see a bit during lunch) with Schumer leading. The senator says he will be pressing FEMA/Washington DC to get NY the same sort of response financially it received post 9/11/01 and when other major natural disasters have hit; that is he's looking for 90% of costs to be covered by the federal government in some form. FEMA has about 10 billion (or some such number according to Mr.Schumer) in cash on hand, so again according to him that should be plenty, if not there's always Congress.

On the otherside of the Hudson Mr. Chris Christie (who in my opinon has more to deal with than either Mr. Bloomberg or Mr. Cuomo) gave Obama an air tour of his ruined state. New Jersey really got hit bad (Hoboken is still flooded), and for a state that gets a large portion of it's budget from property taxes to have so much of it destroyed is going to hurt.

 

[Ultramatic]

Well the office will be closed until further notice...

<span style="font-size: medium;">So I'll be on paid leave...cell phone service was been strange (Verizon), takes a long time to connect sometimes. A lot of car windows smashed in my parking lot. Driving about today to see what I can see, camera in hand. </span>

 

<span style="font-size: medium;">From my home, I see no planes on final approach to LaGuardia, no helicopters, no elevated trains, no buses, very little traffic and  a dark Manhattan as a backdrop, it's positively depressing. I haven't felt this way since 9-11. </span>

 

[davey7]

Subways will be partially back online. Was worried about friends in Co-op City, but they were fine, despite being on the LI Sound. Their power plant was running the entire time. Just windy here in Chicago, though that's now faded a bit - we were on the very edge of Sandy's reach. Glad NY/NJ'ers are ok.

Loading…

www.mta.info

 

[Ultramatic]

Just got back from Manhattan....

<span style="font-size: medium;">It was surreal, with the exception of a few buildings with emergency generators, all was dark. Some police directing traffic on the busier intersections. A couple of bars open with alot of candles burning...but they were empty. Chinatown was deserted. A few brave souls with flashlights and even candles were roaming the streets. Couldn't make for a spookier Halloween. Brooklyn Bridge was busy, as was the Williamsburg Bridge. Took pictures and videos. </span>

 

<span style="font-size: medium;">In Brooklyn, the flood damage was extensive in Red Hook. Some streets had power, but most were dark. A lot of homes were having their basements pumped out. The sidewalks were covered with huge piles of ruined furniture, appliances and electronics. It was heart breaking.  Fairway supermarket was in the midst of throwing everything out. Hundreds of shopping carts, were piled high with ruined food. There was a small army busy filling dumpsters with trucks waiting to cart it all away. IKEA seemed fine, but they were closed. If it flooded, it was only the parking lot. Pathmark was shut down,sandbags lining the entry. Lowes was open. The Brooklyn-Queens expressway was heavy with traffic, as were many of the surrounding streets. Made it to the Keyfood  supermarket on McGuinness Blvd, produce, backed goods, meats were pretty much gone. </span>

 

<span style="font-size: medium;">On a happier note, saw quite a few Trick or Treaters on the streets, even in the hard hit areas. It was so nice to see some normalcy. </span>

 

[super32]

Ok so

I'm glad to see people are coming out and letting everyone they are ok.

WE still have a few to peeps to hear from

 

[wayupnorth]

Louie,

I am sure all of us would like to see what you personally saw and recorded. Where we only get to watch news programs or internet to see anything about where you are and relatives of mine. We are not totally out of the "woods" yet in Maine with this storm, but I guess we didnt get the brunt, but feel for those that did.

 

[launderess]

Ultramatic

Please stop giving the impression *all* of Manhattan is without power.

We live on the UES and still have and never lost electric power. Same goes for about 90% of the island. The only parts of Manhattan without electric power are areas in or around Chelesa,Lower Manhattan/Downtown (Battery Park City, Financial Center,South Street Seaport, etc....) and so forth.

Con Edison's service outage map can be seen here:

SC4

apps.coned.com

 

[launderess]

Petrol Is Becoming A Hot Item

From NJ through Long Island tempers are flaring and things even getting nasty as persons try to fill up their vehicle's gas tanks as well as those to fill generators.

Have never seen lines at gas stations like one saw today in Manhattan. It was total chaos made worse by persons cutting into line, something that seems to be happening elsewhere as well. Here we had people who drove in from NJ and waited in line for hours only to be cut off by someone just as they reached the "driveway" of the petrol station. Well as you can imagine *that* does not sit well with many and tempers as well fists and a few weapons have gone flying.

Worse many service stations are either rationing supply and or once they run out have no idea when they will get another shipment.

 

[supersuds]

Here's a nifty interactive photo feature showing the lower Manhattan skyline before and after the power outages. Slide the bar in the center left and right to compare. (I think this will work for nonsubscribers to the WSJ.)

 

The building on the left with the golden dome is the New York Life Insurance tower -- amazing that such an important company seems to have no power backup?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loading…

online.wsj.com

 

[launderess]

As One Has Been Saying

Picture shows the Eastside through mid-town starting at 39th street (Kips Bay) which has been without power in most areas since Monday. You can see NYU-Langone Hospital (evacuated due to failure of back-up generators), and other landmarks familiar to many especially those of us who live in NYC, or at least the view from the FDR.

It is not required nor common for office and or residential buildings in NYC to have back-up power sources. There is a huge cost both to installing and maintaining such systems versus the odds of major power outages lasting days. That is not to say many such buildings do not have generator power, indeed after a string of summer blackouts that lasted days a few years back more than a few buildings both commercial and residential installed them, but it was by no means a mad rush.

Leaving aside natural disasters New York City's power system is quite stable. Other than severe stresses on the grid such as during peak summer usage, the occasional failure of equipment or some such the power rarely goes out. After the thrashing Con Edison took several years ago after parts of Queens were in the dark for weeks they've spent millions upgrading, adding capacity and redundancies.

 

[Ultramatic]

Reply #87

<span style="font-size: medium;">Mrs Bucket, or whomever you are today,  if you can possibly find the time to reread posts #39 and #72, it clearly states what areas I can see that are blacked out. This is what I am referring to. I never inferred "*all*" of Manhattan was blacked out. I am merely giving a mostly personal account of what is happening, not simply regurgitating information I read online or see on TV.  </span>

 

<span style="font-size: medium;">My humblest apologies if my posts may have caused you any discomfort. </span>

 

<span style="font-size: medium;">Louis E. Nieves</span>

[this post was last edited: 11/1/2012-02:00]

 

[Ultramatic]

Hi Tim

<span style="font-size: medium;">No worries, I'll be starting a thread soon featuring the videos and the few pictures I took. </span>

 

[whirlcool]

Nothing like a you are there account in pictures!

 

[supersuds]

Yes, it would be neat to see your vids & pictures, Louis.

 

[polkanut]

Has anyone heard from MisterEric in Sayreville, NJ?

 

[davey7]

"It is not required nor common for office and or residential buildings in NYC to have back-up power sources. There is a huge cost both to installing and maintaining such systems versus the odds of major power outages lasting days. That is not to say many such buildings do not have generator power, indeed after a string of summer blackouts that lasted days a few years back more than a few buildings both commercial and residential installed them, but it was by no means a mad rush."

Back up power is required in Chicago, but only for Emergency systems, i.e. elevator recall, stair lights and fire pumps (few buildings have rooftop tanks, which I think are still required in NY code).

I see that the darkness restaurant has been doing a groupon deal, though candlelight suppers are much more enjoyable with full power in kitchens with Angel Gabriel Blue work surfaces.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Rich spoke w/ BrianL last evening and they're OK, but w/o power. If I'm not duplicating info here, Steve (Toggleswitch) was w/o power but OK; not sure if he has power back.

We were very lucky and didn't have more than some flickers throughout. There are some areas of our town that just got power back yesterday afternoon and a couple that are still out. Considering what a lot of other people went/are going through, we're counting our blessings.

Our (I speak for Rich on this as well) thoughts go out to all those still dealing with this.

Chuck

 

[fester]

Could have been far worse.

A cat 1 storm, even a large cat 1 like Sandy, is a pussycat compared to cat 2-5 storms. A stronger storm on the same track would have been catastrophic. Do an after action review and consider what you would do better or altogether differently in preparation for the next go round. A Coleman lantern and single burner stove that runs on unleaded gasoline take up little space and could be a real lifesaver in the event that juice is down for an extended period. Pack in 40 or 50 gallons of gas as the storm nears. If it doesn't get used, run it in your car. It won't go to waste. Friends can pool resources and hunker down in the most solidly built , highest , driest, safest location. If you can't board up the outside, keep plywood sheets, hammer, nails, tarps and rope inside. If a window blows out you have to close the hole as best you can to stay dry and keep the wind and debris from beating the hell out of you. Down here in Louisiana, nearly everyone owns a small generator, chainsaw, firearms and many own boats. A small genny won't run everything , but running it a few hours a day will keep your perishables frozen and charge batteries etc. I've been through Beulah, Andrew, Lilly, Gustav and numerous weaker storms that I can't remember the names of. Just some things to think about. because y'all dodged the bullet....this time.

Glad to hear everyone made it!

FEster