<p>Just wanted to thank zoosermom for all her posts over the years I’ve been on cc. I’m on the left coast and many cc posts helped me immensely this week during tense times when I couldn’t connect with family on the East coast. throughtheir posts I at least had a sense of what was going on. Including one ccer who pm’d me when there was a death in my parents hometown.</p>
<p>there is no subway service to flushing</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mta.info/sites/default/files/pdf/Nov1ServiceAlert.pdf[/url]”>http://www.mta.info/sites/default/files/pdf/Nov1ServiceAlert.pdf</a></p>
<p>This is a bus ticket, and my friends badly want to see me. To me the 79 dollars I’ve booked for the two busses there and two busses back is a lot of money.</p>
<p>I’m also not a tourist, though I am a visitor. I am here to see family and friends, shoot weddings and maybe have some fun in Williamsburg (just as a social thing to do…my friend is a teacher for TFA and she has no classes for the next nine days!).</p>
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<p>I’m stay in Flushing. (Not a hotel.) I’ve stayed in Flushing for my past six trips. My friends are in Astoria. And I am scheduled to shoot a wedding this Monday.</p>
<p>It sounds like if you go, evita, you’d be well served to bring a backpack full of food and drink, some warm clothes, rain clothes and a flashlight to get you through what could be a very difficult situation. Just in case.</p>
<p>Also I forgot about the handy Chinatown shuttles. Are they still stopping at Division St and Columbus Sq? Somehow I have to get from 33rd and 7th Ave to where the Chinatown shuttles will be. I’ve plotted a preliminary bus route…</p>
<p>First, make sure the bus you plan to take is running. From the megabus.com site
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<p>If it’s not running, your choice is made.</p>
<p>Put it this way…D2, who would much prefer to go back to her independent life in New York, has figured out how to work from home. She happened to be here in CT for the weekend, fortunately! Her office is in the zone where there’s no power in lower Manhattan, and even if we were to drive her back (no train service yet), she’s calculated that it would take her a very long time to get from her apartment in Washington Heights to her work (usually about half an hour by subway).</p>
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<p>There are still places in Williamsburg that are part of the flood zone and people have not been able to go back home.</p>
<p>there is no electrical in or subway service to down town manhattan (including chinatown)</p>
<p>33rd and Seventh is in the no power zone, too. Evita, bus driver is right. If you come, make sure you have enough food and water for the duration, as well as warm clothing and change. It’s not only hard to get food, it’s hard to get MetroCards since subway stations are closed.</p>
<p>I live at upper east side, everything looks fine. We went out to an Italian restaurant for dinner last night. We sat at the bar, but had a great meal. I walked over an mile to go to work today because the traffic was very bad. I went out for lunch, had no problem getting food. Midtown looked fine, except for the traffic.</p>
<p>People from NJ came into work taking private bus lines. They said it was very easy because traffic was much lighter. People from LI had a lot more problem getting in.</p>
<p>One of D1’s friend went home to NJ because he lived in the no electricity zone. I asked D1 how he travelled to NJ. She said by a black car service. So, if you need to travel out of Manhattan and if you are willing to pay, you could get a car service, another option is to rent a car.</p>
<p>This was a surprise to some people, Battery Park had power. They never lost electricity. </p>
<p>It is going to be tough for next few days, but it is not a war zone in the city.</p>
<p>You can buy metro cards
There is plenty of food at grocery stores, even at Duane Read. I saw people delivering fresh breads at various restaurants this morning when I was walking to work.</p>
<p>According to the MTA both the F train and the N train will be running tomorrow.
<a href=“http://www.mta.info/sites/default/files/pdf/Nov1ServiceAlert.pdf[/url]”>http://www.mta.info/sites/default/files/pdf/Nov1ServiceAlert.pdf</a></p>
<p>According to the MTA, they will be running from 34th St, pretty close to where her bus comes in. They won’t get her to Flushing, but they would get her to Queens, including Astoria (on the N).</p>
<p>There may be better ways to go. I just noticed that the N and the F are both supposed to be running from 34th St. tomorrow.</p>
<p>Apparently, the decision has been made that the marathon will go on. However, not everybody thinks it’s a good idea. Interesting article from Businessweek today- “Why the Marathon is the Last Thing New York Needs.”</p>
<p>Hmm, maybe I should stay with my friends in Astoria instead of my relatives in Flushing…</p>
<p>Why don’t you call your friends and ask for their advice since they’re here and living the situation. If you can’t get through to them – phone service has been very spotty-- perhaps that would mean not to come. I would trust what they would have to say. Much of the city is unscathed but a huge amount of the city, especially outer boroughs and downtown Manhattan are still in trouble.</p>
<p>OP, let us know how things go…if you go…and have fun if possible. You might want to see if your friends need you to bring them anything that they are having trouble getting right now.</p>
<p>Manhattan is divided into two cities right now. Downtown is as zoozermom describes. Uptown is the complete opposite. Last night I went out to dinner on the upper west side. The streets were filled with happy children dressed in Halloween costumes, the stores were all open and giving away candy. I shopped for food at Fairway on Broadway and it was overflowing with fresh food and the lines to pay were no longer than usual and moved perhaps a bit more quickly because things were very well organized with plenty of staff.</p>
<p>All restaurants I saw were open and serving full menus including daily specials. The ubiquitous nail salons were open at 7:30 pm and full of people choosing colors for varnish. </p>
<p>New Yorkers are walkers, and many people seemed to be bustling up and down the streets due to the subway closings, but the usual “NYC in crisis” attitude prevailed. A feeling of camaraderie, adventure, spiritedness, etc. </p>
<p>NYC is always severely affected by the marathon, though. It will be good for revenue, and NYC spirit in some ways, but it’s hard to imagine layering that extra strain of street closings and transit disruptions that always accompany the marathon on top of what some in NYC are already experiencing.</p>
<p>Oldfort, much of the city, including Manhattan is a war zone. I’m glad that you are safe, but you shouldn’t be encouraging people to come here without being cautious. That is very irresponsible of you. In some parts of the city, bodies are still being discovered.</p>
<p>Jon Stewart had a very funny piece on the Tale of Two Cities last night. </p>
<p>But things will start getting better below 34th St. Con Ed estimates power restored by tomorrow or Saturday except for buildings which were flooded and once that happens deliveries to markets, restaurants, etc., will be able to begin again. Is it very inconvenient now, absolutely, but most of the infrastructure isn’t destroyed, so once power comes back on it will be a fairly quick return to normal in that area-unlike in the communities in Queens, LI and Jersey shore which are completely destroyed. </p>
<p>As for the marathon even DH, who has run it several times, thinks it is a horrible idea - especially that they need to get 40,000 runners to Staten Island (which is devastated.) It is just adding to the stress already on the emergency management operations.</p>
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God bless you for being aware of that emilybee. Being on an island with no direct connections to the outside world, there hasn’t been food delivered or gas. We also have overhead power lines. It’s really tough and it means more than I can tell you when other people are sensitive.</p>