<p>Sorry, but in no way do I view Cuomo’s comments as political. ‘A 100-year storm comes along every two years these days.’ How is that statement political opportunism or grandstanding given the circumstances? I’ll just ask you if you saw the photographs from Hurricane Irene last year and photographs from the past 4 days in New York, as well as New Jersey?</p>
<p>Also, it truly perplexing to see some Romney supporters now condenming Christie.</p>
<p>Finally saw my office building in lower Manhattan yesterday. No power, front doors padlocked. Sandbags aplenty, though the sandbags didn’t do much good. At home, at least three of my neighbors now are the sad owners of destroyed vehicles, as they had the misfortune to park under huge trees Monday night. Similar to the afternoon before Irene hit last year, I took pains to find a parking spot away from large tree trunks Monday night.</p>
<p>At the filling station this afternoon 4 blocks down the road, the gas line was long and tempers got short.</p>
<p>I finally spoke to my kids’ dad today. He lives in Long Beach (seiclan, on the west end, worst flooding down there. Glad you can provide a place to stay for you inlaws!) and spent the storm there and in Island Park, also low lying and flooded but on “mainland” Long Island across the bay so no bridge needed to get out further.</p>
<p>It’s really, really bad. The house he lives in, with my in laws and his sister’s family’smay be tear downs. Both were flooded, sister’s about 4 feet and his about 8, but his has a second floor. </p>
<p>Out of 7 cars the extended family had, one works, sort of. No electric but it runs. One literally floated away. They had them all up on jacks but it wasn’t enough. </p>
<p>He sounds totally shell shocked. During the storm a family living in a single story house next door to his nephews, where they rode out the worst of the storm, literally swam over to their house (which has a second floor). He’s staying in Manhattan with his mom now, working his uncle’s job at Lincoln Center, because his uncle is trying to deal with everything on Long Beach. But Long Beach has no sewer or water or power and there are gas leaks everywhere and toxic sludge floating around still. So they can’t be there, the Nat’l Guard is still evacuating people who stayed.</p>
<p>This just breaks my heart. I think in many ways the worst may be yet to come as everyone sounds really fragile emotionally right now, going days without sleep.</p>
<p>I am incredibly thankful that no one was injured and everyone is alive. But this is going to be a long tough road.</p>
<p>Lots of traffic lights are out, but just about every interesection now has four way stop signs and people are behaving. The one gas station I passed that still had gas also had lines for blocks. Some people were trying to block intersections or lanes of traffic, but the police seemed to have the situation in hand. My dh cleverly filled his tank on Sunday. I was in a rental and put just enough in it on Saturday to be able to return it today without issues. My car that was in the shop was (for a wonder!) close to full of gas. So that’s one thing we don’t need to worry about.</p>
<p>Wow! I missed ten pages of posts. Our power went out on Monday and came back on Wednesday. We also lost our phones, dsl, and cable. The Internet just came back today. We luckily were able to borrow a generator from a friend who did not lose power. DH FINALLY agrees we will get one of our own. I’ll be looking this week for a return from someone who bought one but returned it. Happens after every storm!</p>
<p>School was canceled for three days. Lights came on just in time to have Halloween!</p>
<p>Local CBS affiliate in NYC, brought a bit of humor into hard times and loss. The reporter asked a young woman about a generator, to which she replied 'I’ve been asking my Dad to buy one for years and every time his response was ‘people have lived through the ages without electricity, we can too.’ The woman laughed as did the reporter. I’ll bet he’ll buy one now!</p>
<p>Got word that my in laws should be arriving later this evening. I am sure that they will be in need of some TLC. I went to the supermarket today and stocked the refridge with their favorites and other items that my DH and I just don’t normally purchase (like milk and OJ and bread) since I know that they (unlike us) eat breakfast. Now to go set up their rooms. </p>
<p>I was reading that it will take almost a billion dollars to restore Long Beach Island (our summer residence/home is there)alone and am shaken by this thought, or rather that it won’t be able to be restored due to lack of funds among other things. I am trying to look for silver linings in all this, like all the jobs that will be created and needed to fill in the cleanup and rebuilding process.</p>
<p>Indeed, DocT. Our local Philly weather person said that while Sandy was technically a tropical cyclone when it hit, the pressure was so low that it was like a Cat 3 hurricane.</p>
<p>Got word on Tuesday that DD2’s campus was to be closed for the week because of bad water and no power. Left early Wed and other than snow in the PA turnpike, didn’t have any problems and picked her up at 10:15. With no water on the road & bright skies we left cheerfully. To make a long story short we searched the next 50 or so miles for a working gas station and ended up stopping off an exit along 78W with <5 miles in the tank, with shrugs from all the stations and AAA. DD1 in NY state, about 2 hours away, tried to bail us out since they still had gas, but she couldn’t find anyone still stocking gas cans - this was after we called Sears, Walmarts, Home Depot, auto parts shops, you name it, as far away as Allentown and White Plains.</p>
<p>Finally ended up taking her car, dropping her back in NY and drove to Pgh, reaching after midnight; hope to get back on Sunday, perhaps with gas from here, and find our original car in one piece…</p>
<p>Zoos, if she can head south and maybe take the ferry, the AC Garden State parkway rest stop has gas. no lines. in fact, most of the very Southern NJ area seems okay. I’m down here now and there is gas everywhere. (shhh–don’t tell anyone else!)</p>
<p>Thanks Garland! We drive straight down the Turnpike and would definitely be able to hit that area. Sick of all this now. What a terrible person I am.</p>