<p>Are the casinos using city police to stay open or shutting down bridges ?</p>
<p>Happy to hear that the marathon was cancelled. I hope the sponsors donate all those blankets, pasta, and other supplies to New York and New Jersey residents who need them.</p>
<p>^ Bridges no, but there is most definitely the AC Police Department presence required in the area where the Casinos are. </p>
<p>If the marathon was scheduled to run a few days ago it would definitely be more warranted, for sure… But NYC is not a city in extreme crisis nor on the verge of mass chaos. The race is during the day and not in darkness, where neighborhoods blacked out do need an increase in police protection. Supplies are getting through, the port is open and tankers are pumping oil into the pipelines, lower Manhattan will have most of it’s electricity back tonight. But the arguments now have just become an emotional argument not really based on what is happening on the ground in NYC. My DH is in Emergency Management for the state and he told me that NYC is more capable of handling this crisis than most states (including the state of New Jersey) and the NYS isn’t really even needed there and should be exclusively on LI, but there are two big egos involved and Andrew is a city boy, so. </p>
<p>What happened it horrible and tragic, but the cancelling now is being done because of how it would “look”, not for an real rational reason. Thus, my asking why it’s ok for tourists to show up and gamble and drink at the casinos while all those people in AC are suffering so badly. Why are not the casinos opening up their doors and housing and feeding the displaced instead or being asked to donate their take to hurricane relief?</p>
<p>Ditto, happy to hear they cancelled can’t imagine what they were thinking not cancelling Monday or Tuesday. I agree if every person who was going to run donated an equal amount of time to helping, if they give every t-shirt, all the food and the goody bag away and deployed the police, health workers and manpower needed it would be a worthy gesture.</p>
<p>About the casinos being allowed to open; they need to make money otherwise they will start laying of people so for employment sake I can easier understand this than the running of the marathon.</p>
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<p>Looks to me like Staten Island, the Rockaways and some other low lying areas of the city are still in extreme crisis. Lots of homeless people, lots without power, lots without water…buildings that haven’t been checked in yet for people.</p>
<p>Totally agree about the casinos…people need to get paid and a lot presumably don’t when they can’t work - all the servers, dealers, etc. who work hourly and/or on tips. Hopefully the casinos will do their part of the community in terms of donations or paying people during the storm time or whatever.</p>
<p>Not cancelling it initally and then cancelling it the last minute - so incredibly dumb. If I were traveling to NYC with the intent to run the race, I’d be on the road now. And I’d be mad! I hope the supplies intended for the runners will be donated to the people in need.</p>
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Emily, I’m sorry but you are just wrong. I just drove the 7 minute drive to my church. It took 35 harrowing minutes with almost no traffic lights and trees down everywhere. I appreciate your compassion and your husband’s hard work, but you are just wrong about how people can get around. As I’m sure you know, Staten Island has the highest point on the eastern seaboad between Maine and Florida.The spine of the Island is high, winding hills. The people on that side are not getting around. The people on this side may or may not be able to.</p>
<p>'Ditto, happy to hear they cancelled can’t imagine what they were thinking not cancelling Monday or Tuesday. I agree if every person who was going to run donated an equal amount of time to helping, if they give every t-shirt, all the food and the goody bag away and deployed the police, health workers and manpower needed it would be a worthy gesture."</p>
<p>The NYRR had already pledged $1 million to the hurricane relief but asking the runners to donate their time? Really? How about every private citizen of NYC donating their time? The marathon generates $340 million in revenue. That’s a big hit for the tourist industry to take. </p>
<p>ZM, I didn’t say the people on that side of the island can get around, but running or not running the marathon is not going to hamper the recovery. </p>
<p>I’m off, my friends are here for dinner. Have a nice evening, every one.</p>
<p>Thank God Mayor Bloomberg finally saw reason (or saw the criticism, more likely). How tone-deaf can anyone be? The idea of running the marathon while bodies are still being pulled from the rubble, and tens of thousands are still without power, was ghastly. Obscene. As was using one second of police time and other city resources for it.</p>
<p>My son was staying with my ex out in Essex County, New Jersey when the storm hit; the house is OK but they’re still without power and it might be another week before it’s restored. The worst of it is that they have only 1/8 of a tank of gas left, not enough to drive around very far looking for one of the few places that’s open. My son’s been walking around for miles with an empty red can, in case he happens to come across a place that has gas. He’s coming into the City tomorrow to stay with me – if he can get up to Fort Lee, he can walk over the GW Bridge, because I"m right on the Manhattan side – and is bringing his can; maybe we can find someplace in Manhattan that has gas and he can fill the can and bring it back to my ex in New Jersey.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I’m fine, other than the fact that the subway isn’t running yet all the way up here, and I have to take a bus that runs infrequently in order to get to the subway to go to work, making my trip more than twice as long as usual. Compared to a lot of people, I’ve been very fortunate.</p>
<p>'Looks to me like Staten Island, the Rockaways and some other low lying areas of the city are still in extreme crisis. Lots of homeless people, lots without power, lots without water…buildings that haven’t been checked in yet for people."</p>
<p>Yes, but NYC is a place where 8 million people live. A fraction of that is suffering greatly, most affected simply don’t have power. This is not New Orleans after Katrina - there is not mass chaos. The schools are going to be open on Monday and almost all the people were back to work by Wednesday!</p>
<p>Emilybee, my neighbor’s daughter who works in Zone A, will not be going back to work before Monday at the earliest.</p>
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<p>Even if you believe that number, the idea that it would generate anything like the usual amount of revenue under present circumstances is absurd.</p>
<p>Emily, I understand that your husband has an important position with New York State and all, so you have a lot of information, but do you not see how insensitive you sound posting from Albany about how New York City can handle the marathon just fine? You’re not here, or in Northern New Jersey, or in Long Island, or anyplace that’s been affected. And I know that the situation of the people in places like lower Manhattan who’ve been without power or water for days and have to walk up 20 or 30 flights of stairs repeatedly may not seem like more than a minor inconvenience to you, since it isn’t life-threatening, but I know plenty of people like that, and they’re all unanimous that going forward with the marathon (especially for the nonsensical “giving New Yorkers something to cheer about” reason originally offered by the Mayor) is extraordinarily inappropriate under the circumstances. I would suggest that their opinion, and the opinion of other people who actually live here, is what’s important.</p>
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Staten Island is the same size as New Orleans. There IS mass chaos. There are housing projects in Brooklyn in which people are defecating in the hallways. Gas line multi-hours long and guns have been drawn. It is absolutely mass chaos in some areas, affecting a couple of million people. The difference is it will be functional quickly where New Orleans was not.</p>
<p>Donna, how are you and yours?</p>
<p>First hand account from someone on Sons of Anarchy</p>
<p>[‘Sons</a> of Anarchy’ star talks about devastation to Staten Island home | Inside TV | EW.com](<a href=“http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/11/02/sons-of-anarchy-irene-staten-island/]'Sons”>http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/11/02/sons-of-anarchy-irene-staten-island/)</p>
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<p>Thanks for asking, zmom. I’m OK, but the situation for my son and my ex out in New Jersey is not so great right now. (See post # 810.) Same for my former mother-in-law, my son’s grandma, who’s further out in Essex County, in her mid-80’s, living alone without power in a town where driving is prohibited at the moment, not that she likes to drive anymore. Or would be willing to leave. And my son and ex don’t have enough gas to go visit her even if they were allowed to drive there; my son is very close to her and is quite worried. And I have a lot of friends who live in lower Manhattan who aren’t doing so wonderfully, either.</p>
<p>I’m really sorry, I will keep all of you in my prayers. Seems the elderly were disproportionately affected. My D’s boyfriend’s grandfather is still missing in Totttenville and the family can’t get anywhere near to find out. He refused to leave too. The lack of gas is a problem because everyone is afraid to drive. The gas lines make it very hard to navigate the streets, too. </p>
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How can it be? The experts have already designated Manhattan fine. [end snark]</p>
<p>Many of the police officers have lost homes themselves and are being stretched thin working long hours while worrying about their personal situation. Working the marathon meant they probably were not granting any days off. In addition to working the long hours, they also have to hunt for gas and wait on 2 hour lines just like the rest of us or figure out other ways to get to work. Fellow officers are collecting clothing and basic goods for those who have lost their homes so that they and their families can get along temporarily while the officers work to help others. The death toll alone should tell you how serious this is. And yes, power just came back on to lower Manhattan but people will probably spend time restoring themselves back to normal over the weekend before getting back to work on Monday.</p>
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The father of the two little boys who died was a sanitation worker (like my husband) who was on duty when they died. If he had said to heck with sandbags, I’m going to get my family safe first, there would have been one parent per child and they might be alive today.</p>
<p>zoozermom, that loss is so heartreaking. I can’t even imagine how they are holding up.</p>