Public Advocate Bill de Blasio Calls For Marathon To Be Postponed
Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate for the City of New York has joined the list of elected officials calling on Mayor Bloomberg to postpone the marathon, which the Mayor says will still be taking place this coming Sunday.
The following statement was given to YWN on Friday afternoon:
“The pain and suffering still unfolding in our neighborhoods is too deep for words. I walked more streets with Councilman Oddo in Staten Island today, and listened to people who still remain without power, food ...
East Coast May Face New Nor'easter While Recovering From Superstorm Sandy
Another messy -- and wintry -- storm may cause post-Election Day problems for an already weather-weary East Coast, forecasters say.
But meteorologists add that it's six days out, so that's rather early to get too worried. The forecast could change before it hits late next week.
The National Weather Service's forecast center in College Park, Md., which watches winter storms, put out a long-range notice Thursday saying a nor'easter was possible for mid-Atlantic and New England states by ...
Greenfield Offers Reward to Capture Men Who Violently Robbed Yeshiva Student During Hurricane
Brooklyn – Councilman David G. Greenfield is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the group of men seen on surveillance video violently beating and robbing a Jewish man in Crown Heights just as Hurricane Sandy was making landfall on Monday night.
Surveillance video posted on crownheights.info shows a man standing at the corner of Albany Avenue and President Street as the victim, identified in news reports as 21-year-old Jeremy Furchtgott, ...
Statement from Town of Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence
The following is a statement from Town of Ramapo Supervisor Christopher P. St. Lawrence:
As we struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, I find myself truly inspired by the unity that has brought our community together over the past several days. With the power still out in various areas throughout Ramapo and people coping with a massive cleanup due to the storm's fury, the sense of caring and community that I have witnessed is a beacon of light in an ...
Subways, Airports Running Again, But Bridge Traffic Is Backed Up For Miles
Subways started running again in much of New York City on Thursday for the first time since Superstorm Sandy, but traffic at bridges backed up for miles, long lines formed at gas stations, and tempers flared as commuters waited for buses.
The trains couldn’t take some New Yorkers where they needed to go. There was no service in downtown Manhattan and other hard-hit parts of the city, and people had to switch to buses. But some of those who did use the subway were grateful.
“It’s the ...
Carbon Monoxide Is Colorless, Odorless & Dangerous
When temperatures dip and you’re without power, it may be tempting to turn on a natural gas powered oven or range to take the chill out of a room. Doing so could create either a fire hazard or a life-threatening exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) gas.
CO is a poisonous gas that is odorless, colorless, tasteless, and very dangerous. Natural gas ovens and ranges are not designed to operate as heating units. Prolonged use of an open oven in a closed house burns oxygen, thereby causing improper ...
Gas Fights: Gun Drawn In Gas Station
The fight for fuel after Superstorm Sandy is starting to get nasty.
New York City authorities say a motorist was arrested after he tried to cut in line at a gas station in Queens early Thursday and pointed a pistol at another motorist who complained.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown says 35-year-old Sean Bailey, of Queens, was arrested on charges of menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. It wasn’t clear whether he had a lawyer.
If convicted, Bailey could face up to 15 ...
Manhattan Boro President Calls On Bloomberg To Cancel NYC Marathon Following Sandy
Manhattan Boro President Scott Stringer is calling on Mayor Bloomberg to cancel the NYC Marathon scheduled for Sunday morning.
The following is a statement by Stringer, given to YWN on Friday morning:
"First of all, I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Cuomo for their strong leadership in helping our City recover from a devastating storm. And I certainly understand and respect the mayor’s desire to show that we are a resilient City.
"But New York has experienced a tragedy of ...
How To Deal With A Flooded Car In Sandy's Wake
Without power in Manhattan since the storm Sandy hit, Doug Block is in denial about his car. The 2003 Pontiac Vibe is in a garage on East 20th Street - a good two blocks from the East River - and flooded, probably over the top of its hood. Block, 59, has not seen the car yet, does not really know what condition it is in, and he does not quite know what to do about it.
"My wife filed a claim with State Farm, and we're waiting to hear back from them," says Block via email. "We haven't even been ...
Upper Manhattan Set Struggle With Guest Influx After Sandy
While people living north of New York's Times Square were largely spared from the rising waters and power outages that slammed Lower Manhattan on Monday, they are now dealing with a different kind of flood: Guests.
Refugees from "Blackout City," the portion of Manhattan that has been without power since late Monday, have been flowing north into parts of the city where life has been fairly normal this week - at least on the surface.
Inside the area's expensive homes, it's a different ...
Bloomberg Slammed Over Plans To Have Marathon On Sunday While Staten Island Starves
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says Sunday’s marathon won’t divert resources from victims of Superstorm Sandy’s devastation.
Bloomberg responded to criticism of his decision to hold the race at a news briefing Thursday. He notes that electricity is expected to be back on in downtown Manhattan by Sunday, freeing up an “enormous number of police.”
He says the sanitation workers and fire fighters who are aiding storm victims are not involved in the marathon. Race organizers ...
Floods Render NYC Hospitals Powerless
There are few places in the U.S. where hospitals have put as much thought and money into disaster planning as New York. And yet two of the city's busiest, most important medical centers failed a fundamental test of readiness during Superstorm Sandy this week: They lost power.
Their backup generators failed, or proved inadequate. Nearly 1,000 patients had to be evacuated.
The closures led to dramatic scenes of doctors carrying patients down dark stairwells, nurses operating respirators by ...
Officials Fret About Polling Sites In Storm-Ravaged U.S. States
Officials in New York, New Jersey and other states hit hard by the powerful storm Sandy are anxiously waiting to see when power will be restored in darkened areas and whether polling sites may need to be moved for next Tuesday's presidential election.
"We're open for business Nov. 6. That will be Election Day," said John Conklin, spokesman for the New York state Board of Elections. "We're doing everything we can to make sure that everyone who goes to the polls will have a poll site to go ...
Message From FDNY Regarding Portable Generator Safety
The FDNY is asking New Yorkers using generators to power their homes and businesses to do so safely and exercise caution to keep themselves, their families and utility workers safe from carbon monoxide and fire.
Read the instruction booklet that came with the generator.
Never use a generator indoors or in an attached garage. A portable generator is an internal combustion engine that creates Carbon Monoxide
Be sure to place the generator outdoors where exhaust fumes will not enter ...
Post-Hurricane Sandy Coping: From The Crisis Team Of Chai Lifeline
Any occurrence that constitutes a significant break in routine coupled with a potential threat to life and limb can evoke traumatic reactions. We have previously communicated regarding the immediate stress and potential trauma of the hurricane itself. The following are suggestions of coping with the lingering impact and effects of this calamitous event.
THE LIKELIHOOD OF A TRAUMATIC OR DESTABILIZING REACTION ON YOUR PART AND THAT OF YOUR CHILDREN WILL PARTIALLY DEPEND ON THE EXTENT TO ...
NYC Official: Red Cross Is 'Absolute Disgrace'
At a press conference this morning on Staten Island, a host of local officials, including Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, gathered to highlight the needs of the hard-hit borough in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. And, although many pols spoke, no one was more impassioned than Borough President James Molinaro, who called the Red Cross an “absolute disgrace” and even urged the public to cease giving them contributions.
“Because the devastation in Staten Island, the lack ...
Why East Coast Gas Shortages May Not End For A Week
Power outages at hundreds of gas stations and a distribution bottleneck due to flooding damage and power loss has caused a gasoline shortage in the New York metropolitan area that may not be cleared up for at least a week, according to industry experts.
What was a problem for drivers when Super Storm Sandy ended two days ago has become a nightmare for frazzled motorists who find themselves in gas lines that can stretch on for hours. Some lines were hundreds of cars long in sections of New ...
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