What's taking so long to restore power

[foreUT]

Really? You're not sure why it should still be covered every day? Entire towns were wiped out....thousands of people lost their homes. They are homeless. In my town, over half of the homes had severe flooding and the homes are unlivable for a while, people lost all their vehicles. My school district alone lost 120 school busses. The next town lost most of it's schools. Garbage hadn't been picked up for 2 weeks just waiting for rats and disease. Elderly people and babies sitting in freezing houses with no where else to go. But yeah, I guess it's not really news worthy because hey, people have been through worse and we should just suck it up. The lack of compassion on this thread is really something.

I can't imagine that the total number of people impacted by Sandy are any less than those impacted by Katrina (just not a bunch in a terrible location like the Super Dome), but Katrina was on CNN 24/7 and there has really not been that much on Sandy, except to say how well everything was going, imo. I read an article on Yahoo a couple of days ago about how there was no crime and everyone was dealing well with the difficulties. Sounded like a propaganda column, to be honest. If everyone is so civil and polite, why feel the need to write an article?

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

I can't imagine that the total number of people impacted by Sandy are any less than those impacted by Katrina (just not a bunch in a terrible location like the Super Dome), but Katrina was on CNN 24/7 and there has really not been that much on Sandy, except to say how well everything was going, imo. I read an article on Yahoo a couple of days ago about how there was no crime and everyone was dealing well with the difficulties. Sounded like a propaganda column, to be honest. If everyone is so civil and polite, why feel the need to write an article?

The no crime is a lie. People are looting. Looters make me sick.

 

[Mkrop]

Once again the lack of compassion expressed on the DIS is amazing. Reread what some of you posted bc the WAY you are saying we have been there and done that by some posters and to be patient is really lacking sympathy. And even though you have been through a diaster does not mean you have been through this particular diaster. I would think most diasters encounter certain unique circumstances based on population, geography and time of year etc.

Good luck to all the Sandy victims, I for one welcome all the news coverage bc I want to know how we can help and how you are fairing.[/QUOTE)
Wow really? Some of us have been through hurricanes none of us are saying [/B]stop the whining. We can sympathize because we have had that expierence. The feeling of wanting to get back to some sort of normalcy, the feel7ng you are in some sort of nightmare and can't wake up,etc. So I truly don't give a rats butt if you think some of us are being unsympathetic I am not going to be PC and pretend its ok,it sucks. I am also not going to say we had to get by in crazy heat and make it a peeing contest. And you think incorrectly about the unique circumstances based on population or reguon,it All sucks. Devastatioion is devastation having your area rearranged to where it isn't even a shadow of what it was. You feeling you have no control over it and you don't,it is a very eye opening expierence.

Did I specifically quote you???? NO!

But to say no one is whining on this thread is a stretch.

Devastation is devasation and for all that are affected it sucks. That we can agree on, but to say other things dont factor into response time is inaccurate. People have no heat and it was extremely cold with several feet of snow on the ground. This affected one of the largest, densely populated cities in the country. It affected Wall St. NYC is a major metropolis and the way the mayor and others have handled this crisis is disgraceful. His press conference on Sat before the storm poo pooed the whole storm. We were watching closely bc DH's new job is out of there. Then a day later, he is warning people to evacuate, where NJ was telling people to get out from the get go and their officials have done an amazing job getting things done and communicating to the residents. THAT is what people are complaining about, the mismanagement of this diaster.

And I dont know about other areas of the country, but our powe company PECO always encourges/ed us to call them to get updates and to report outtages, so that is why we call them.

 

[Aliceacc]

Could I ask that we please redirect our efforts here to helping the victims???

How to Help Hurricane Sandy Victims
By JENNIFER ABBEY
Oct. 30, 2012

If you aren't able to personally provide shelter and supplies to those affected by Hurricane Sandy, it doesn't mean you can't help at all. There are many organizations along the East Coast that are providing shelter, food and other supplies to victims of superstorm Sandy.

One way to help is by donating to the Red Cross. All donations will provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected by the storm. To donate, visit www.redcross.org, call 800-Red-Cross or text the word "Redcross" to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Nearly 100 Red Cross blood drives were canceled because of Sandy, so blood supplies are low in the areas affected the most. The Red Cross asks that those who can donate to schedule an appointment to give blood. The New York Blood Center is urging people to donate blood for those in the New York/New Jersey area. To donate, call 800-933-2566 or visit www.nybloodcenter.org.


The Salvation Army has dozens of mobile feeding units and shelters along the East Coast that are working to serve thousands in the most heavily hit areas. Visit www.salvationarmyusa.org to donate.

Feeding America has thousands of pounds of emergency food, water and supplies in the disaster zone that it is working to distribute to the storm's victims. To donate, visit www.feedingamerica.org or call 800-910-5524.

AmeriCares is providing medicine and other supplies to people affected by Hurricane Sandy. To donate, visit www.americares.org.

World Vision is distributing flood clean-up kits, personal hygiene items and emergency food kits to people hit by the hurricane. To donate, visit www.worldvision.org.

Save the Children is also working to provide relief to families and their children. Visit www.savethechildren.org to donate.

Samaritan's Purse is asking for volunteers to help storm victims. To volunteer, visit their website.

 

[foreUT]

The no crime is a lie. People are looting. Looters make me sick.

The thought that someone is so depraved that he or she would exploit another's misfortune is horrendous. I don't know why the Governors in every state that was impacted did not have the National Guard immediately patrolling and helping to ensure safety and protect property. I truly feel the government's main duty is to protect the public, and this is a prime example of when that should happen. JMHO.

 

[castleview]

Older neighborhoods usually mean whacked out grids and less underground wires. LIPA seems to be what CL&P was to CT last year. Poorly managed, behind or ignoring tree cutting duties, cut line worker force yet executives get criminal packages (was the case with CL&P; not sure about LIPA). I can say that CL&P did MUCH better this year because they took a deserved beating last year.

Last year, a crew from Tennessee was working on my street. They were shaking their heads about how wrong we do things. You'd think people would remember the need to re-do our infrastructure when things like this happen, but no one wants higher taxes.

 

[joviroxx]

Ive been watching the news this morning and it seems there are more issues than just LIPA. FEMA, Red Cross,etc, too many people just aren't getting any help at all, or at least that is how it seems. It is very apparent that FEMA, once again, did not prepare correctly. Add that to the lack of experience and preparation from local authorities, and its a mess for some.

I still can't believe that people haven't learned from previous disasters. These agencies should have it down to a science. Recovery is never fun. Its long, arduous and frankly, more awful than you can imagine (if you have never gone through it) but you would think things like pre-positioning supplies would be a given.

 

[Aliceacc]

I don't know why the Governors in every state that was impacted did not have the National Guard immediately patrolling and helping to ensure safety and protect property..

We do. One of the teachers I work with is currently deployed. But the blacked out area is still HUGE-- it's part of what LIPA is NOT counting in their numbers. The entire shoreline of Long Island is pretty much still in the dark, and looks to be so for the forseeable future. Add in the areas that LIPA IS counting, and it's am awful lot of real estate for the National Guard to cover.

 

[RadioNate]

Because this thread is focused on Long Island.

Here are the locations of the Red Cross Fixed feeding stations where people can go for food.


Fixed feeding:

Nickerson Beach 880 Lido Blvd in Lido Beach (updated 11.9.12 3:30pm ET)
Cedar Creek Park 3340 Merrick Road in Seaford (updated 11.9.12 3:30pm ET)
Grant Park Corner of Broadway and Shielden Ave in Hewlett (updated 11.9.12 3:30pm ET)
Mastic Beach Village Gazebo 369 Neighborhood in Mastic Beach (updated 11.9.12 3:30pm ET)
H.L. Dennison 100 Veterans Memorial Hwy in Hauppague (updated 11.9.12 3:30pm ET)
Riverhead City Center 210 Center Drive, Riverhead (updated 11.9.12 3:30pm ET)
Long Beach 22 Louisiana Ave in Long Beach (updated 11.9.12 3:30pm ET)

Mobile feeding:

Long Beach, City Hall (updated 11.9.12 2:30 pm ET)

The Red Cross blog is updated with mobile locations, etc.

http://newsroom.redcross.org

ETA
Shelters if people need a place to go are listed here. None of the Long Island shelters are operating any where near capacity.
http://www.redcross.org/find-help/shelter

 

[Aliceacc]

Could someone please include the info for NJ as well? Thank you!

 

[RadioNate]

Could someone please include the info for NJ as well? Thank you!

These are the mobile feeding stations currently in operation.
11:00 AM  Rockaways, NY - ERV 2123 is heading to the Community Center on Green Pawn Road with hot meals.

10:44 AM  Bradley Beach, NJ  ERV 2115 will be going from street to street in the Bradley Beach area serving hot meals!

10:24 AM-360 Martin Luther King Blvd Jersey City, NJ 07305-ERV 2168 has 750 hot meals including bbq pork, cole slaw, bread, baked beans, fruits, snacks, and water. Will be there until 2pm.

10:35 AM  Keansburg, NJ  ERV 1175 will be delivering hotmeals and snacks street by street in the Keansburg area.

------

Fixed locations for NJ

Asbury Park Senior Center, 1201 Springwood Avenue
Belmar Municipal Building, 601 Main St. Belmar
Long Branch Emergency Operations Center Union & 3rd Ave, Long Branch
Maple Place Middle School, 2 Maple Place, Oceanport
Union Beach Borough Hall, 650 Poole Ave, Union Beach
Pine Regional High School, 590 Nugentown Rd, Tuckerton
Lakewood 227 Woehr, Toms River
Americon Legion, Toms River 2225 Church Rd. Toms River
Tri-Bourgh J Street, Seaside Park

Country Village, 28 Sycamore Road, Jersey City, NJ 07002
HUB, 360 MLK Jr Drive, Jersey City, NJ 07305
Curries Wood Community Center, 63-65 Ruby Brown Terrace, Jersey City, NJ 07305
Boys and Girls Club Parking Lot, 1 Canal Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302
Moonachie, 103 Moonachie Avenue, Moonachie, NJ 07608
Golden Age Towers, 200 East Milton Ave, Rahway, NJ 07065
Evelyn Fancher, 113 Boynton Ave, Westfield, NJ 07090
Paterson Apartments, 16 Van Houten St, Paterson, NJ 07505
Municipal Building, 1200 Mountain Avenue, Middlesex, NJ 08846
Administrative Building, 260 High Street, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861
Housing Authority, 413 Zambory Ave, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861
South Amboy Middle/High School Parking lot, 200 Governor Harold G Hoffman Plaza, South Amboy, NJ 08879
Netcong Heights Apartments, 35 W Route 46, Netcong, NJ 07857
Dales Avenue, 72 Dales Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Middlesex Community College, 2600 Woodbridge Ave, Edison, NJ 08818
Rockaway Township Municipal Garage, 540 Green Pond Road, Rockaway, NJ 07866
Morris Township Municipal Building, 50 Woodland Ave, Convent Station, NJ 07961
Denville Municipal Building, 1 St Marys Road, Denville, NJ 07834
East Hanover Middle School 477 Ridgedale Avenue, East Hanover, NJ 07936
Morris Hills High School Parking lot, 520 W Main Street, Rockaway, NJ 07866
Morris County Housing Authority/ Pleasant View Village, 221 Mt. Pleasant Ave, Rockaway, NJ 07866
St. Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox School, 9 Jeffrie Avenue, South River, NJ 08882
Marcella Community Center, 831 Green Pond Road, Rockaway, NJ 07866
White Meadow Lake Club House, 100 White Meadow Road, Rockaway, NJ, 07866
Newton Community School, 550 Avenue A, Bayonne, NJ 07002
Newark, 106 Essex Avenue, Newark, NJ 07028
NJ Armory, 678 Montgomery St, Jersey City, NJ 07306

Shelters are a little harder to list because you really need specific addresses to find the cloest ones. However all the shelters in NJ are operating at less than 75% capacity. The only exception is the shelter in West Orange ,NJ which is at 90% capacity.

All this info is online at http://www.redcross.org/find-help/shelter but I'm happy to plug in certain cities, etc.

 

[foreUT]

We do. One of the teachers I work with is currently deployed. But the blacked out area is still HUGE-- it's part of what LIPA is NOT counting in their numbers. The entire shoreline of Long Island is pretty much still in the dark, and looks to be so for the forseeable future. Add in the areas that LIPA IS counting, and it's am awful lot of real estate for the National Guard to cover.

Thanks for the update! I knew that they were helping in some areas, but I also knew that they weren't in NYC during the first few days and I did not understand why. Not sure on what the rules are concerning NG from other states helping, but if there was ever a reason to help your neighbors, this is definitely the time to assist.

 

[RadioNate]

Because I know there is a poster in that area.

The Red Cross is currently serving hot meals at

11:35AMFar Rockaway Beach  ERV 3071 is distributing hot meals at Beach 21 St. & Mott Ave.

 

[monarchsfan16]

This may not be applicable, and it doesn't help people who don't have smart phones, but I've learned that the best way to get vital information in a storm is facebook and twitter. Both my power company and my town's fire department have facebook and twitter accounts that they use to keep customers/residents notified of vital information. The power company posts updates on where they're working, how many people are still without power, weather warnings, etc. The fire department posts about shelters/warming stations. Might be worth looking into.

 

[cornflake]

This may not be applicable, and it doesn't help people who don't have smart phones, but I've learned that the best way to get vital information in a storm is facebook and twitter. Both my power company and my town's fire department have facebook and twitter accounts that they use to keep customers/residents notified of vital information. The power company posts updates on where they're working, how many people are still without power, weather warnings, etc. The fire department posts about shelters/warming stations. Might be worth looking into.

There was a page LIPA itself had up, showing outages, where crews were, etc. It was completely wrong (there were large outages not on it, it showed places as fixed that weren't - same as they were apparently robocalling people telling them their power was fixed when it wasn't). The page is now apparently gone and has been for days.

This is also not a new thing with LIPA, they're criticized often and they're also way expensive. People aren't just peeved because their power isn't on even though the company is doing everything it can - the company is a mess, they've been saying so for ages, and they're charged a lot for the mess that never seems to be addressed.

 

[cornflake]

Thanks for the update! I knew that they were helping in some areas, but I also knew that they weren't in NYC during the first few days and I did not understand why. Not sure on what the rules are concerning NG from other states helping, but if there was ever a reason to help your neighbors, this is definitely the time to assist.

They haven't been here much because they weren't really needed in NYC. The mayor told them to go to places where they were needed. We have cops - our police force is larger than that of most nations. This isn't New Orleans; their force is a couple thousand officers or fewer, so when many couldn't get to work it became a major law enforcement problem.

 

[donac]

This may not be applicable, and it doesn't help people who don't have smart phones, but I've learned that the best way to get vital information in a storm is facebook and twitter. Both my power company and my town's fire department have facebook and twitter accounts that they use to keep customers/residents notified of vital information. The power company posts updates on where they're working, how many people are still without power, weather warnings, etc. The fire department posts about shelters/warming stations. Might be worth looking into.

This is a problem that I have with the last couple of weeks. Neither my dh or I have smart phones. RIght now I don't want to pay for it. We did have a cell phone that worked and a landline that worked. I wish some of these places would not only give a website but a phone number to call it would be helpful.

 

[AnnaS]

Just got power restored here yesterday after 13 days (3:30 pm)!!!!

 

[donac]

Just got power restored here yesterday after 13 days (3:30 pm)!!!!

Congrats

 

[sadiras]

Just got power restored here yesterday after 13 days (3:30 pm)!!!!

Good news!

Thanks to everyone for your support and good wishes.