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Jonathan Sanger / NBC News
Manuel Carpina cleans food debris left after the garbage was collected at his restaurant, Scarpina Bar & Grill in New York, N.Y. on Nov. 1, 2012. Flooding and lack of electricity caused by Hurricane Sandy left parts of New York City in a mess.
By Andrew Mach and Maggie Fox, NBC News
NEW YORK -- Fish guts flowing down a Union Square street. Untreated sewage in the Hudson River. Spoiled Haagen-Dazs dumped on a deli floor. Toilets that won't flush.
Superstorm Sandy has left a mess behind in a city never exactly known for its cleanliness.
In Manhattan, as power remained out for many customers below 39th street, Rod Zindani, owner of the Best of New York deli on Water St., stood by large plastic trash bags filled with melted single-serve tubs of Haagen-Dazs ice cream. “That’s $1,000 to $1,500 worth,” he told CNBC.
It's all got to go.
"Everybody's throwing out food. All the cooked short ribs, cooked pork, salsas had to go,” said Alfredo Vicuna, the head of kitchen at Tortaria, near Union Square in lower Manhattan. “It will stay good for about 24 hours, but after it got above 40 degrees, we can't use it. I don't even want to think about how much we had to throw out. It's not nice to see. The boss is literally crying right now about how much we lost."
Nearby, Carlos Solorzano watched a restaurant worker in a white chef’s coat hose away fish guts left behind in the street by sanitation workers. Along the curb, a tiny river of pink liquid, sprinkled with fish bones, blue and red octopus parts and bits of mackerel, flowed away.
"When we came back after the storm, some of the food was already rotten, all of the ice cream was melted, all of the fish had already spoiled. We had to throw out about 200 pounds of meat. That's a lot of business, that's their whole menu," said Solorzano, superintendent of the building housing the restaurant.
Jonathan Sanger / NBC News
A large pile of garbage sits outside Petropolis in the Financial District of New York, N.Y. on Nov. 1, 2012. Flooding and lack of electricity caused by Hurricane Sandy left parts of New York City in a mess.
Refrigerators will keep food cold enough only for about four hours with the door closed. While bottled drinks and nonperishable foods such as peanut butter won’t go bad, any meat, cheese, eggs or cooked food has to go. Freezers only stay cold enough for about 48 hours.
At least one group of New Yorkers might be happy to see all that food tossed into the street: the rats. However, despite fears that rats would invade the city to feast on the garbage or that thousands would be flushed from the depths by floodwaters, a spokeswoman for the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said there's no evidence of an increase in rat activity.
As wary New Yorkers eye the soggy mess left behind by Sandy, some have expressed concern about an outbreak of disease. But experts say fears of cholera or dysentery from the floodwaters likely are overblown.
“The truth is, it’s fairly rare” in developed countries such as the United States, said Dr. Martin Makary, a gastrointestinal specialist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. That’s because people aren’t putting infected sewage into the system in the first place. Even after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf states in 2005, water-borne disease was not a widespread problem, Makary said.
Also, people who collected water in bathtubs, bottles and other containers ahead of the storm should be able to drink it safely even after a few days without refrigeration, Makary said.
Andrew Mach / NBC News
In Battery Park City, a long, blue pipe snakes out of a flooded store near the 9/11 memorial. The brown water flows ankle-deep into the street past a large, yellow dumpster and under parked cars as it collects near another mound of black track bags, broken chairs and other furniture.
“The GI system is extremely resilient to contaminated water,” he said. “Sometimes people insist on sterile water, bottled water. But the most important thing is to avoid cross contamination with sewage. Water that simply been in the tub or out on the counter for a couple of days is likely safe.”
Brett Sherman, 59, and her husband had filled the bathtub and stocked up on bottled water as emergency experts advise. But they finally fled their West Village apartment when their high-rise ran out of water.
"We live in a building about 18 stories high with a water tank on top," Sherman said by telephone from Montclair, N.J., where her stepdaughter lives and has power. "Somebody said that the water in the tank would last a couple of days but it didn't even last 24 hours. I was surprised by that."
That meant toilets stopped working. Lucky for that bathtub full of water. "A lot of the toilets in buildings like that don't have tanks," Sherman said. "You can just take a bucket of water and pour it in and it flushes. We discovered that," she added. "But can you imagine that going on in hundreds of buildings?"
Seth Wenig / AP
Shopping carts full of food damaged by superstorm Sandy await disposal at the Fairway supermarket in the Red Hook section of the Brooklyn borough of New York, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. The food was contaminated by flood waters that rose to approximately four feet in the store during the storm.
The city health department has advice for what people can do when the water comes back on after having been off -- just run the water for 30 seconds until it is cold and clear. " Replace all ice machine filters and beverage dispenser filters, and flush all water lines for five minutes," the web site advises.
Many of the restaurants and shops in Tribeca were still closed and boarded up, save for the few that had generators. But the streets were largely clear and devoid of any excessive amounts of garbage on Thursday. The scene was a far cry from only two days ago, when locals said many of the streets were completely flooded.
According to the website of the New York City Department of Sanitation -- which says it collects 12,000 tons of refuse and recycling on a normal day -- the city was making its regularly scheduled garbage collections “as storm conditions permit.” Recycling pickup was suspended; on its Twitter feed Thursday, @NYCSanitation was advising customers to “try to store [recyclables] as long as you can, please.” The sanitation department was also handling hurricane debris cleanup citywide. “Hang in and we will all get through this. We’re New Yorkers!” it tweeted.
The waters that surround Manhattan -- The Hudson River, East River, New York Harbor -- remain filthy because wastewater treatment plants dumped untreated sewage into them. People shouldn't even touch the water, authorities said.
“Activities such as swimming, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing or any other water activity that would entail possible direct contact with the water should be avoided until further notice,” the Department of Environmental Protection cautions.
Bacteria in the water can cause an itchy rash and could cause infections if it gets into cuts.
Many residents in high-rises without electricity and people living in flooded areas still lack fresh water supplies. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city’s Department of Environmental Protection say water coming out of the taps is safe. And the department has set up portable drinking water stations to areas where water service is down, such as Breezy Point and Rockaway, which were especially hard hit by the storm and by fire.
With contributions from Elizabeth Chuck.
You've probably stocked up the refrigerator in preparation for Hurricane Sandy, but if you lose power, how long will your food last? Madelyn Fernstrom, TODAY's diet and nutrition editor, talks about what foods you can save and what you should throw away.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- 'Pure mayhem' as New York City tries to get back to work
- Wind, flames, Our Fathers: The inside story of Breezy Point's terrible night
- War veterans hit Sandy's front lines for rescues, cleanup
- NYC-area airports up and running, albeit slowly
- New York trick-or-treaters defy Sandy to celebrate Halloween
- As National Guard comes to rescue, so do NJ residents — with power outlets
- How to avoid post-storm insurance and repair scams
- For some New Yorkers, it's back to business as usual
- New Jersey investigating reports of price gouging
- Your Sandy photos: Show us the heroes in your life
- Sandy's aftermath: How you can help
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Not to mention all of the drowned rats. Floods are always a mess but the good thing is that they can be cleaned up for the most part. NY will be back in business before you know it. The one thing that can't be replaced is the lives lost to Sandy. We honor our dead and push on to live another day. It's the American way.
the real impact from this disaster is just now starting to be realized, water shortage has already occurred, food will be next; then the cleanup once they start pumping out the subway system, where are they going to discharge the polluted water, the river of course.
No single state can handle this kind of disaster. Any kind of disaster relief organization should never be privatize because if you put profits first, then service will be always second. We all know how businesses treat disaster as a business opportunity for more profits.
Privatize FEMA? Be my guest, but expect business to do cutthroat transaction when you needed most and they will try their best to get as much money out of you to make record profits.
Back in 2006 ( I think), after some big 3 day rain event in Brooklyn,NY....A 100ft X 50 ft X 10 ft high foundation we had just finished, filled with water (apporx 100,000 gallons). I got some pumps and started to pump the water out to the street into the City Storm Drains...The NYC Department of Environmental Protection came down on me like a ton of bricks within 30 minutes with a "Cease and Desist Order". I was threatened with arrest and huge fines if I didn't shut my pumps.....
They said I had to hire tanker trucks and pump the water into them and they had to take the water to a certified disposal facility. Best price I got was $1.00 a gallon. The reason given....they didn't know what was in the water...I said ...dirt/mud....
I guess now when they go to pump out the flooded Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, WTC site, etc, They get to ignore all their rules and regulations and the water will just get pumped into the East River and the Hudson...All I see are pics of pumps, pumping millions if not billions of gallons of contaminated water into the city streets....
(P.S.---I paid a friendly neighbor next door $5,000 and paid for him and his wife for a 4 day 3 night stay at a luxury hotel, stuck the pump discharge hose into the U-trap leading out of his basement to the sewer and pumped the water out....from sunset to sunrise)...Take that Mayor Mike
It's odd that we had a week's notice before this happened and yet nobody thought ahead enough to at least start the supply lines into the city? I guess they thought no damage would occur with this storm? How about some pro-active disaster management? You can't determine ahead of time where a tornado will strike but if a hurricane is on the way and the Weather Channel has been saying for days where it's going to, why do they wait until all the damage is done before they act? Right now they're flying equipment in from California. People in New York gonna eat Caterpillars and (John) Deere?
So where is FEMA? They should be pouring resources into the area to get the clean-up going, not just writting a check.
FEMA has never poured resources into clean-up. Look what they did for New Orleans...lots of trailers provided and that can happen for NYC and NJ. It's kinda hard to picture where they will put all these trailers.
In the 9/11 disaster, Mayor Guilliano asked for prayer, the nation prayed, President Bush prayed and steady forward progress happened. This disaster? The only man of influence to ask for Prayer? Mitt Romney. Mayor Bloomberg and Obama think man and money can fix their problems. So far, they march in the wrong direction. China will offer to loan them money, if they give up NYC for collateral, like giving our National Parks as collateral for the money we already borrowed.
PS FEMA is almost broke now.
And that stupid biatch hack Andrea Mitchell complains about Romney trying to gather food and warm clothes- right, just send money- right-
Crystal They can burn the money for warmth as its value is sliding downhill daily.. We can thank Mr. Obama for that as he likes having the stuff printed.. He wants us to be happy that we work for pay that buys less and less, the hidden tax on the citizens of the US.. They hide the fact that real inflation is crushing Americans and the dollar has lost 1/3 of its value in a few short years..
SURPRISE!! FEMA is just another federal bureaucracy that has thousands of overpaid minions running around shuffling paperwork.. We all thought they were going to set up several staging and storage complexes around the country and stock them with food and other emergency supplies.. They have set up such a mess of red tape that protects the system it strangles aid.. In the old days the Red Cross and an army of volunteers would help with food, clothing, shelter, communications and clean up but not any more.. You have to take a bunch of written tests and pass background checks just to shovel the street or take out trash as a volunteer.. Ham operators used to set up communications and things like soup kitchens but now without all the paperwork you can be arrested for trying to help.. This is how they try to control information and make themselves political brownie points.. So it takes 3 to 5 days for FEMA to set up their spread sheets and appoint field operations.. The system plain sucks a$$.. Handing out checks instead of physical aid is a formula for waste as we saw with all the false claims that were paid in Louisiana after the hurricane.. We would be better off just giving the power to the Red Cross as they seem to know what they are doing..
Headline sounds inviting for a marathon... way to go there Blumie..
@ clark-3144812
Prayer do wonder, right? Shouldn't they pray to change direction of the storm?
You can go down there and ask people to pray. Or you can go down there to help. Guess which one those people need more.
Middle East is a prime examples, Christian there prayed and guess what? They still ask people for aids and they ran away when things get worse. Where are their faith?
@ Mike in Delray
way to stick it to the man. lol
And the flooded parts are even worse!!!!
Sorry, couldn't help myself. But seriously, the concentration of people in New York presents problems when it's NOT flooded. Having visited there often, I cannot imagine how it must be today.
Keep the faith, NY. I'm sure the local, state, and federal support groups are doing all they know how to do... and strong donations are on the way. Hopefully the essentials get taken care of earlier than later.
Roadrunner0
What you describe is what we were HANDED and is what we're TRYING TO DIG OUT OF...
The debt: $500 Billion in unfunded wars, Homeland Security, Medicaid, worthless tax cuts PLUS $500 Billion in lost tax revenue due to the collapsed economy PLUS funds needed to support those most affected and to repair the dysfunctional government Bush left us... but ALL OF THE ABOVE are improving.
Yes, the Bush economy caused us all to suck it up and make less and buy less... but THAT is improving.
Inflation? The least of our issues, bright bulb.
And by the way, what's with your candidate Romney "liking" this and "loving" that but having absolutely nothing concrete to help with anything?
Start counting his "likes" and see how much more entertaining his speeches are! He likes TREES... he likes the HEIGHT of them... he likes SOCIAL SECURITY... and MEDICARE... and he likes to FIRE PEOPLE... oops, he doesn't like that now... and he likes 100% of us, since no one listening could possibly be in the 47%... he likes air, but not the EPA... he LIKES... whatever you want him to like!!!
Has anyone considered mold? They're pumping out all the flooded tunnels, but I can't imagine that such dark, wet areas wouldn't develop a serious mold problem and create yet another health hazard.
What else is new. I lived in N.O. during Katrina and went without power for 7 weeks. I am closing up shop and going to Disney with the kids for a while.
Disney World, Best place ever, love it. Epoct, lets you believe you actually live in the 21st. Century. I think it sad there aren't men like Walt Disney still around. Innovators of imagination that actually built something. Now we have only Japan, China, other Asian country's to look up to for new modern technology, and how to make it work in everday life. Miss ya walt.
Too bad those restaurants didn't donate all that cooked food to shelters the day before the storm hit.
screminmimi,Your comment is exactly what I was thinking.These business owners are insured and will put in their claims.It is really disgusting to see all that food wasted when it could have been prevented.The bad news is that commercial lines of insurance will go up for all business owners due to this cavalier behavior.
It is a waste, but of course there are liability issues. Food tossage is typical of restaurant biz. I worked in event coordination for a while--mgt. didn't want to take a chance on getting sued if someone got sick from food that sat out. Employees could take the leftovers, but had to sign a waiver agreeing the food was for your own personal use and not to be served to others. Couldn't even give it to homeless people. I never had a problem, my freezer was packed and I and sure got fat off food I could never afford otherwise ;)
Food waste is common. Grocers and restaurants have lots of food that goes unused but is still edible. One of the main reasons why food does not get donated is because of liability issues. Businesses do not want their name associated with food contamination.
I wish it was easy to just sign a liability waiver and get food to those who want it, but the liability can still burden businesses.
One of our local grocery stores gives their almost out of date bakery goods to the local food bank for the homeless. I asked one time where there bread went and that's what they told me. Good for them.
Many restaurants give their "day old" baked goods to food banks and homeless shelters. Lots of corporations do it too.
Our food bank gets lots of donations from Walmart, Target, Publix, Winn Dixie and other stores to give out to those in need. We get a big truckload twice a week. Bread, produce, meats, bakery, all kinds of foodstuffs. But most people do not know that these stores donate.
Where did 28 million Rats Go...
D.C.
Way too funny!
Ahh, they are on Obama's campaign trail. Isn't Obama's suggestion that he create a Cabinet post of Business an admission that he, himself doesn't know a bloody thing about business/economics? Another Czar in his house of cards. So far, all his czars have been a curse upon our nation.
Most excellant, and sooooooooo true!
They'll be able to smell the stink in Maine.
That whole place is going to stink...I thought they were suppose to have a better system in place after New Orleans? You can certainly tell the difference between Christie and who ever was governor in LA when Katrina hit. I know it was a woman and I know the mayor and governor were Democrats. They waited around for the Federal Government to come help them....they didn't realize they needed to " pick up the phone and say help!" It's a law that the Federal Goverment can not come in and take over without the governor asking first.
The Governor of Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina was a complete moron named Bobby Jindal (Republican). When President W. Bush (Republican and known moron) was asked by Governor Jindal for federal assistance, he sent a third moron named Michael Brown (Republican) to go "get 'er done." The resulting fiasco has been written about in several books and countless periodicals. You should try reading one and educating yourself. DON'T LET THE FACTS CONFUSE YOU.
The woman that you mentioned might have been Mary Landrieu. Bush accused her of not asking for help, saying that she said that she didn't need it. Landrieu accused Bush of knowing everything but not taking Katrina serious and therefore days went by before help arrived. I heard what she said when Hurricane Wilma came ashore, "you got it right this time."
See? Half truths are easy to perpetuate. LOL. ;)
Jinal wasn't governor during Katrina, dumbie ! I don't remember her name, but she was a woman and the mayor of NO was an African American man....Both Democrats, although political party means nothing in disasters.
Mr. Thanatos
Don't let facts get in the way of your political diatribe.
Blanco(D) was Louisiana Governor, and Nagin(D) was New Orleans Mayor.
That's not to say it wasn't a cluster F, but at least make an attempt at getting the names and affiliations right.
To the idiot thanatos the governor was Grandma Blanco, Democrat who blocked Bush from sending in aid and the Guard but welcome New York to our world from 05!
She admitted that she made many mistakes during that crisis. She didn't order evacuation until less than a day before Katrina hit, she didn't ask the federal government for help quickly, she didn't even know what it was she needed. She said her biggest mistake was to believe FEMA officials who told her help was on the way.
Here I am, in the middle of an on-going conversation about half-truths in people's comments and who shows up to make a smart-azzed comment? Why, none other than Super Troll, aka XDm9mm - King of the Half Truth, himself. Right on cue. I was making a point to someone, troll, but thanks playing. Now go back under your bridge.
Romney announced today that its not the governments resposibility to aid individual states in disasters.Its the state governments responsibility to aid its citizens in natural disasters.
Romney is right about it being a state's responsibility.The Federal government should not be held financially responsible for natural disasters.I believe that the Federal government should not have compensated people for 911.Life happens,disasters happen and people need to learn to be self sufficient.
@just a cleaning lady
Then you are welcome to come out there and tell those people.
Sorry folks, we can't help you, this is state business only, so instead of waiting for help from outside of states, just be patient and wait for your turns. I am sure it will only take 5-10 times longer to wait. In the mean times, you can drop dead because we simply do not care about you. We have ours priority you know and people with money will get help first.
I agree to some extent that the relief efforts from natural disasters falls at state levels too. I don't think the federal goverment is completly responsible for "fixing" everything that happens due to natural disasters . I'm not so sure the Federal gov't is that efficient at using resources
@ caribbeanslim
The problem with state only is they never expect this kind of disaster because in some states, it's "NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE".
This is like talking about wild fires, some states think it is a good idea to cut the amount of firefighters because they always expect that if the worst happen, neighbor states will come to help. The problem is all neighbor states also think the same thing.
This is the same thing as saying each household need to be responsible for everything. Can they build their levees? Be prepare for any kind of natural disaster? I don't think so. The region that rarely or never flood suddenly face with this and they will be paralyze of what to do.
CoungDNguyen,
I also realize this has never happend before and America is mostly unprepared for such natural disasters. I'm only stating that this is a shared responsibility , and Americans can not expect the US Goverment to step in and solve everything. I do believe that households should be responsible also.
I kind of think the government is for the people and not vice a verca. Not like a sponge but, hey, why are we paying them?
I think you are missing the point. Romney is correct in what he is saying. The Fed's can fund state plans put in place to deal with diasters. But at the end of the day let the states manage these funds. The federal government will screw it up everytime we all know that. They are doing it right now. FEMA is a total joke.
Romney ran a state quit successfully he knows what a state government can do as opposed to the clowns in Washington.
They couldn't run a 3 ring circus because they are one. Give the money to the states to design and build diaster relief plans, including equipment and supplies to take care of the citizens when needed. This will be twice as effective as the Federal moron's running anything. We couldn't defend our embassy in a far off land for god's sake. Look at the total waste these Federal agencies have been involved in with their fancy parties and just throwing their power in the faces of the American people. Those 2 moron girls doing their little jig in the GSA video was enough to make you want to slap the smiles right off their homely faces. That is your Federal employees at their best.
Totaly agree ,,,The goverment does not manage the publics resources "effiecently or effectivly"I believe state agencys have the potential to manage resources better .
The $$$ never ends up where it's most needed or not spent wisely ,,,I don't feel it's the goverments job to fix everything ,,,the responsibility is with able citizens and local and state goverments
We will see during this crisis that it is not the federal government help that gets these areas back on their feet. It is the state and local governments and citizens helping each other in this time of crisis that makes the difference.
...and this is out of the ordinary how?
Article says guy was washing fish guts, etc into the storm drain. Is there anybody out there who knows this is not appropriate? The 'stuff' was going into a storm drain and MAYBE will make it to the river which is already poisonous. By the way, some smaller third country stores will grab the refuse and sell it to you. This is a bonanza as it appears that there are no inspectors in NYC. Prediction: big, diseased rats in NYC and NJ cities. Some people say the plague in Europe was caused by infected rats. My brother who is a trucker remarked to me that NYC stinks long before the storm; and now?
I think the plague was caused by the rat flea, not rats.
Yes, the Hudson River was stinking when I was up there in August. Raw, partially treated sewage was pumped into the river around Sleepy Hollow. The water was red in that area.
Just checked and found that there are about 20 cases of the plague in the US every year. Think of what could happen if it broke out in NYC. The US would be paralyzed. example: over 100 million people died in Europe and there doesn't seem to be a count of how many died in Asia (China) where the disease supposedly originated. What preparations are being made in the NE? Probably the same as before Sandy. Fail. (I'm a 30 year experienced firefighter, paramedic, safety specialist)
Perhaps placing a little more importance on New York than it is due. The markets are no longer dependent on a single trading floor, banking and insurance has decentralized, the Dems get their votes no matter what happens. New York is becoming irrelevant.
1) If there isn't an increase in rat activity, there won't be an increase in bubonic plague cases. There might be some other diseases going around, but I doubt any of them will be the bubonic plague.
2) New York City isn't important enough to paralyze the US. It won't even make us trip.
I'm thinking that it's possible that the storm drowned most if not all of the rats--hopefully, anyway.
Just a preview of re-electing Obama.
@nibor
Actually that is preview of what happen with Romney. Privatize FEMA, state responsibility. It will takes 5-10 times longer for help and being privatize, the wealthy neighbor will get help first.
Sure, the government is more efficient... FDA, Education... Can't waste enough money with minimal results..
CuongDNguyen,
This is the second time you're making a reference to "wealthy people" getting help first ,,,,? I'm pretty sure this disaster has affected all social levels. I don't think natural disasters discriminate who they impact.
Huh - So, I don't get it - if FEMA is so great under Obama (versus under Bush/Katrina), then where is the help already?!? Unbelievable.....
CuongDNguyen hasn't figured out just exactly how Uncle Sam works. States have twice the ability to manage their citizens as the Fed's do.
And by the way a little civic's lesson Nguyen giving the states the money is not privitizing that is when you give it to non govermental agencies.
You like the Feds because they probably gave you or your family your very own Holiday Inn francise so you figured out the handout part of the Federal Government that is why your in bed with Obama.
Jannie lots o numbers:
New Orleans had about 200,000 people stranded or left in the aftermath. The NY/NJ/CT area has about 10 million affected. I would submit that is much more of a logistics issue with a much larger geographic area than New Orleans. Also, do you hear the officials of NY/NJ/CT fighting back and forth through the media the way Brownie and Blanco/Landrieu fought in 2005?
The answer to that is NO. Because the current FEMA is headed up by an actual disaster expert (Craig Fugate) rather than an Arabian Horse expert.
From the linked article:
And BTW, #12.5: How condescending and bigoted of you. I am glad you were a HUEY Door Gunner!
This should be a wake up call that there are entirely too many people living in NYC.
When you live that close together there is no excuse for whining. Yes, it is a disaster but cleanup is just what you should expect. No way you can get the essentials replenished quickly with the population in mine.
I agree, when there is such a massive population all dependant on the limitted resources available.
The "human condition" takes over and it has the potential to get ugly. I feel for those that have to experience this.
To be honest I was in NYC last November for the first time and some of these pictures look exactly like it did then. Won't be going back. Central Park area smelled like a feed lot. Trash sat on curbs everywhere. More dogs taking a leak on the sidewalks than an animal shelter.....the list could go on and on.
You should be there on New Year's night, when many of those people on the streets partying are urinating on the streets. Disgusting!!!!!
I hear ya! Was there for 4 days back in '84. Have'nt been back since. Can't say it's even a nice place to visit.
How can this be? I thought "The One" had all this handled with his lofty rhetoric. You mean speeches and photo ops don't fix everything?
Moro Obama bullsh i t.
My exact thoughts!
''If My people who are called by My name''......
New York and New Jersery needed a good cleaning. The Fed. Gov. should stay out of this, it's the states responsibility. Should have taken the storm more seriously and prepared. We in Fla. know how to prepare.
And all those in different states... get ready your insurance rates are gonna skyrocket just so they can keep a big profit.
And insurance rates in Billings Montana aren't combined with those from Las Cruses New Mexico to cover that continual hurricane damage in FL? Get a life tired.
#17: here are links to FACTS that contradict your ideology:
http://www.floridadisaster.org/recovery/
http://www.fema.gov/news-release/florida-hurricane-recovery-progress
http://www.fema.gov/news-release/florida-hurricane-recovery-passes-52-billion
http://southfloridasavingsguy.com/south-florida-savings-guy/fema-info-for-those-recovering-from-hurricanesuperstorm-sandy
Staton Island people are demanding help - NOW. Did any of them hear the evacuation order? They think because they stay and get into trouble they are special and get help first. Wake up idiots - that is why they said to GET OUT- if you stay - your on your own. In Florida when they tell us to leave - we leave, if not, we know there will be no help if we get into trouble. Typical New Yorkers - idiots.
That's the problem cal. People don't pay attention. The 3 simple rules to surviving a disaster are: Don't be arrogant, don't be ignorant, don't be stupid. Lots of people who ignored those rules, and now they're crying for help. Too late as far as I'm concerned because now the rescue workers have to perhaps risk their own safety for these ignorant idiots? Selfish indeed.
Typical democRATS.
Actually Terry, ( and I grew up East of you in Ft. Worth)
Staten Island NY is a well known bastion of Republicanism in what is innacurately described as a "comfortably blue state".
FROM: http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html
Staten Island (100% reporting)
Mccain: 52.2% 80,853
Obama: 47.2% 73,192
Other: .6% 987
But go ahead and perpetuate your little myths and half truths; it won't matter after Tuesday!
You couln't pay me enough to visit New York even on a good day.....
Jannie I live less than 2 hours from New York City and I have no desire to go. Ever!
One trip to New York City in 1969 on my way to Nam was one trip too many. Nam was better!
Tell ya what, it doesn't make any difference whether you like New York and its' people or not. Whether they were ignorantly arrogant or not doesn't matter. They are a part of the fabric that makes up our Nation. What a Breath of Fresh Air it would be if Romney were President and called upon his business associates to come up with a plan for the states which are effected. Trust me, the very BEST minds in the world, do not normally work for the Federal government. It doesn't cost a state anything to have proposals submitted.
Bloomingidiotberg thinks the answer is "Get people back to work" is the mell of hess. No gasoline available, let us compound that problem by encouraging people to get in their cars and drive so they have no gasoline to run their generators. How much more sense it would make to have called for a 3 day "Help Your Neighbor" event. No need to define it beyond that. The American people are creative and don't need the political bosses telling them when they can go to the bathrooms of their lives.
25 Million people helping their neighbors...Who is stupid enough to think that wouldn't help? Oh, you Mr. Obama...that's right you think only bigger and bigger government can do anything. When in doubt hire another government employee clearly your policy. That's why you don't get to be a charlatan pretender President any longer. You are FIRED !
This will take months and months to get back to normal, maybe even a year or so. Then, just at the moment that everyone finally takes a rest from all the work, the next storm will come, and will be even worse than this. I agree with a previous comment that there are way too many people living in New York City and Long Island. I believe there are about 8 million in NYC alone, and about 25 million on Long Island. 33 million people or so living in within a range of not quite 100 miles. The states of Wyoming, Utah, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Montana's population combined don't even come close to that. So much earth to enjoy in a spacious setting, yet people choose to live like rug rats on top of each other.
True, maybe people should stop breeding like rats and they won't have to live like one!
I say let them live on top of each other. Urban sprawl sucks!
What is up with drinking water that people saved prior to the storm? The article states a couple of times that it should be "safe" to drink for a couple of days. Really? I would think that saved tap water in a closed container would stay good for quite a while. Call me silly, but are they suggesting that only botled water expensively purchased is good enough after a few days?!?
Additives added to the city water tend to contaminate water much fast than bottled water. Even bottled water has a time stamp on it.
Pat G-3324946
It has a date stamp due to another idiotic politician getting involved in things he/she knows absolutely nothing about.
Water doesn't go "bad". Make sure the container is clean BEFORE you fill it and keep it tightly sealed. It'll last as long as the container.
Water in an enclosed , sealed container is usually pretty safe.
Hey how about running away from everything, how about a marathon.
If scientists predict that rising waters and more extreme weather are ahead, then what will NJ's 'coastal people' do? Move inland? Rebuild? I fear the latter and then the same will happen all over again.
It happens in New Orleans after every disaster. They know the government will rebuild it for them and give them a lot of freebees in the process.
I am really confused. Why oh why can't the national guard be called in to bring gasoline, generators, water? Didn't we use to do this sort of thing? I know, money, politics, God help us, what have we become?
Since GWB we do that mostly in the mideast.
Yes, GW implimented that idea. He used it in Texas as Gov. Perry does now also. The National Guard is the first responders with the Police and Fire departments locally. No state except New Jersey has ever refused help. When the responders of charity show up New Jersey won't let them in cause they're non union. Guess the prefer lackluster repairs in New Jersey for lack of anything better.
Ummmmm- downed wires, downed trees, roads blocked......there are no magic wands that we can wave to make everything go away. We just now got power restored west of Philly. There are still detours. It takes time and patience and damn it----a little kindness!!
Think I'm avoiding NYC for a bit...
Mayor Bumberg has failed the people of NY. He's more concerned about the marathon than people in need. Where is the help for the suffering people? Where is the government. This is worse than Hew Orleans. Where is the outrage.
Bloomberg is just like Mr Chocolate City, Mayor Nagan in New Orleans. He is in it for show only. He is and always has been a total failure but the people who are upset voted him in. Money and fixed voting machines cause this type of reaction.
Pat,
Your reference to "chocolate city" is clearly a bigoted and racist reference. Maybe you could at least try to pretend you're a decent human being?