“We got crushed, Crushed” those were the first words from the colleague who sits next to me upon entering the office early this morning. He lives in Oceanside, on the south shore of Long Island, and if one is watching the news, it is a fairly typical response from anyone who lives on or near the water. His anecdotes consisted of boats on streets, cars in water, and jellyfish(literally) swimming in the living room. Similar stories have been all over the news coming from the Jersey coastline, including our counterpart urban cities Hoboken and Jersey City, as well as Red Hook, the Rockaways, and of course Breezy Point. Away from the coast, the main problem consists of fallen trees and the damage they have done directly to houses, and indirectly to powerlines and the resulting blackouts these have caused. It is with these stories as a background, that my assessment of what has befallen LIC can only be termed as very, very fortunate. It is one of the few places on the water that does not look like Hiroshima.
Now, as with any general assessment, there are many, many exceptions. I wrote about Shady Park and the long term consequences, and while the photos are dramatic and sad, let’s face it, the park is a communal loss and not indicative of the huge losses and headaches inflicted on alot of individuals. Let’s start with Center Boulevard, where almost everyone was inconvenienced, but most did not even lose power, unlike say everyone south of 39th Street. Amazingly, Food Cellar was open Monday early in the day, and yesterday as well, with about 70% of the shelves stocked. Last night there were even trucks making deliveries. Gantry Park, after massive flooding, was also left relatively unscathed. On the other hand, the people in The Powerhouse and The Yard, who had their lobbies completely flooded Monday night, lost and have not regained electricity since then. The other group that really suffered are the local businesses, both on and off the river. If one’s home gets two feet of brackish water, everything is ruined, but since so many residences are on the second floor and above in LIC, most damage seems inconsequential. Unfortunately, most businesses are on the ground floor, and many in the neighborhood got hit very hard. Typical of this is “Little Ones”, a nursery school at the base of the CityLights Building:
They had two feet of water fill the school, where the majority of the items the children use are kept. All but a few cabinets were soaked and the floors almost removed. The new Pre-K on 5th street has major and massive damage. This past Friday they had just completed the final details and were anticipating the final approvals of the TR and TR8 so that the Temporary C of O could be given. The water level inside the space is four and one half feet with none of it leaving without pumping out. The power in the space is gone.
On Vernon Boulevard similar damage occurred as many basements flooded. Driving past Manducatis Rustica yesterday there were about sixty large black garbage bags piled up, probably all spoilage, not to mention any machinery that may have been housed down there. Lest one thinks “Oh no problem, insurance will pay for it all” I think the reality is much different after considering deductibles, inability to get flood-specific insurance, and the enormous hassles of dealing with all of this reconstruction and attempts at normalization at the same time every other business is clamoring for similar services, all whilst trying to simultaneously run customer oriented businesses(see Little Ones example above).
In summary, while Long Island City in general fared well, it is very important to keep in mind those in our city who have been hit very hard by the storm, that is what being a community is all about.
Al says
October 31, 2012 at 1:11 pmLimited subway service to start tomorrow. I doubt it will include the 7-train though as the salt water that flooded the tunnels wreaked havoc on all the equipment. How about the E train?
ML says
October 31, 2012 at 1:22 pmDoes anyone know if the ferries are running?
anonymous says
October 31, 2012 at 1:46 pmAfter seeing all the news I think this is a fair assessment. Which leaves the question “Will we be so lucky the next time?”
Mom says
October 31, 2012 at 2:25 pmWhile there are definitely more pressing immediate needs than Shady Park, at the appropriate time one can consider joining up in the efforts to rebuild it: http://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfShadyPark
Mr. Huzzah says
October 31, 2012 at 4:35 pmKudos too to all the building workers who have been doing an extraordinary job cleaning up the debris and for making the arduous trip to get here.
Lost in NJ says
October 31, 2012 at 7:30 pmOh great, I end up evacuating to my folks in NJ and we lose power, only to find out that everything was pretty status quo here.
Al says
October 31, 2012 at 9:10 pmStarting at 6am tomorrow(Thursday) the following trains will be running:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/111722617/MTA-Subway-Map-for-Thursday
Looks like the F train and the N trains are the most accessible for LIC residents according to the map. Choose your poison because it might be a long time before the 7-train comes back online.
Paul says
October 31, 2012 at 10:15 pmTHE FERRIES ARE BACK, with a lot of extra departures to handle the crowds:
(New York, NY) November 1, 2012 – Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, and NY Waterway today announced that a modified East River Ferry service will begin tomorrow morning, Thursday, November 1.
The ferries will run on two modified routes: a northern loop, making stops at North Williamsburg, Long Island City, and East 34th Street; and a southern loop, making stops at North Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bridge Park in DUMBO, and Wall Street/Pier 11. There will be free transfers at North Williamsburg. In addition, NY Waterway will continue to operate its free bus service from E34thStreet on a limited schedule throughout the day.
The ferries running on the northern loop will carry 149 passengers and arrive at each stop in 15-minute intervals, while the ferries on the southern loop will carry 399 passengers and arrive at each stop in 30-minute intervals. This schedule will allow the ferries to carry the greatest number of passengers.
The first ferries, for both routes, will leave from North Williamsburg at approximately 7 a.m., and the last ferries will leave from E 34th Street and Wall Street/Pier 11 at approximately 6 p.m.
Ferry stops in Greenpoint and South Williamsburg will remain closed until further notice, as damage from Hurricane Sandy continues to be assessed.
Due to damage to ticketing equipment, NY Waterway will be selling tickets on-board the ferry, available for purchase by cash only.
anonymous says
November 1, 2012 at 7:38 amDoes anyone know if there are going to be shuttles over to the F or N trains, or at least if there is a bus line from Hunters Point? Shuttles would be especially helpful if the 7 train is down for as long as some suspect.
RS says
November 1, 2012 at 8:54 amJust took the N train from Queensboro Plaza during the height of rush hour. Running on time, moderately crowded, not a bad compromise, hope it stays that way.
Jojo says
November 1, 2012 at 9:59 amI’m seeing more info about the trains and cars in LIC here: http://www.licspot.com/2012/11/01/long-island-city-transportation-update/
Anonymous says
November 1, 2012 at 10:34 amThe fact that LIC was able to have a completely normal Halloween parade on the appointed day, is a pretty good indication that we were mostly spared from the storm’s havoc. Especially after hearing a lot of other peoples stories.
CL says
November 1, 2012 at 11:16 amAgreed, we came away from this storm pretty intact, with some notable exceptions. Knowing that I live on the river, whenever out-of-towners contact me to see how I am doing and expecting horror stories, I don’t have much to tell them.
JP says
November 1, 2012 at 1:23 pmYeah, about the only thing that happened to me the last few days is I finally made serious inroads on my DVR backlog.
RS says
November 1, 2012 at 2:12 pmHere’s the latest for those without power:
Consolidated Edison says it now expects to restore power to the vast majority of customers by Nov. 10 and 11, with the remaining customers getting power back a week or more later. Con Ed, in a press release, said that customers who receive power via underground networks are expected to receive power sooner.
Al says
November 1, 2012 at 9:50 pmWe not have been hit hard, but I think LIC’s day of reckoning is going to come with the 7 train not being back in service for a long long time.
Anonymous says
November 2, 2012 at 8:30 amThe Murano was also hit hard, we had over 5ft water in our lobby, no power…they say 7-10 days!