Drivers are not allowed to enter the city by vehicle unless you have three or more passengers, including taxis. You can use shuttle buses and the subway for free today and tomorrow. There are thousands of people here that still don't have power. We have disaster recovery centers open for people to come in and receive help and support. Literally thousands of FEMA people are here, hundreds of housing inspectors are here to help people assess the damage and rebuild as quickly as possible.
Thank God that we have a fully functioning and funded FEMA with the funds to help us. Getting this region on its feet would not be possible if it wasn't for this program. FEMA is covering the cost of transportation in the city, restoring power until November 9th, and relief to people without resources. They are asking for 90% to 100% of cost coverage to everything affected by the storm. There are huge liens at gas stations because there is a shortage of gasoline, due to the great number of people driving and operating generators. Many people don't have access to cell phones, and we are providing power stations for people to use. There will be community relations workers that will go door-to-door where people have no way to communicate to let them know what resources are available to help. This is the greatest natural disaster to hit New York, and maybe one of the 5 greatest in our country's history. But New Yorkers are tough, and the best this we have going for us right now is that we are New Yorkers, and we will prevail. (Side note, I teared up when he said this.)
Additional Information:
- There is a shortage of gas here in Brooklyn and all over the area.
- There are issue distributing gas to the area, and they're still trying to increase dissemination.
- They commended the directors of the tunnels for being such an enormous help. Screw that, those directors weren't the ones on the job that night. I will send the real thanks to my friend that is a sergeant for the MTA police department for putting himself in danger to help those that may have lost their lives if it wasn't for his own courage as well as the courage of his fellow police officers. This city can't thank you enough.
- There are so man people that have lost absolutely everything in this storm. Please please please keep these people in your hearts and prayers. I can't imagine losing my car, my house, pets, and possibly family members. It's just terrible. The sun is shining and people like me are running around with literally no effects to their lives. This does not mean, however, that people aren't suffering. We should all be humbled by what is happening.
My friend Py from Mechanicville, NY also lives here in the city and posted the following status on Facebook today. I think it adequately captures the seriousness of what is happening here.
"Thanks for everyone reaching out to the roommates and I to make sure we're alive and well. We are fine. It’s easy for us — even in the middle of Manhattan, virtually surrounded by the mayhem — to forget about what we’re dealing with right now. Dead bodies have floated up along the shores from New York to Virginia. New Jersey is a fucking swamp. New York City is madness, albeit scattered across the area from Westchester County to the Eastern-most tip of Long Island, and too much in between and plenty beyond. Friends and family in Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island have been sparred with their lives, and literally nothing more. Houses, cars, belongings … they’re dealing with the unthinkable. There’s a serious shortage of food, water and gasoline through the Tri-State Area, thousands without power, many humans and pets still missing. It’s easy to smile when you’re not the one suffering, but those around us are dealing with complete devastation. Keep them in your thoughts and donate any way you can to help get us back to normalcy. If anyone needs anything within our capabilities, reach out to us however you can. We have electricity, food and water. And be safe out there."
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