Staten Island Hit Hard by Hurricane Sandy

A lot of damage to the plywood based houses on the South Shore. Living next to the ocean has its hazards. A lot of housing on the south shore by the ocean should have been left nature preserves or swamps and never built on IMHO.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121030/new-dorp/hurricane-sandy-called-mini-katrina-staten-island-south-brooklyn/slideshow/popup/297912

They just turned the electricity on about sixteen hours ago here.  We were out of luck for 68 hours in this little pocket on the north shore of Staten Island, the many times forgotten fifth borough of "New York City".  

The two streets in an island of other areas that came back sooner after a day or two was because a lot of big old houses on these two streets have 130 year old oaks that were supposed to be taken down by owners in the last year or two but did not or could not trim or remove older trees.

Kind of expensive if you are retired and appear to be well to do living in a big old house. I live in an apartment complex surrounded by the shabby chic of yesteryear glory in an old neighborhood.  

Twenty three trees bit the dust on these two streets. First the cut downs, then cutting up the trees, non-stop roar of wood chippers, the inspections, minor repairs, priority of Con Edison personnel in not being called elsewhere etc. The Ferry is still not working, no electricity in St. George at the moment.

No rioting but some looting at a nearby Lowe’s and Kohl’s right after the storm.

Kudos to NYPD on catching some of the perps.

Was able to buy candles at Lowe’s on Tuesday morning for cash, cash registers down with the electricity.

Was surprised they printed this.  About a mile from here.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/looting_on_staten_island_in_wa.html

Some running by my son back and forth to places to recharge cells and lap top and try to make deadlines with college homework, the college only open yesterday, today public schools open.

We got ice and the meat in the freezer stayed frozen enough to think it is still good. Water was on and gas in the stove, pilot light intact.  

Candles, a transistor radio and started to write the first two chapters of a long threatened novel.  

Someone I know spent three hours in line for a tank of gas last night after going to five closed stations. Some skank was hanging around the line offering gallon cans of gasoline at $60 dollars a pop.

All in all we were quite lucky. Compared to what I hear about Jersey.

The infrastructure and planning in the nineteenth century for a twenty-first century New York City SUCKS in the age of global warming and or climate change.

Trillions of dollars of over-inflated obsolete skyscrapers returning to the primordial swamp etc. in downtown Manhattan. Not a good investment friends.

Be well guys.  Civilization is indeed a thin veneer. 

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