#hurricansandy

[soggydogdesigns]

I don’t know why, but I have always had a deep appreciation for my cars. Old VWs are a family fave but I’m also extremely fond of Bessie, our ol’ ‘Burbn who devotedly takes us from place A to place B and many many places in between. She hauls photo gear, sports equipment, my kids, your kids, even a full load of donations from ME—->NJ after #hurricansandy This week I took some pics of Bessie at our adventure places during the kids’ spring break - the Statue of Liberty (she’s tucked in the trees behind her!), appreciating the view of The Freedom Tower, at a new huge #Wawa we discovered on our way home, on the side of the NY State Thruway where she decided it was time for a nap, being towed by Kyle, the world’s nicest tow mechanic, and now resting at a hotel while we await a rescue by @jungrestoration Through good times and exciting times, Bessie shall endure, with #nofilterneeded. Here’s to Bessie getting home, fixed up, and back on the road again! #sogdog #bessieforever #jungfamilyantics #forealife #photographyforealife #soggydogdesigns #forcedfamilyfun #adventures #familyadventures (at Liberty State Park)

[ianbrewer]

Intersection on Flickr.

[withlovefromjosh]

 This photograph (30 second exposure) still gets me. Hurricane Sandy (2 years ago) as it hit our house. The foreground are bits of disintegrated trees smacking against the glass deck door at 100 mph or higher. That orange glow in the background is Breezy Point, Queens, ablaze. Other florets of light are electrical transformers exploding. The air pressure inside the house as I took the picture was many times what you feel on a plane's takeoff. Dramatic! © Josh Levine Photo

[unitup-blog]

Hurricane Sandy Experience

Greetings! Check out my Sandy saga:

I live in a house with a large amount of property (aka so many trees) in Old Westbury, NY located on Long Island with a big family, ages ranging from 11 yrs- 84 yrs. In 2012 I was working in Manhattan, commuting from my home via LIRR everyday. 

The storm hit and did its damage in the night. My family had all the candles, flashlights, batteries, iodine, water bottles, non perishable foods ready. We're pros at this considering my power goes out almost on a regular basis when a large storm or blizzard hits. The fuse box/pole that provides power to my street only and serves two houses, my house and my neighbor's house and that pole falls down all the time. The Long Island POwer Authority (LIPA) does not consider us a high priority as evidenced from Hurricane Irene from the year before. Almost everyone went on with their normal lives but my house and my neighbor's house was left without power for 9 days after Irene. Also its important to note that my father owns a wholesale distribution company that carries goods such as over the counter medicines, batteries, lighters, stationary, toys, candy, car fresheners, basically anything you'd see a small convenience store or gas station marketplace would carry. This means my family always has virtually an unlimited supply of batteries, flashlights, candles lighters etc. But one huge problem- our house runs on an electric system not fuel. So if the power goes, the stoves don't work either and the boiler can't produce hot water to shower. To eat and warm up food we use a portable stovetop with butane cans. 

Ok back to the story. The power went out sometime when I was sleeping the night the storm hit. I had already juiced up all of my tech products and placed candles and flashlights in every room. When I woke up it was so so surreal. Basement was flooded with about 4 feet of water. Peaking out from my house door -it looked like a war zone. Picture a 2 acre property with a long driveway that winds and curves from a main road. The driveway was covered, we couldn't see the pavement it was all trees, branches, leaves, our outdoor furniture that was built into the ground scattered everywhere mixed with our neighbor's furniture that traveled to our property. Seeing the damage, my dad wanted to check out his warehouse 20 miles away because he knew the alarm wouldn't be working and there was no way of knowing if the entrances were compromised. As I mentioned before, my driveway curves and winds so there's no way of seeing the end of the driveway from my house. When I hopped in the car with my dad, after the first curve a small tree blocked the way. We were able to drive on the lawn to get ahead of it but then we were met with a larger tree. We couldn't move passed it. I got out of the car and surveyed the rest of the driveway. In total about 19 trees were down on the driveway keeping the whole family confined to the house. More trees were down on the front and backyard but none fell on the house. (see picture) The only way out was on foot and we needed to get in touch with a company with access to a fuel run saw and a truck to get the trees out of the way. Cell phone towers were down so there was no way we could call anyone. Thankfully home depot is about a half mile away from my house so on foot my mom, sister and I went off on an adventure. 

At home depot the person in line in front of us bought the last gas chain saw. We were furious but we saw some landscapers in the parking lot loading their truck with gas saws and other necessary equipment. We somehow convinced them to come to our house to help clear out the trees. I had to use hand signals and charades to communicate with them due to the language barrier. There was no room in the truck to sit up front so my mom, sister and I hopped in the open style back of the truck with all the saws and equipment. Like I said, my home was a half mile away but I live on a one way street. To get back home its about a 1 mile distance to get around and halfway through the journey we were met with road blockages from trees and electricity poles that had fallen. We tried four different routes to get back home, none of the routes were drivable. Our landscaper friends ditched us and we were back on foot on a busy turnpike. After trespassing through a church property we made it back home. I then stood on the middle of the road at the end of my driveway trying to stop any landscapers passing by. Once I saw one, I just stood in the middle, either they run me over or stop. They stopped and the next 6 hours were spent clearing out the tress from my driveway. 

For the first full week of Sandy, the LIRR was down and my office was closed. I was home mostly because I didn't want to waste any gas in my car. We had portable stove tops with butane cans to heat up food and water so I could take bucket showers each day. Yes, this is what I used to do in rural India when visiting my grandparents in the summer time. I was kind of a pro. Boil buckets of water, add cold water and then use a smaller bowl to get clean! When we ran out of butane gas cans I went to New York Sports Club to shower every morning.

Week 2 of Superstorm Sandy was easier for people in NYC. My office was open, LIRR was up and running for the most part but Long Island was still a mess. Traffic lights were still off, trees everywhere and miles and miles of lines to pump gas. On election night, Obama Vs. Romney,  I couldn't even vote. I didn't have enough gas to drive to the voting polls. I sat in the dark with a small battery operated radio trying to find out the results of the election. 1010 wins news was unbearable. If you're not familiar with this channel, it runs on a 22 minute loop. The same news every 22 minutes, verbatim. Moreover, the radio station leans more to the right so when Obama won the election all I heard was: "NBC has announced Barack Obama as the winner of the presidential election, and now in weather…" It was the least exciting announcement of the US presidential election out there. 

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Eventually a family friend of mine owned a gas station and I drove to it at 3am to pump gas sometime in mid week 2. The few of us that were there for the favor were told to dress in dark clothes and be prepared to stop pumping gas at any moment. I didn't understand at the time but when I got to the gas station I realized what was going on. The moment i pulled in about 5 cars came out of no where trying to follow me in. The owner had to tell them to scram and that he didn't have gas for anyone. When it was my turn I had to pump gas on my knees bent down out of view. I essentially hit behind the pump so no one could see me. A bunch of people still saw me and tried to get in line to get gas. Arguments started and cops were called. It was a mess, but i managed to get half a tank of gas. I continued to work every day during the second week after the hurricane hit. Manhattan looked fine. Work was a great place to charge up my phone. 

By the end of it my street was one of the last to resume power in Long Island. I firmly believe we only got the power back when we did because I had a little meltdown on the phone complaining to my district representative. It snowed one night and no amount of blankets could stop me from shivering so I threatened to sue. I don't know what I said to back that threat up but it worked. LIPA sent employees from a Toronto based power company to fix the power lines on my street. And then on day 16, god said let there be light! It was a glorious day. (see picture)

Its 2 years later and my house is still feeling the effects of the superstorm. My basement floods all the time now and we're starting to see some mold buildup. We'll have to revamp the whole basement to fix the situation. I'm thankful no one got hurt from the storm and now I have some epic stories. 

See the pics of my driveway, my super excited "I have light" face, and a random RV I came across from a town over on Long Island. 

-Ramneet

after my driveway was cleared: 

[blackaristo]

In the hours before #HurricanSandy, I had to go out to the store. @barbour #Burghley #LeChameau #Anjou 1/2 boots.

[katvh8-blog]

SI, NY

[stereotypeco]

This Friday we hit up @cdsk8nyc on our #dontstopdreaming tour. There will be an art reception from 6-8 then #Givemas party with live art by @mikeshanephoto @kevrwk and @scrambledeggsit. We will be releasing our 2014 collection with a bunch of exclusives. All day toy drive. Live Dj sets. Special Celeb guests. Shout out to the over 20 artists who donated work with the goal to raise funds for SecretSandyClausProject.org visit Facebook.com/stereotypeco for more info #statenisland #newyorkcity #newyork #cdskateshop #stereotypeco #secretdandyclausproject #hurricansandyrelief #sandyrelief #hurricansandy #helpsandyvictims

[robinhoodnyc]

Last week Robin Hood staffers and interns joined Mick Munoz, the Director of Transitional Jobs at the Center for Employment Opportunities, to visit a work crew repairing homes in Rockaway Beach damaged by Hurricane Sandy.  The Center for Employment Opportunities provides life skill education, transitional employment, job placement, and post-placement services to men and women of all ages returning from incarceration.  

The work crew pictured above is part of the transitional job program, which provides daily work and, importantly, a daily paycheck to each participant.   This particular crew has been attending to this house for months, taking out damaged floorboards, walls, studs, and plumbing to ensure the owner (who has been displaced since Hurricane Sandy) would return to a safe home. Other transitional jobs include event cleanup (such as after the Great GoogaMooga food festival in Brooklyn), supplemental maintenance through the City of New York, and even keeping the state's courthouses clean.  

Mick also practices what CEO preaches, hiring exemplary former-members of the CEO program to become site supervisors, providing connections to OSHA certification courses and enabling union membership. Knowing that CEO looks to its own graduates motivates the crew members to learn quickly and well, in order to move up and out of the CEO training program and into the New York City workforce.

With criminal records that hinder getting certain full-time jobs, either from stigma or legal restriction, recently released convicts turn to CEO to act as a steward, guiding participants towards industries that have high growth potential and will, as one man put it, "Just let you show that if you work hard, and you do right, the employers will know you can accomplish things.  It's just up to you to show up and show them you want a better life."

[thatssonatalie]

I took and edited this lovely picture myself.

[fivespicenyc]

The Calm After the Storm - Wedding at The Green Building during Hurricane Sandy's Aftermath

We were preparing for this wedding when there was still no electricity in lower Manhattan; our home base and the home base of all our major food vendors. It was a tough week but, fortunately, nothing was compromised.  Not the cheeses we love. Not the make-your-own-taco bar.  

[caseybickley]

Not my garbage truck - I ride the bullet! #hurricansandy

[lowerdeckphotography]

Story about me and my crew in the #PretUSstar #BostonEdition #PretAmanger about our #HurricanSandy efforts!!

[debuzzviews-blog-blog]

New Blog Post: Stand out in Stripes - www.debuzzviews.blogspot.com #MarcJacobs #MichaelKors #stripes #fashion #editorial #trends #annieleibovitz #hurricansandy #liuwen #karliekloss

[seuss-side]

Got these to help out my #homeroom #hurricansandy #rescue #packages Aren't they #cute

[raysussman-blog]

Before & after #Sandy #overreach #hurricansandy

[citychimpy]

Help support Nanan Singh @kickk_rockz toy drive for those who've lost everything through #hurricanSandy. Lets help everyone have as #HappyChristmas as possible. Bring toys to #PinPoint #MuayThai #mma if you live in the NY or Long island area 478 Merrick Rd Lynbrook NY 11563 or call them up @ 516-341-0200... #Happyholidays everyone