Related News
NYC cancels marathon, tempers boil
Source: AFP |
November 3, 2012, Saturday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
THE Manhattan skyline was mostly lit for the first time in five days last night, a sign of progress undercut by long lines at gasoline stations. The New York City Marathon was canceled amid outrage over holding a sports event while thousands of residents still had no power or, for some, no place to live.
Four days after Sandy slammed the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, the US death toll climbed past 100 in 10 states, and included two young brothers who were torn from their mother's grasp by rushing floodwaters in Staten Island during the storm. Their bodies were found in a marshy area on Thursday.
Hurricane Sandy earlier left another at least 69 people dead as it swept through the Caribbean.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the Con Edison utility company hoped to resolve most Manhattan power outages by midnight Friday. The news is not as good for the city's outer boroughs and parts of New Jersey, where customers may not have electricity until mid-November.
The total damage in the US from Superstorm Sandy could run as high as US$50 billion, according to the forecasting firm Eqecat. That would make it the second-costliest storm in US history after Hurricane Katrina. The estimate includes property damage and lost business.
Bloomberg initially defended his plan to hold the 26.2-mile New York City Marathon as scheduled, then abruptly canceled it later yesterday. Many New Yorkers complained it would be insensitive and divert city resources at a time when many are suffering.
The race had been scheduled to start tomorrow in Staten Island, one of the hardest-hit areas by this week's storm, and the site of half the New York fatalities.
"We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it," the mayor said in a statement.
Thousands of out of town runners had arrived for the marathon.
At the midtown New Yorker Hotel, the lobby was filled with anguished runners, some crying and others with puffy eyes. In one corner, a group of Italian runners watched the news with blank looks. "I have no words," said Roberto Dell'Olmo, from Vercelli, Italy. Then later: "I would like that the money I give from the marathon goes to victims."
With fuel deliveries in the East disrupted by storm damage and many gas stations lacking electricity to run their pumps, gasoline became a precious commodity, especially for those who depend on their cars for their livelihoods.
Some drivers complained of waiting three and four hours in line, only to see the pumps run dry when it was almost their turn. Others ran out of gas before they reached the front of the line.
Police officers were assigned to gas stations to maintain order. In Queens, a man was charged Thursday with flashing a gun at another motorist who complained he was cutting in line.
At a Hess station early Friday in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, the line snaked at least 10 blocks through narrow, busy streets. That caused confusion among other drivers, some of whom accidentally found themselves in the gas line. People got out of their cars to yell at them.
In addition, at least 60 people were lined up to fill red gas cans for their generators.
More subway and rail lines started operating again yesterday, and the Holland Tunnel into New York was open to buses.
In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie said Atlantic City's 12 casinos could reopen immediately after a nearly five-day shutdown for Superstorm Sandy. Sandy slammed into the shoreline Monday night just a few miles (kilometers) from Atlantic City, which was flooded and lost a section of its word-famous boardwalk but fared much better than other parts of New Jersey's coast.
The prospect of better times ahead did little to mollify residents who spent another day and night in the dark.
"It's too much. You're in your house. You're freezing," said Geraldine Giordano, 82, a lifelong resident of New York's West Village. Near her home, city employees had set up a sink where residents could get fresh water, if they needed it.
There were few takers. "Nobody wants to drink that water," Giordano said.
Four days after Sandy slammed the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, the US death toll climbed past 100 in 10 states, and included two young brothers who were torn from their mother's grasp by rushing floodwaters in Staten Island during the storm. Their bodies were found in a marshy area on Thursday.
Hurricane Sandy earlier left another at least 69 people dead as it swept through the Caribbean.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the Con Edison utility company hoped to resolve most Manhattan power outages by midnight Friday. The news is not as good for the city's outer boroughs and parts of New Jersey, where customers may not have electricity until mid-November.
The total damage in the US from Superstorm Sandy could run as high as US$50 billion, according to the forecasting firm Eqecat. That would make it the second-costliest storm in US history after Hurricane Katrina. The estimate includes property damage and lost business.
Bloomberg initially defended his plan to hold the 26.2-mile New York City Marathon as scheduled, then abruptly canceled it later yesterday. Many New Yorkers complained it would be insensitive and divert city resources at a time when many are suffering.
The race had been scheduled to start tomorrow in Staten Island, one of the hardest-hit areas by this week's storm, and the site of half the New York fatalities.
"We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it," the mayor said in a statement.
Thousands of out of town runners had arrived for the marathon.
At the midtown New Yorker Hotel, the lobby was filled with anguished runners, some crying and others with puffy eyes. In one corner, a group of Italian runners watched the news with blank looks. "I have no words," said Roberto Dell'Olmo, from Vercelli, Italy. Then later: "I would like that the money I give from the marathon goes to victims."
With fuel deliveries in the East disrupted by storm damage and many gas stations lacking electricity to run their pumps, gasoline became a precious commodity, especially for those who depend on their cars for their livelihoods.
Some drivers complained of waiting three and four hours in line, only to see the pumps run dry when it was almost their turn. Others ran out of gas before they reached the front of the line.
Police officers were assigned to gas stations to maintain order. In Queens, a man was charged Thursday with flashing a gun at another motorist who complained he was cutting in line.
At a Hess station early Friday in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, the line snaked at least 10 blocks through narrow, busy streets. That caused confusion among other drivers, some of whom accidentally found themselves in the gas line. People got out of their cars to yell at them.
In addition, at least 60 people were lined up to fill red gas cans for their generators.
More subway and rail lines started operating again yesterday, and the Holland Tunnel into New York was open to buses.
In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie said Atlantic City's 12 casinos could reopen immediately after a nearly five-day shutdown for Superstorm Sandy. Sandy slammed into the shoreline Monday night just a few miles (kilometers) from Atlantic City, which was flooded and lost a section of its word-famous boardwalk but fared much better than other parts of New Jersey's coast.
The prospect of better times ahead did little to mollify residents who spent another day and night in the dark.
"It's too much. You're in your house. You're freezing," said Geraldine Giordano, 82, a lifelong resident of New York's West Village. Near her home, city employees had set up a sink where residents could get fresh water, if they needed it.
There were few takers. "Nobody wants to drink that water," Giordano said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
