We have family staying with us because they still don't have power or heat.

There are extreme gas shortages and we are only allowed to get gas on alternate days (like in the 70s), people are looting and many towns have instituted curfews and are only allowing people out with ID, and people are even stealing generators and license plates!

I wrote a Hurricane Sandy update (which is over 1400 words) on my site...after getting power back.

@Edward yeah I found out about the Stock exchange flooding being a rumor a few days after I started this thread. It blows my mind why someone would start such rumors in a time like this.

I know a few people who had trees fall on their houses and are praying that they will get coverage from insurance. Trimming trees is expensive enough, so I can't imagine what it must cost to haul a tree away and have to rebuild parts of the house that were damaged.

I'm curious to see what kind of impact there will be with voting on Tuesday too as I'm sure a lot of people will have difficulty getting to the poles, especially since the gas lines are still bad. I saw on the news that they are putting some type of email voting system in place so it will be interesting to find out if that ends up working well or not.

I've seen pics from one friend in NJ of a tree almost splitting the neighbor's house in 2 while he was lucky to have the trees fall away from the house.  One of my friends was fraternity brothers with the cop who dies in his basement on SI after making sure the other 6 adult and the infant made it to the attic. But it's amazing to see that people who have been impacted are still finding a way to donate clothes and supplies to others, taking strangers as well as friends in need in, and overall just rising above all the pettiness that we're used to most of the time.

Too bad they didn't do that before travelers had started to arrive from the rest of the world and country. 

Yeah we're starting to see the damage in areas that didn't get press the first couple of days. It's insane.

I understand where Bloomberg was coming from holding the marathon but he did relent and cancel it. It was the right decision. The area isn't ready for a marathon right now.

I saw one gas line that was at least a mile long and crossed from Queens into Nassau County.  We're redefining "staycation" this weekend. No car use unless necessary.

Trying to play catch up and such, but it's not too bad for us considering what others are dealing with. 

There is definitely word of the resources being diverted for the marathon.  Displaced people are being told they need to leave the hotels they are staying in--Mike Greenberg's (Mike & Mike on ESPN) parents had to leave theirs and he related the story on air this morning.  The police, EMS and fire departments are used in traffic control and support for the marathon route (when they are needed much more elsewhere).  ConEdison stated that they don't have enough people to clear trees and debris to get power restored in most areas--Midtown and Downtown Manhattan will be up by the weekend, but the outer boroughs will be down for almost 2 more weeks without additional personnel.  The Mayor used the restored power in those 2 areas to defend his decision saying that those police officers will be used for the marathon rather than helping in other areas. 

It's so bad that both Democrats and Republicans are condemning Bloomberg for allowing the event to continue.  And it's not just Staten Island, he's getting it from all boroughs.  Even runners are saying that they don't think the race should be run now, even forming protest groups ad facebook groups to help rather than run.

I could be too close to the situation, but I think it would make a hell of a lot more sense to postpone the race at least until everyone has power and can get around freely again since "getting back to normal" isn't really a realistic short-term goal for most.

Here's the devil's advocate view that popped into my head:

I know that many times after a devastating event, there are benefits of having a sense of normalcy that can help people get through and provide a positive psychological boost. Maybe there's some element of that?  It can show the world and the people of NYC that they can overcome, and maybe it'll make it all the more special for the people running that day.  Having the streets empty might serve as a reminder of everything lost, and do people really need one more reminder, or do they need a little hope and to see the city 'alive'?

I agree that resources should not be diverted from those who need help to put on the marathon, but is there word that this is happening? 

I'll be interested to read and hear more.  Sounds like it'll be a touchy issue for the next few days.

On top of that, Bloomberg and the NY Roadrunenrs are pushing forward with the marathon which I think is a joke.  If anyone wants to go over to my FB wall and comment on or share my post about how irresponsible it is to put money ahead of the people still in drastic need of help, that would be great.  It has nothing to do with being a blogger or business, just raising awareness of what's going on in the "forgotten borough" and anywhere else that is being neglected for this event. 

https://www.facebook.com/DollarVersity/posts/367506743337357

We just got power back this evening. It's nice to have a warm house again (we're on Long Island).  We got through unscathed otherwise but have friends and family that took a lot of water on in their homes. Now the big issue for us is when and where we can gas up the car.  It's pretty scarce right now. Hopefully as power and transportation improve so will the gas situation.

I hope those who were less fortunate than my family are doing ok and can get damage repaired quickly.

My office is on generator power only so my internet access is severely limited.  A few people have emailed me or messaged me on facebook and I've had difficulty just responding, but My family and I are safe. Just riding out the power outages which hopefully won't last too long.

Mike