Well, I'm home. Had the smoothest cab ride and only a little trouble finding said cab ride. Once I got in, I dropped everything and started filling Katrina in as I raided the fridge for something to eat. I basically just threw a bunch of stuff in an omelette and made some toast. I also finished off the bottle of wine from Sunday night. Then I used the toilet which I did not have to manually flush and immediately jumped in the shower. Hot (and then gradually lukewarm) water never felt so good.
Funny, I thought, how I'm making like it was such a big deal to be without power and running water for what amounts to slightly more than a day, something that can really be totally bearable if you have the right mindset...also if you're prepared for it. I was not. That made all the difference I think. It's all about comfort levels really. People go camping after all, on purpose, and expose themselves to a lack of hot water and amenities, after all, and they do this for fun. I think the worst part of it was not knowing what kind of food I was going to have access to. I could have survived a couple of days longer but I was coming down with a cold and moving back here was really the best option. To sort of regroup and recuperate a little. After all, since I'm pulling overtime tomorrow I'm working for six days straight now. I'm going to need the rest.
I don't know how I should prepare for tomorrow's shift. I don't think I want to bike in, because I'd be biking back in the dark (remember there's no power in Manhattan still, read: no traffic lights) without a light on my bike. But the bus service doesn't make sense and there's no efficient route into the city as none of the buses go over the Brooklyn or Manhattan Bridges I don't think. Plus, there's no way to heat up food at work so I can't justify bringing food in and will just have to be at the mercy of what kind of food they can get us.
Still if this the most of my worries I'm probably fine. I keep watching the news and realizing so many people have it so much worse. This is always the case in just every day life and I'm the kind of person who never takes for granted the good fortune I've had in my life. Of course, one always needs perspective and sometimes you can get caught up in your own problems but the truth of the matter is, I dodged a huge bullet with this storm that others did not dodge. There are 50 homes destroyed by fire in Breezy Point Queens, major flooding and homes destroyed in Staten Island, widespread destruction from wind and flooding all over the city and 18 deaths confirmed in the city already. The New York City subway system suffered the worst catastrophe in its history and millions of people are without power. And this is only here in New York City. Don't forget, this is a storm that was 2,000 miles long and probably affected countless people. So, my heart goes out to everyone and I found myself earlier today wishing I could help out in some way. I guess for now all I have time to do is keep helping with the news coverage. I'm sure I'll find some way.
For now, I have to gather my thoughts and figure out how to get back to work tomorrow, bike or not. I could buy a light perhaps but when will I have time. I'm not going to bother packing more than snack food because I can't heat anything up at work anyway. The microwaves are not hooked to generator power.
Either way, as more news comes in and as the subway system comes back online, I'll keep you all updated on the return to normalcy.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Aftermath 1...
I woke up to gurgling noise from the bathroom. We still have no water at the Dream Hotel and I just couldn't sleep anymore, my head buzzing with what I need to do. I knew I was going to come here at some point and get some news (yes, without power, I still have the option of walking into the TV news station even if I can't turn on the TV). And also food. But I also had this to think about: without power, the situation at the hotel could only deteriorate. Maybe they'd offer free food to the guests at the hotel as it all might spoil anyway, or maybe they wouldn't and I'd be forced to come in to work and hang around waiting for food to miraculously arrive. Also, I need to assess what I'm going to do the next few days, get clothes, shower, and quite frankly, I don't want to have to continue to manually flush the toilet here at the station, nor do I want to keep climbing stairs as I go back and forth from the Dream to the Chelsea Market. 8 flights on one side, 6 on the other.
I left my room after packing everything up and took only my camera. Peering out the peep hole I realized that the lights were on. Apparently, they do have emergency lighting in the hallway working...odd that they have it on now in the daylight and didn't last night. Whoever's managing this hotel should be smacked. Even the stairwell was lit and I passed a few guests on the way down. Some seemed to be checking out.
When I got to the lobby there were tons of people sitting around digging on the continental breakfast piled on the bar...I thought about checking to see if it was being given away or if it was the same deal, $22, but I thought better of it. Emergency lights were flashing on the alarms and a buzzer was going off. It seems moronic that they wouldn't try to shut that off for the sake of the people holed up in the lobby. I walked out on the street to the sound of sirens and some lingering heavy drizzle that came in waves. Seeing people with shopping bags from the nearby Western Beef, I assumed it was probably open so I made my way there, not knowing what the situation at NY1 would be. I wandered in not even having any idea what I would buy, more just curious what I would see...and smell. There was distinct spoiled food tang in the air around the deli and produce sections. They did have some refrigeration running but not much. It seemed warm. I left.
Having left everything in my room this time except for the camera, I walked down to the river to shoot some photos where I was yesterday morning. Luckily, the flood waters are receding. Unfortunately, the debris they kicked up did not. Judging by what I saw, the water almost certainly came up over the West Side Highway.
I wandered back to the station, called my dad on the way, snapped a few more photos (which I'll be posting as soon as I can get them off my camera) and now I'm at NY1. There was a hell of a spread of food in the conference room, thank God. Mostly snacks from the grocery store but also some McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts coffee, and, of course, pizza. The four food groups of breaking news.
I'm debating cabbing it or hiking (if I have to) back to Brooklyn after I charge my phone and call a few of you. I'm probably going to give my room to someone else here who might need it, grab my bags and try to get back to BK sometime today. I've been offered an overtime shift tomorrow and I probably will take it because, let's face it, I need the money and they need the bodies here. But it wouldn't be until tomorrow evening. So there's a slight pull to keep the room and stay here but I'm not sure how much longer I can manually flush toilets without the water pumps running in these buildings and go without a hot shower or clean clothes, which I'm running out of. I still have enough socks and underwear where I could manage but it's pretty compelling to try and get home and resync. I can bike back here for sure but then I don't want to bike back late at night. There's murmors about us getting reimbursed for all cab fare. I'm thinking what an expense this must be for the company, putting us all up and feeding us and getting us transportation in to work.
I'll update again when I decide what I'm doing and if I manage to get home somehow today. Wish me luck.
I left my room after packing everything up and took only my camera. Peering out the peep hole I realized that the lights were on. Apparently, they do have emergency lighting in the hallway working...odd that they have it on now in the daylight and didn't last night. Whoever's managing this hotel should be smacked. Even the stairwell was lit and I passed a few guests on the way down. Some seemed to be checking out.
When I got to the lobby there were tons of people sitting around digging on the continental breakfast piled on the bar...I thought about checking to see if it was being given away or if it was the same deal, $22, but I thought better of it. Emergency lights were flashing on the alarms and a buzzer was going off. It seems moronic that they wouldn't try to shut that off for the sake of the people holed up in the lobby. I walked out on the street to the sound of sirens and some lingering heavy drizzle that came in waves. Seeing people with shopping bags from the nearby Western Beef, I assumed it was probably open so I made my way there, not knowing what the situation at NY1 would be. I wandered in not even having any idea what I would buy, more just curious what I would see...and smell. There was distinct spoiled food tang in the air around the deli and produce sections. They did have some refrigeration running but not much. It seemed warm. I left.
Having left everything in my room this time except for the camera, I walked down to the river to shoot some photos where I was yesterday morning. Luckily, the flood waters are receding. Unfortunately, the debris they kicked up did not. Judging by what I saw, the water almost certainly came up over the West Side Highway.
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| Aftermath |
I wandered back to the station, called my dad on the way, snapped a few more photos (which I'll be posting as soon as I can get them off my camera) and now I'm at NY1. There was a hell of a spread of food in the conference room, thank God. Mostly snacks from the grocery store but also some McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts coffee, and, of course, pizza. The four food groups of breaking news.
I'm debating cabbing it or hiking (if I have to) back to Brooklyn after I charge my phone and call a few of you. I'm probably going to give my room to someone else here who might need it, grab my bags and try to get back to BK sometime today. I've been offered an overtime shift tomorrow and I probably will take it because, let's face it, I need the money and they need the bodies here. But it wouldn't be until tomorrow evening. So there's a slight pull to keep the room and stay here but I'm not sure how much longer I can manually flush toilets without the water pumps running in these buildings and go without a hot shower or clean clothes, which I'm running out of. I still have enough socks and underwear where I could manage but it's pretty compelling to try and get home and resync. I can bike back here for sure but then I don't want to bike back late at night. There's murmors about us getting reimbursed for all cab fare. I'm thinking what an expense this must be for the company, putting us all up and feeding us and getting us transportation in to work.
I'll update again when I decide what I'm doing and if I manage to get home somehow today. Wish me luck.
Storm 7, Power Outage...
I was lying on my bed watching an episode of The Universe on my laptop, considering one last attempt at a nap when the power went out. This was around a quarter to nine. I noticed my phone showed a message from my sister asking if I was okay because they had turned off the power in Lower Manhattan. At that point, I almost got up to turn the TV back on to see what I could see. I heard a noise of wind outside that banged something over again and then, almost as if in response to the noise, the lights went off. "Oh shit. Now it's getting serious" is what immediately ran through my mind. I started frantically grabbing things (not sure why I was so frantic) and throwing them in my bag, mostly valuables, leaving only my clothes there. On some level I must've realized that the locks on the door might not work without the power and if I was going to be here at the station all night, I had better not leave anything that might get stolen. I'm not even sure this thought had time to run through my mind. All I was thinking was I'd better just get to the station where there's bound to be power.
A voice came on the intercom and just kept repeating, "may I have your attention please?" Out in the hallway it was dark except for the exit signs, the emergency lights the hotel promised never having come on. I breezed past the elevator bank to the stairwell, using the flashlight app on my phone to see in the pitch dark stairwell. A few floors down I was passed by hotel workers with flashlights who directed me to go down to the lobby. At the bottom, eight flights later, was another hotel employee directing me out of the stairwell into the lobby. It was quite busy with activity. Diners at the restaurant had their flashlights and phones out and people were milling about. I saw some of the employees checking out the electrical panels. I assume they were trying to get generators up or something. I thought about waiting in the lobby but decided against it.
Upon leaving the hotel, I could see there was no power in many of the buildings except for emergency lighting in stairwells and things like that. The wind howled and rain fell sideways though not as hard as it had done earlier. I jogged across the street, picking up the pace when I heard something rather large sliding down the street behind me, unsure what the wind had picked up and not wanting to find out. I slid into the entrance of the building where the security guard asked me where I was headed and directed me to a stairwell I've never had to use. On the way up I ran into two of the news assistants I work with carrying camera equipment up the six flights of stairs, having just come from shooting footage outside the market. They looked exhausted. The air was quite tense in the newsroom. At that point, I don't think we were on the air, but we were on backup generators for the essentials. Unfortunately, the essentials did not seem to include refrigerators holding all the leftover food they fed us today. The rumor is there will be no food delivery tomorrow. What we have is what we have. Hopefully, things won't be nearly as crazy and we'll be able to get some food here.
My boss told me not to clock in yet and conserve my energy for the long overnight shift ahead. But I couldn't relax. There's too much excitement. I took some pics out the window of the blackout and sat for a while watching all the activity outside, listening to the wind howling and to things shifting on rooftops and down side streets.
A voice came on the intercom and just kept repeating, "may I have your attention please?" Out in the hallway it was dark except for the exit signs, the emergency lights the hotel promised never having come on. I breezed past the elevator bank to the stairwell, using the flashlight app on my phone to see in the pitch dark stairwell. A few floors down I was passed by hotel workers with flashlights who directed me to go down to the lobby. At the bottom, eight flights later, was another hotel employee directing me out of the stairwell into the lobby. It was quite busy with activity. Diners at the restaurant had their flashlights and phones out and people were milling about. I saw some of the employees checking out the electrical panels. I assume they were trying to get generators up or something. I thought about waiting in the lobby but decided against it.
Upon leaving the hotel, I could see there was no power in many of the buildings except for emergency lighting in stairwells and things like that. The wind howled and rain fell sideways though not as hard as it had done earlier. I jogged across the street, picking up the pace when I heard something rather large sliding down the street behind me, unsure what the wind had picked up and not wanting to find out. I slid into the entrance of the building where the security guard asked me where I was headed and directed me to a stairwell I've never had to use. On the way up I ran into two of the news assistants I work with carrying camera equipment up the six flights of stairs, having just come from shooting footage outside the market. They looked exhausted. The air was quite tense in the newsroom. At that point, I don't think we were on the air, but we were on backup generators for the essentials. Unfortunately, the essentials did not seem to include refrigerators holding all the leftover food they fed us today. The rumor is there will be no food delivery tomorrow. What we have is what we have. Hopefully, things won't be nearly as crazy and we'll be able to get some food here.
My boss told me not to clock in yet and conserve my energy for the long overnight shift ahead. But I couldn't relax. There's too much excitement. I took some pics out the window of the blackout and sat for a while watching all the activity outside, listening to the wind howling and to things shifting on rooftops and down side streets.
Police cars were riding down 9th Avenue with their lights on and there were people walking around with flashlights. I heard someone say there was a group of people stealing sand bags from the front of the Chelsea Market and loading them into a minivan. I sat in the breakroom looking out that window for a while with the security guard who has been here all day. There was so much happening out there and we were straining to hear what the wind was doing and to see where the lights we were seeing were coming from. I've had goose bumps all night long from all the excitement. I tried to take something of a nap in the dark of the break room but did not succeed. When I finally did clock in, it was about 10:15. One of the first things I wanted to do was see a lot of the video that's been coming in all day. It's all pretty harrowing. As my coworkers read me in, I sifted through them all and found one that just blew my mind. This explosion happened at a Con Ed power substation on 14th street near the FDR. For context, we are on 15th street on the West side of Manhattan. The FDR snakes up along the east side. Check it out.
I saw another video later of a substation four blocks from my apartment in South Slope doing the same thing. I texted Katrina to make sure she was okay. We still have power but I think she heard the emergency vehicles. So this is getting a little crazy now and I'm hearing that power might not be restored for a week. What does that mean for public transit? I don't know. The subway tunnels are flooded, the outer boroughs and beaches are flooded. I don't have any idea when things will be back to normal. I'm going to try and sleep the day away in the hotel tomorrow and maybe try to make my way home somehow. I need reliable access to food and can't count on that here. I was lucky today that I was able to get food. I'll try to keep the updates coming. Good night for now. Four more hours and I can leave.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Storm 6, Noises Outside and Press Conferences...
I fell asleep for a few hours and woke up to near pandemonium. I woke prematurely, having intended to nap until 7pm but I just lay in bed for a while. What prompted me to get out of bed though was a loud bang from outside. I rushed over to the window to try and see what had happened but was unable to see much beyond all the people on the opposite wing of the building peeking out their windows onto their balconies. So whatever it was must have come from my my wing of the building. The wind seems to be pretty fierce outside now. I'm not even sure how high the water has gotten but I'm going to check soon. Before I came back from work, someone said something about them expecting the water to rise high enough to reach 9th Avenue. For reference, to those who don't know much about the area I'm in, 9th Avenue is the avenue I have to cross to get from the Dream Hotel to work. Let's hope I can actually cross it later on tonight.
I read something on Facebook about a construction crane dangling near Columbus Circle and now I'm waiting for the press conference which is starting imminently. The pictures look pretty crazy. We have a tower cam at Columbus Circle aimed at the crane. So far Bloomberg isn't talking about it yet. Just general storm stuff. I'll update more as soon as I see what it's doing outside. I need to get dinner somehow.
I read something on Facebook about a construction crane dangling near Columbus Circle and now I'm waiting for the press conference which is starting imminently. The pictures look pretty crazy. We have a tower cam at Columbus Circle aimed at the crane. So far Bloomberg isn't talking about it yet. Just general storm stuff. I'll update more as soon as I see what it's doing outside. I need to get dinner somehow.
Storm 5, The Flooding Begins...
Just got back from a jaunt along the Hudson River with my camera. It's crazy out there. The water level is higher than I've ever seen it...which isn't saying much because I've only ever seen it at normal levels before. It's basically up to the bottom of the piers and spilling over onto the sidewalk. It's eerie how slowly it rises as the waves come in. Of course, I wasn't the only one with the idea to go down to the river to see the flooding. Lots of people who I assume live in the W. Village were out there. Kids were jumping in the water as it slid across the pavement, carrying with it years and years of debris and detritus. I've posted the pics on Picasa here:
Additionally, here are some pre storm photos from yesterday in Greenwich Village
and pics of my room last night!
I remembered that the Media Ingest department here has USB adapters for compact flash cards so I was able to transfer the pics onto my laptop and upload. I even sent a few to the assignment desk to see if they'd put them on the air. More updates to come. It's raining sideways now. Glad I'm back inside!
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| Hurricane Sandy, First Flooding Pics |
Additionally, here are some pre storm photos from yesterday in Greenwich Village
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| Hurricane Sandy Pre Storm 2 |
and pics of my room last night!
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| Dream Hotel, Best shots |
I remembered that the Media Ingest department here has USB adapters for compact flash cards so I was able to transfer the pics onto my laptop and upload. I even sent a few to the assignment desk to see if they'd put them on the air. More updates to come. It's raining sideways now. Glad I'm back inside!
Storm 4, Dream hotel...
I didn't get into much detail last night about the amenities here. This place is incredible. The rooms are quirky with neat little fixtures all around and push button controls for all the lights in the room. The lights which always dim slowly when you turn them off. The hotel's circular windows are probably the most noticeable thing about the building from the outside and the theme of circular things seems to permeate throughout the room. In the two cabinet-like closets there are little notes telling you what you can use and alerting you that the mini bar is equipped with a touch sensitive device that will be able to tell if you remove anything for more than 60 seconds, at which point you basically bought it.
The bathroom. Wow. Never mind the fact that Con Edison shut off the steam to the city and we have no hot water, it's pretty luxurious in there. They're pretty big on water conservation here so the toilet has one of those two button flush options. The sink is stainless steel and the shower curtain is made of a fine chain-like material. I'll really have to upload pics. There's no slot on my Macbook for the data card from my Canon camera so I'll need to find a mini USB cable somewhere.
The TV was on when I walked in with a message addressed to me, welcoming me to the room. Techno pop was playing on a loop. My co workers and I navigated the menus listing all the hotel amenities, joking that we were going to find the one free thing and take advantage of it. What was it? Ice. But you have to call someone. You can't just go down the hall and fill a bucket.
Anyway, turning the TV on this morning and checking my messages was how I found out about Con Edison shutting off the steam. The sent a message to everyone's inbox with that information and an apology, saying they have no time frame for when it will be back up. I bravely took a cold shower and now I'm watching, of all things, NY1, as I type this. It's time for me to get out into the storm. I think it's okay to take the umbrella in the cabinet to use. The note only says it's $35 if you want to take it home with you. I'll update once I see what it's actually doing outside. May see if anything is open for breakfast that isn't going to bankrupt me like the restaurant downstairs might. Wish me luck! They just said this might be the worst storm in the city since 1938. Let me go see what the hub-bub is about.
The bathroom. Wow. Never mind the fact that Con Edison shut off the steam to the city and we have no hot water, it's pretty luxurious in there. They're pretty big on water conservation here so the toilet has one of those two button flush options. The sink is stainless steel and the shower curtain is made of a fine chain-like material. I'll really have to upload pics. There's no slot on my Macbook for the data card from my Canon camera so I'll need to find a mini USB cable somewhere.
The TV was on when I walked in with a message addressed to me, welcoming me to the room. Techno pop was playing on a loop. My co workers and I navigated the menus listing all the hotel amenities, joking that we were going to find the one free thing and take advantage of it. What was it? Ice. But you have to call someone. You can't just go down the hall and fill a bucket.
Anyway, turning the TV on this morning and checking my messages was how I found out about Con Edison shutting off the steam. The sent a message to everyone's inbox with that information and an apology, saying they have no time frame for when it will be back up. I bravely took a cold shower and now I'm watching, of all things, NY1, as I type this. It's time for me to get out into the storm. I think it's okay to take the umbrella in the cabinet to use. The note only says it's $35 if you want to take it home with you. I'll update once I see what it's actually doing outside. May see if anything is open for breakfast that isn't going to bankrupt me like the restaurant downstairs might. Wish me luck! They just said this might be the worst storm in the city since 1938. Let me go see what the hub-bub is about.
Storm 3...
This place is insane and I really wish I could show pictures now. You'd see the ridiculously comfortable bed, the ridiculous amount of luxury added at a premium. They have my credit card so I'm afraid to touch anything. Two of my co workers came to my room and, lucky they did, because, if they hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known not to even touch anything in the mini bar or closet. Touch the even robe hanging in the closet and they'll know and charge you $100. At least, that's the rumor I heard. I didn't want to find out.
I just got back from chatting with two Puerto Rican guests in the bar and am ready to just crash. As expected, the storm isn't doing much yet. I felt a few tiny rain drops on me outside briefly about a half hour ago but nothing more. For now, it's time to sleep. I'll check back in tomorrow at the height of the storm if I can.
I just got back from chatting with two Puerto Rican guests in the bar and am ready to just crash. As expected, the storm isn't doing much yet. I felt a few tiny rain drops on me outside briefly about a half hour ago but nothing more. For now, it's time to sleep. I'll check back in tomorrow at the height of the storm if I can.
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