Tag Archives: natural disasters

Due to Hurricane Sandy, sixty polling sites across New York City have been changed.  Gothamist has the full list.  If your neighborhood suffered any significant damage from the storm or if you remain without power at home, you should probably check the list.

After yesterday’s post about the destruction of Ali Forney’s drop-in center, some of you wrote asking for a PayPal donation address rather than use your credit cards.  That PayPal account now exists.  AFC executive director Carl Siciliano and his staff send the JMG community their heartfelt thanks for all of your concern and assistance.  (As do I!)  For traditional credit …

Instead of taking part in the now-canceled Marathon, today some gay runners and their supporters will pub crawl for hurricane relief in Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, and the West Village. Beneficiaries will be the American Red Cross, the Ali Forney Center, and New York Care. More details are here and on the event’s Facebook page.

A terrible message from Carl Siciliano: Dear Friends,  Yesterday we were finally able to inspect our drop-in center in Chelsea, half a block from the Hudson River. Our worst fears were realized; everything was destroyed and the space is uninhabitable. The water level went four feet high, destroying our phones, computers, refrigerator, food and supplies. This is a terrible tragedy …

After an outpouring of criticism from all corners, the New York City Marathon has been canceled for this Sunday. It’s not yet been disclosed if the race will be rescheduled.

“The hurricanes of the last ten years are four times worse than the hurricanes of the 1990s and twelve times worse of the hurricanes of the 70s and 80s, now this is interesting because I would say that the United States has not been honoring God very much, am I out on a limb here? The United States of America …

Details.

“Tens of billions in losses, 50 dead, scientists say that Sandy is the worst N.Y. hurricane in 800 years! Some insurance policies still call this kind of occurrence an ACT OF G-D. But where are our religio-conservative leaders to interpret what’s happening? Remember when Dr. Falwell and Dr. Pat Robertson attributed 9/11 to the homosexual agenda and abortion? Guess our …

Now making the rounds on Facebook…

I can’t say I’ve ever agreed with the Post before.  It does seem surreal that the Marathon is still going to happen on Sunday.

The Central Park Conservancy reports that hundreds of mature trees were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Some buildings, benches, and fencing were also damaged or ruined.  The park remains closed until the danger from falling limbs has been dealt with.  (Yesterday my neighbor, who is a park volunteer, was in tears describing the famous Promenade.  I’m afraid to even go look …

Seven years ago the New York Press made a startlingly accurate prediction of Hurricane Sandy. The piece opens by imagining what kind of storm would most threaten New York City. A hurricane like this one can usually be counted on to curve eastward and die a harmless death over the Atlantic. But with a large area of high pressure hovering …

Here’s today service advisory from the MTA: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that enhanced service will be available on Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and the NYC Subway for this morning’s rush hour, providing commuters with additional travel options as the current transportation state of emergency continues. All commuter rail, bus and subway service is fare free until midnight. …

The National Guard began handing out meals-ready-to-eat in downtown Manhattan today, where frustrated residents waited over three hours before the promised trucks finally appeared. Gothamist has more on the story and more photos.

Hoboken, New Jersey, which is just across the Hudson River from the West Village, remains heavily flooded and 90% of its residents may not see power restored for another week. Last night the National Guard began distributing food and water. Tempers flared Wednesday at a staging area outside City Hall, where a man screamed at emergency officials about why food …

Downtown Manhattan supermarkets are cleaning out their stores of perishable items, placing still-edible items in giant dumpsters for locals to freely pillage.  The New York Daily News reports: Met Food supermarket workers at the corner of Prince St. and Mulberry St., had to toss scores of garbage bags packed with foodie eats like Pom pomegranate juice, soy chai latte, organic …

Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz has requested additional National Guard troops as looting spreads through the blacked-out areas of Coney Island, south Brooklyn, and Queens. “Governor Cuomo also acted quickly by activating the National Guard prior to the storm, and I urge him to allocate as many troops as possible to Brooklyn—troops from New York or any other states that …

Fire Island, which is arguably the most famous gay vacation destination in the world, was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. The damage is so severe that the spokesman for the National Seashore believes that at least one new permanent inlet between the bay and the ocean has been created, effectively dividing Fire Island into two separate islands. Steve Weinstein has the …

There are still 12,000 pay phones in NYC and those without power are lining up. With power knocked out in her Sandy-ravaged neighborhood—rendering her cellphone useless—she got a crash course in the low-tech, low-status devices. She returned to her local pay phone Wednesday with more quarters and better knowledge of the pay-phone locations in her area. “You miraculously get resourceful …

As I noted yesterday, NYC’s subway reopens this morning with limited service on the undamaged lines in upper Manhattan and in the other boroughs. Here’s today’s MTA advisory: Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the MTA’s subway, bus and commuter rail services will be free for today and tomorrow, to encourage the use of mass transit as the region slowly recovers …