Power back on to some, but gas lines long, tempers short

Carol Arnold (left) and neighbor Beverlee Johannsen salvage belongings from Arnold’s storm-surge-damaged house in Cedar Bonnet Island, N.J., on Saturday.
Carol Arnold (left) and neighbor Beverlee Johannsen salvage belongings from Arnold’s storm-surge-damaged house in Cedar Bonnet Island, N.J., on Saturday.

— The lights were back on Saturday in Lower Manhattan, prompting screams of sweet relief from residents who had been plunged into darkness for nearly five days by Hurricane Sandy. But that joy contrasted with deepening resentment in the city’s outer boroughs and suburbs over a continued lack of power and maddening gas shortages.

Adding to the misery of those without power, heat or gasoline were falling temperatures. Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged older residents without heat to move to shelters and said 25,000 blankets were being distributed across the city.

“We’re New Yorkers, and we’re going to get through it,” the mayor said. “But I don’t want anyone to think we’re out of the woods.”

Bloomberg also said that resolving gas shortages could take days. Lines snaked around gas stations for many blocks all over the stricken region, including northern New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie imposed rationing that recalled the worst days of fuel shortages of the 1970s.

Perhaps nowhere was the scene more confused than at a refueling station in Brooklyn, where the National Guard gave out free gas — an effort to alleviate the situation. There, a mass of honking cars, desperate drivers and people on foot, carrying containers from empty bleach bottles to five-gallon Poland Spring water jugs, was just the latest testament to the lingering misery.

“It’s chaos; it’s pandemonium out here,” said Chris Damon, who had been waiting for 3 1/2 hours at the site and had circled the block five times. “It seems like nobody has any answers.”

Damon added, “I feel like a victim of Hurricane Katrina. I never thought it could happen here in New York, but it’s happened.”

Damon, 42, had already been displaced to Brooklyn from his home in Queens, where he still lacked electricity, as did millions outside Manhattan — from Staten Island, the hardest-hit borough, to Westchester County and other suburban areas.

Around New York City, 5,000-gallon trucks from the Defense Department had been dispatched to five locations. “Do not panic. I know there is anxiety about fuel,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Hours later, after the long lines formed, New York state officials said the public should stay away from the refueling stations until emergency responders got their gas first.

The scene was more orderly in hard-hit Staten Island, where a line of cars stretched for 2 miles under the supervision of police and National Guard troops. Another 400 people were on foot, carrying gas cans.

Ten people were arrested at gas stations Friday in various disputes over people cutting in line, police said. The police presence where there were gas lines was increased Saturday.

Still, there was one arrest for disorderly conduct at the armory in Brooklyn, where free gasoline was being distributed.

And fears about crime, especially at night in darkened neighborhoods, persisted. Officers in the Midland Beach section of Staten Island early Saturday saw a man in a Red Cross jacket checking the front doors of unoccupied houses and arrested him for burglary.

In Washington, President Barack Obama visited the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for an update on storm-recovery efforts and said “there’s nothing more important than us getting this right.”

Obama cited the need to restore power; pump out water, particularly from electric substations; ensure that basic needs are addressed; remove debris; and get federal resources in place to help transportation systems get back on line.

About 2.6 million people remained without electricity in six states. Sandy came ashore Monday night.

About 900,000 people still didn’t have electricity in the New York metropolitan area, including about 550,000 on Long Island, Cuomo said.

About 80 percent of New York City’s subway service has been restored, he added.

The storm forced the cancellation of today’s New York City Marathon. Bloomberg initially decided that the race would go on but reversed himself Friday and yielded to criticism about holding the race, which would start on hard-hit Staten Island and wend through all five of the city’s boroughs.

Many marathon runners understood the decision to call off the race.

“I still think that we had the resources to do both, and that we want people to be able to take a break and that sort of thing. ... It’s a big part of our economy,” Bloomberg told WCBS-TV on Saturday during a visit to the borough of Queens. As he spoke, he was met by catcalls from residents angry about the city’s response to the storm.

The overall death toll from the storm rose Saturday to 106, including 40 in New York City.

But, each day has shown signs of recovery.

Aida Padilla, 75, was thrilled that the power at her large housing authority complex in New York City’s Chelsea section was back on late Friday.

“Thank God,” she said. “I screamed, and I put the lights on. Everybody was screaming. It was better than New Year’s.”

Some Lower Manhattan residents, however, were still without steam heat.

Michael Cornelison, 42, who works in information technology, was glad power was back in his downtown apartment, but said he had taken advantage of the darkness, too.

“It was nice to disconnect this week,” Cornelison said. “I slept a lot.”

The patchy recovery exposed a fractured region Saturday. The lights flickered on in Manhattan neighborhoods that had been dark for days, and the city’s subways rumbled and screeched through East River tunnels again. But in shorefront stretches of Staten Island and Queens that were all but demolished and in broad sections of New Jersey and Long Island, gasoline was almost impossible to come by, electricity was still off and homeowners wondered when help would finally arrive.

On Staten Island, there was grumbling that the borough was a low priority for getting its services restored.

“You know it’s true,” said Tony Carmelengo, who lives in the St. George section of Staten Island and still does not have electricity.

His neighbor Anthony Como added: “It’s economics. Manhattan gets everything, let’s face it.”

The governor said the New York area had a strong sense of community, “but until you have your lights on, you’re not happy.”

At Long Beach on Long Island, there was a profound sense of isolation, with whole towns cut off from basic information, supplies and electricity. People in washed-out neighborhoods said they felt increasingly desperate. “I just keep waiting for someone with a megaphone and a car to just tell us what to do,” said Vikki Quinn, standing amid a pile of ruined belongings strewn in front of her flooded house. “I’m lost.”

U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand visited Long Island on Friday to survey the damage and said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would be helping with the cleanup. Their tour helped ease concerns that Long Island was being overshadowed by New York City and New Jersey.

“I’ve never seen such damage like this,” Schumer said after surveying Lindenhurst, one of the hardest-hit towns. “Never.”

New Jersey officials announced Saturday that registered voters who were displaced by the storm can vote electronically. A resident must submit a mail-in ballot application by fax or e-mail to the local county clerk.

When the request is received, a ballot will be emailed or faxed back. Ballots must be returned no later than 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno said the effort will help alleviate pressure on polling places Tuesday. New Jersey is using military trucks in place of damaged polling places.

Officials said electronic voting is also an option for emergency workers.

NYU Langone Medical Center, one of two New York hospitals that had to evacuate patients at the height of the storm, said it would reopen Monday, although some doctors would see patients at alternate sites.

Seven backup generators at the hospital failed Monday night, forcing the evacuation of 300 patients.

At Bellevue Hospital Center, some 700 patients had to be evacuated after the power failed there. An official there said the hospital could be out of commission at least two more weeks.

Christie said he would make public a list of when New Jersey utility companies intend to restore power to each community.

Commuter rail operator NJ Transit said it would have more service restored by Monday, most of Atlantic City’s casinos reopened, and many school districts decided to hold classes Thursday and Friday.

Information for this article was contributed by Karen Matthews, Ben Nuckols, Katie Zezima, Michael Rubinkam, Verena Dobnik, AJ Connelly, Jocelyn Noveck and Larry Neumeister of The Associated Press; and by Marc Santora, James Barron, Sam Dolnick and Ray Rivera of The New York Times.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/04/2012

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