Greetings from New York City. The city that never sleeps has been battered and beaten in ways people never imagined possible considering this was a Category 1 hurricane. I apologize that I haven’t updated earlier but this is my first access to internet, thanks to my office re-opening.
It is almost a tale of two cities at this point, especially in Manhattan. People north of 38th street barely felt anything during the storm other than the howling winds. They have power, heat, water, etc and the streets and businesses are alive as if nothing happened during the past 48 hours. However, south of 38th street is a different story. No one has had power for the past 36 hours, there was severe flooding to the avenues closest to the East River and Hudson River, strangers are helping each other, and there are people literally walking up to 39th street then standing in the sidewalks using any power plug they can find charging phones and computers.
We lost power around 9pm on Monday night and don’t expect to have it back until at least Friday or Saturday based on the latest news. Luckily, Bo’s sister who was evacuated from her home came to stay with us and the 3 of us have been warm, dry, safe and sound. We have used 15 candles to light our home and our thankful for the gas stove which allowed us to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. Our freezer stayed cold enough so that we didn’t lose any meat and I was able to bring it to the office freezer today when I came to work. I can’t say enough amazing things about our gym, Equinox, as they have allowed members to use any club in the city that is open, north of 38th street, for showers, charging phones and computers, and warmth. While the lines have been long for showers each day there is nothing like a warm shower after 36 hours without one. We have decided that we’re going to stay in our apartment even though we don’t have power as it just seems like the simplest option. We are taking advantage of our offices today to catch up on work, emails, and phone calls to loved ones who have been concerned. I’m also taking advantage of having news access so I can catch up on the New York City news and marathon updates. This is definitely not the taper week we expected but at least we’ve enjoyed 10-12 hours of sleep the past 3 nights since there isn’t much else to do.
Not bad for a dinner without power! Luckily all of this could be made using stove top heat!
For those of you who have asked, here are a few images of what our neighborhood looks like after the storm.
People were literally standing outside using the plugs normally reserved for holiday tree lights. Amazing!
