Billy Joel has been retired from music for awhile now and it showed last night. Steven Tyler looked like he was still on drugs last night. Thought Sting, Bon Jovi, & Bruce carried the event. Just saw Bruce perform in DC in Sept. It was 3.5 hrs of nonstop energy for a 63 yr old.

Anybody hear how much the event generated in donations.

I spent the day helping clean out my sister-in-law's house here on Staten Island that was flooded and heavily damaged during the storm. I really wasn't prepared for what I saw. Blocks and blocks of damaged and destroyed homes. The other day, in scuba gear, my brother-in-law who is a retired NYPD Special Services Officer and 9/11 hero, went into the remains of the flooded home of one of his best friends to search and recover his body. When I got home tonight, I felt guilty my house was relatively undamaged despite only being about a couple miles from total destruction.

are some of the phone lines down in nyc? for cell phones

JL,

Wow, I can imagine the feeling you must have had seeing such devastation. And knowing your BIL having to search for a body. How chilling. Boy, what a reminder for all of us to be thankful for what we DO have. So much sadness/despair.



TIS

My brother-in-law is truly a special person. On 9/11, he was one of the Officers that rescued the Port Authority Cops trapped in the rubble. He is even loosely portrayed in Oliver Stone's "9/11" movie. When he found out his friend was missing and his house was still underwater, he went in to find him.

yes. service is sporadic.

Im glad to hear everyone is safe. I just got home from Margate Nj at the shore where my home is in shambels. My first floor was totally demolished! Me and my wife went through most of our savings to buy this house for our summer home! We do have flood insurance so in time we should be ok! Its a terrrible sight there with people that are homeless as this was their primary home! Its like a ghost town! Its terrrible to see what is going on near new york and north Jersey. I pray for you to overcome this nightmare and get the strength to move on! I am really speechless! Hang in and have faith that everything will eventually work out! god bless!!!

Looters have been warned..

I'm baaaaaaaaaack.

Got my power restored about ten minutes ago. Heat is coming up now!

Southphilly, I am SO sorry about your house. How horrible for you and your family. I can't imagine what you are going thru. You're right. What a nightmare. My prayers to you and your family.


TIS

Welcome back SC! I'll bet it feels good to get some kind of normalcy back hu? It's nice to see you around again.


TIS

God bless you all. Welcome back, SC. Good to hear Don Cardi has texted. Hang in there Lou & Philly. I can't believe how heart breaking this has all become - those images and footage are truly devastating. Carmela, once again you guys have proven how the helpful and selfless spirit emerges in the rise of tragedy. Thoughts & prayers go out to all of you. The other day at work there was a guy complaining about all the leaves he would have to rake this weekend. I asked him if he has watched CNN at all in the past few days... he finally got it.

Philly,

My SILs store on Margate (Colmar, True Value) escaped damage. The store is built on a little knoll, 16 ft above sea level. They had water in the parking lot, but it didn't reach the store.

A week ago Saturday (before the storm), SILs uncle died. He was a Margate resident. They had to hold him over until yesterday for the funeral. They couldn't hold services on Margate. The funeral was in Linwood, the closest town on the mainland. IT was rough on the family. Little things like that are not obvious in the midst of all the destruction and turmoil.

Carm, my best to you and your family. Glad everybody on the boards is safe.

HURRICANE SANDY FACTS:

*41 storm-related deaths in the city
*176,540 city Con Ed customers without power Saturday
*Nearly 1 million Con Ed customers without power statewide
*57 city schools — home to 30,000+ students — closed due to storm damage until at least Wednesday
*178 city schools with no electricity as of Friday
*More than 80% of subway service restored as of Saturday
*1,541 serious crimes committed in the city from Monday through Friday, down 31% from the same period last year
*1 New York City Marathon canceled
*8 million gallons of gas delivered to the city as of Saturday
*23 million gallons of gas on the way
*More than $18 billion in estimated economic losses statewide
*More than 290,000 meals and 500,000 bottles of water distributed to storm victims
*More than $10 million raised in donations for storm relief
*17,000 tons of trash and debris picked up by city Sanitation crews
*728 pieces of equipment used by Sanitation Department to clear debris, including 270 collection trucks, 234 mechanical brooms and 114 front-end loaders
*$100 million state funds pledged to help reconstruction
*36 state parks closed from storm damage, including 30 on Long Island
*$100 million in damage to Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Park
*30 joint state/FEMA response teams to fan out in storm impacted regions Monday

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gov-...9#ixzz2BH1x1xiP


Hurricane Sandy drives down major crimes in New York City - but burglaries surge

Despite high-profile lootings, pales compared to city's previous blackouts, says NYPD

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/burglaries-surge-hurricane-sandy-article-1.1196245#ixzz2BHBVnDRq

still no power here in central jersey, sitting at dunkin donuts. wind was insane here, lost some siding, gutters, and some screens torn off, but pretty minor compared to others. all the nice mulch i put down this summer in gone, as well as a few of the landscaping trees in our yard that still had any leaves on them. tons of huge trees in the backyard backing up to the woods fell, cut them up with the chainsaw and hauled that shit away, extremely taxing work. i'm fucking freezing all the time, although having even a few candles lit in an enclosed room really raises the temperature. next stop is the store to get a nice bottle of jameson!

So sorry FF. Hang in there though I am sure it's not easy. I can imagine trying to keep your chin up when disaster is all around you. Stay safe.


TIS

Welcome back SC.

Still no power. Kids still no school thru Wednesday now. I don't reckon power is coming back soon. But I hope so.

Five Felonies. If I remember correctly ur about 15 mins or so from me. My husband is working union beach today. If u need anything don't think twice to say so. I'll get it to you. Fuel or whatever. Let me know. I'll check back here later. We're due for another big storm I'm afraid coming in Wednesday-Thursday.

Edit: did I just say reckon? Dear god what's happening to me?

LOL You did. Now y'all mosey on down to the Longbranch saloon and have yourself a drink. Nice that you have a sense of humor now.


TIS

SC, so happy you're back. So many still without, and so many that have lost so much.

A retired NYPD officer in nearby Pearl River was killed when a tree hit his house. His wife and daughter are still in the hospital from their injuries and they can't make funeral arrangements until they are released. They have no home to go to, as it is uninhabitable. You keep hearing stories like this and you end up so very grateful for what you have.

I caught that before I read your edit .

just got my power back on! carmela, thank you for your offer as i'm sure you would have helped if i had asked, but other than a ton of cleanup/labor, boredom, and lack of heat we were lucky! southphilly, real sorry to hear about your house but hopefully insurance comes through quick and the place is ready before the summer!

FF

Tough going. Glad to hear power is back. Freezing is not good.

Carmela,

Hang in there. Keep the faith. Jersey tough.

I'm back in business as of half an hour ago!

Now I gotta go thru the freezer and toss things that won't make it...

It's almost surreal after 5 days, but I'm getting used to it

Hang in there, everyone, and thanks for the words of encouragement this week!

Massachusetts wasn't hit anywhere near as bad as you guys in New York and New Jersey. I hope everyone is okay and my thoughts go out to everyone. Stay safe guys!

Outside my sister-in-law's house that we cleaned out yesterday. This wasn't even nearly as bad as some homes in the area. The car in the driveway was totaled too because the water was almost up to the roof.

Wow, what a mess. Yet if it's not as bad as the others, I guess that's one consoling thing right? Did your SIL's house have a lot of water damage or any structural damage?

Btw is that area an area in which you're advised to buy flood insurance? Like in CA you are not forced to BUT encouraged to buy earthquake insurance (only it cost's an arm and a leg with a huge deductible.)





TIS

The basement is completely shot. The water was about 5 feet high. Everything down there had to be thrown out, then the walls will have to be ripped down and replaced. The rest of the house isn't too bad inside, but if the mold spreads to upstairs, those walls will have to come down too. I don't think many had flood insurance on my SIL's street/area because it wasn't that close to the water (1/4 mile maybe), and she said it's never flooded before.