Good morning on this cloudy Wednesday.
Two years ago today, Rachel Murphy was about to go into labor with her son.
And Hurricane Sandy was swirling toward the city.
By the time her son, Sparrow, was born, the storm surge had submerged her Red Hook apartment.
“We lost everything,” she said.
But Sparrow Essed will celebrate his second birthday on Friday.
We asked our readers to reflect on the lessons of Hurricane Sandy two years later. Seventy-seven responded.
Ms. Murphy’s insights ranged from the practical (“Water rises fast”) to the philosophical.
“I continue to discover things we don’t own anymore, and I add them to the list I started almost two years ago,” she wrote.
“It’s not an exercise in grief, or a wish list. It’s a sort of corny reminder to myself that we can live without everything I assume we need.”
Many of those who wrote to us said the same thing.
They also spoke of how the storm had fortified their family bonds.
And the frustration of navigating government agencies to rebuild.
A lot has happened in the last two years, and one can forget how Hurricane Sandy completely transformed the lives of thousands of New Yorkers.
You may share what you learned from the storm in the comments or through Twitter with #nytoday.
Here’s what else you need to know.
WEATHER
A rosy-fingered dawn.
And the warm spell continues, with a high of 68.
Clouds may gather, and shake out a shower or two, after lunch.
On Thursday the sun returns, but the mercury starts to drop.
REMEMBERING HURRICANE SANDY
• The flags fly at half-staff on state government buildings in honor of the 61 victims of the storm in the U.S.
• The mayor speaks at a Habitat for Humanity house-rebuilding event on Neptune Avenue in Coney Island. 10:30 a.m. …
• … And gives a news conference at the Midland Beach boardwalk on Staten Island. Noon.
• Governor Cuomo speaks at 109 Fox Beach Avenue, in a storm-ravaged section of Staten Island. 11 a.m.
• A father and his 12-year-old son move back into their house on Fox Beach Avenue, which was rebuilt by volunteers. 1:30 p.m.
• A vigil at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Far Rockaway, followed by a candlelight procession to Community Church of Nazarene. 6 p.m.
• A remembrance ceremony on Staten Island’s Midland Beach boardwalk. 6:30 p.m.
• “The Sandy Monologues,” a performance based on Red Hook residents’ accounts, at Kentler International Drawing Space. 7 p.m. [Donations welcome, R.S.V.P.]
• A moment of silence for the victims and survivors of Hurricane Sandy at the approximate time when the storm surge began in the city. 8 p.m.
• Occupy Sandy has lists candlelight vigils and events around the city.
COMING UP TODAY
• Officials attend the painting of the finish line of the New York City Marathon, at 67th Street and Central Park West. 9 a.m.
• Inspired by Columbia University’s mattress-carrying student, staff and faculty at colleges carry mattresses or pillows to support victims of campus sexual violence. All day.
• Rob Astorino, the Republican candidate for governor, speaks on Live from the State Capitol with the columnist-radio host Fred Dicker before visiting Far Rockaway and Staten Island. 10:15 a.m.
• Health officials give a town hall meeting on Ebola at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. 6 p.m.
• Meet the Pollans — Corky, Lori, Dana and Tracy — at a cookbook event with the author of the “Omnivore’s Dilemma,” at Barnes & Noble at 82nd and Broadway. 7 p.m. [Free]
• Matt Taibbi discusses his book “The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap.” 6:45 p.m. [$20, R.S.V.P. for location]
• The New York City Food Film Festival starts at AMC Village 7 in the East Village with a trip to Peru, ceviche and Pisco Sours included. 7 p.m. [$85]
• Season openers in the N.B.A.: Nets at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN), and Knicks host Bulls, 8 p.m. (ESPN and MSG).
• For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
COMMUTE
• L.I.R.R., Metro-North, N.J. Transit, Amtrak
• Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s.
• Alternate-side parking: in effect.
• Air travel: La Guardia, J.F.K., Newark.
IN THE NEWS
• New York’s rules for Ebola quarantines go beyond federal guidelines but allow people to choose where they spend their enforced isolation. [New York Times]
• A day after a boy’s blood test came back negative for Ebola, fear lingered in his Bronx neighborhood. [New York Times]
• The father of a Connecticut third grader filed a federal lawsuit, saying his daughter has been unfairly barred from school after traveling to Africa. [New York Times]
• A former head of the M.T.A. is taking over the company that runs CitiBike, which will relocate to New York and double the number of bicycles available in the city. [New York Times]
• At least 500 people in the coastal neighborhoods hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy have decided to leave and sell their properties to the state. [Wall Street Journal]
• The mayor and first lady dressed up as gods and hosted a Halloween party for hundreds of children at Gracie Mansion. The mayor said his costume was “kind of Zeus-like.” [CBS]
• A raccoon got stuck on a light pole in Queens and had to be rescued by the Fire Department. [Gothamist]
• Signs forbidding hoodies have turned up in some businesses on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn. [DNAinfo]
• As crime in New York City reached historically low levels, a report found that the number of arrests for misdemeanor crimes skyrocketed. [New York Times]
• Scoreboard: Jets bombard Islanders, 4-3. Penguins flipper-slap Devils, 8-3.
• For a global look at the news, see Your Wednesday Briefing.
AND FINALLY …
Last month, at nine subway stations around the city, musicians performed one song in unison.
The subway stops had Wi-Fi, so the musicians watched the conductor Lev Zhurbin online as they played, creating what they believe is the first Wi-Fi orchestra.
Mr. Zhurbin, known as Ljova, composed an original piece for the occasion, which he called “Signal Strength.”
The performance — featuring an accordion, a beatboxer, a saw, a theremin, and more — became a video.
“We shot the video very early on a Sunday morning in September,” Mr. Zurbin said. “Nobody was arrested.”
Kenneth Rosen contributed reporting.
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