Long Island suffered extensive damage to furnaces, boilers, water heaters and other gas-fired equipment that prevents reconnection with the larger system, especially in the coastal flood zone areas on Staten Island, Brooklyn, the Rockaway peninsula in Queens and along the south shore areas of Long Island. We expect that most of those customers will require at minimum a detailed safety inspection prior to reconnection, but more likely extensive repairs and/or replacement of heating equipment and other gas appliances.

National Grid is reaching out to help customers most seriously impacted by the storm and is implementing an Emergency Residential Customer Assistance program to assist residential customers re-establish their natural gas service and restore heating to their homes. National Grid is doing direct outreach to potentially eligible customers in those hard hit areas. National Grid will continue to offer various levels of assistance to help cover the cost of inspections, repairs or replacement, with higher levels available to the most vulnerable, low-income customers:

Tier 1: Immediate assistance in the form of a $150 check to customers who live within the affected storm area and for whom National Grid has placed a warning tag on a furnace, boiler water heater, meaning that the equipment is unsafe for relight and operation until repair or replacement is made.

Tier 2: For our most vulnerable customers who receive benefits under HEAP, National Grid will pay to replace energy equipment – boilers, furnaces, hot water heaters -- to help retain these customers in our community

In addition, National Grid is facilitating a network of plumbers, scheduling inspection appointments, and funding the cost of the inspection and maintenance. Since time is of the essence, we have begun this phase even though it is beyond the scope of our regulated business under normal conditions.

Program eligibility will include customers residing within National Grid’s service areas on Long Island and in New York City with homes that have not been declared uninhabitable by the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), are located in a county within an area declared a “State of Emergency” by New York State and/or the Federal government, and have heating equipment that has been tagged and deemed unsafe for re-light and operation until repair or replacement is made.

National Grid continues to urge any customer whose equipment was at all touched by flood waters to have their equipment inspected by a qualified plumber, even if that equipment is currently operating. Flood damage is not always readily apparent, and can create operational and safety concerns weeks or months after the initial event.

Further, customers who are removing damaged equipment or other debris from homes in the flood zones are cautioned to do so carefully, as gas may be present in their equipment and pipes and to avoid further damage to the gas delivery system. Any appliance connected to natural gas service should be fully shut off and properly disconnected, with adequate ventilation, before removal.

of Hurricane Sandy, they should not also have to worry about how they will get to work each day. This ferry service will provide a vital transportation option for many commuters that will serve as a direct, convenient, and affordable link between the Rockaways and Manhattan. I commend the Bloomberg administration and Seastreak for this action to assist local residents, as well as the many volunteers in the Rockaways, contributing their time and energy and those helping from Manhattan," Turner said.

The ferry service will begin on Monday, November 12th, and will remain in effect until subway service is restored. The ferry service, which will be provided by Seastreak, will depart from Beach 108th street and Beach Channel Drive, where the Economic Development Corporation has been working to install a temporary landing and stop at Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan with free transfers between Pier 11 and East 34th street in Midtown. The cost will be $2.00 each way. The ferry service will start at 5:45 am in the Rockaways with ferries departing for Manhattan regularly until 9:20am, with regular service resuming during the evening rush.

housands of New York families who just spent a snowy night with no power and no heat to warm themselves up. There is absolutely no excuse for this. It has been more than a week since Hurricane Sandy touched down on our shores, yet some of the hardest hit areas in Queens and Brooklyn are still not receiving the attention and getting the answers they need and deserve from power companies,” the Congressman said. “We have received hundreds of calls from people just trying to get an answer from the likes of LIPA with no success. There is no more time to waste, temperatures are dropping at a faster rate than the number of families without power. That equation needs to change, and it needs to change now.”

Councilman Eric Ulrich, joined Congressman Turner in his frustration over thousands of their neighbors remaining without heat and power amidst catastrophic damage as the winter cold sets in.

“The devastation in this community is on a scale we have never seen before. All around the city there are people going on with life as usual, as if nothing ever happened, while here in the Rockaways, Broad Channel, and Howard Beach we have people who can only function during daylight hours completely bundled up to stave off freezing,” Ulrich said.

e, and local officials about the dire need for resources, especially fuel, in our area. There is no reason why gas stations on major thoroughfares remain closed a week after power has been restored to them. Anything hindering their reopening is bureaucratic ineptitude and red tape. New Jersey is opening with less trouble in the same amount of time. I am well aware of the obstacles that plague the process of getting fueling stations operational again, but every day that passes is another day New Yorkers are left stranded and in the cold. Too many people are being forced to waste critical gallons of gas going from station to station and or waiting for hours on end in lines while they try and refill their tanks. The shipments are coming in, but New Yorkers are not getting the gas they so desperately need. There is no place for partisan politics or political posturing in a recovery effort. We need everyone to sit down and say how can we get this done. Separated, jurisdictional and public relations driven piece-by-piece efforts are proving ineffective. We need a singular, coordinated effort to resolve this issue. The equation is simple. There is a problem - it needs to be fixed - and each moment this is delayed puts more and more of our neighbors in danger.

No mail will be released without proper identification which includes a photo and current address. One form of ID meeting both requirements, such as a current driver’s license, is sufficient.

Postal officials are encouraging impacted customers to wait for the mail before making a trip to the Far Rockaways Post Office.

Also, if carriers are unable to make a delivery due to safety concerns, there will be general-delivery style hand-to-hand deliveries for missed deliveries tomorrow.

For customers looking for postal services, such as package mailings and stamp purchases, there will be mobile postal units deployed outside the Far Rockaway Main Office and in the parking lot of Kennedy’s Restaurant, 406 Bayside Avenue, in Breezy Point.
While post offices in Inwood, Arverne, Rockaway Beach and Rockaway Park will remain closed in the short term, postal officials note they will continue to expand street delivery within those ZIP codes as conditions improve.

The U.S. Postal Service wants to remind customers who will continue to be displaced for a prolonged period due to the hurricane to submit a temporary or permanent change of address to their new location. They can do so by visiting www.usps.com and complete the online request or visit any post office to fill out the permanent or temporary Change of Address card.

Hammel Playground – between Beach 84th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard

RedFern House Playground – between Beach 12th Street and Redfern Avenue

Beach 41st Street Houses at Beach Channel Drive and Beach 40th Street

St. Francis De Sales Parish (129-16 Rockaway Beach Boulevard at Beach 129th Street)
BROOKLYN


Corner of Brighton Beach Avenue and Coney Island Avenue

West 25th Street and Surf Avenue

Coffey Park (85 Richards Street between King and Verona Streets)

toration and ensure the safest restoration process possible.

For those whose homes flooded out and whose electrical equipment was damaged as a result, there are some steps that need to be taken before your power can be restored. Before you can be reconnected to the network, you must pump out all the water from the affected area, repair any damaged electrical equipment, and then have a contractor come and check the electrical system. The contractor must then call your power company with his or her license number and confirm that the building is safe to be restored with power. Continue to keep your power company updated about the status of the process as it will help increase the rate at which power is restored.

Click the link for tips provided by power companies on how to go about expediting and ensuring a safe restoration of power, general safety tips, and answers to frequently asked questions.

or commented on my posts on Facebook, and Tweeted at me on Twitter to share your questions and concerns. I want you to know that these messages are being received and I encourage you to keep sending them. Upon their receipt, my staff and I immediately begin the process of tracking down this information. For the purpose of answering these questions, I have created an all in one tab on my website that my staff and I are continuously updating with the most current information available to us; Information that we think will be helpful to you following the hurricane based on your questions and information we are receiving from federal, state, and local officials and agencies. This information includes, but is not limited to updates about applying for aid, finding the nearest Disaster Relief Center, small business loans, transportation updates, medical facility updates, and school updates.

As many of you know, there is a lot of information flying around and, at times, information is changing at a second's notice. That being said, my staff and I are working around the clock to ensure that the information we pass along to you in this time of need is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible. We do our best to confirm information before we post it and are making a concerted effort to ensure it is correct and timely.

We must continue to come together and help one another recover and rebuild from this devastating hurricane.

I encourage you all to visit my site for updates, as well as, to check in here on my facebook and on my twitter at https://twitter.com/USRepBobTurner

efforts continue.

The $3.25 cash toll and $1.80 E-ZPass toll for cars on both bridges will be suspended immediately tonight. E-ZPass tolls paid since the bridges reopened will be retroactively credited back to their customers’ accounts.

See attached for full details.

that began on Oct. 27.

The Center is open as indicated below, until further notice:

Kings County
The NYC Business Solution Brooklyn Center
9 Bond Street (between Livingston & Fulton Streets)
7th Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Opens: Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 9 a.m.
Hours: Weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Closed: Sundays

Businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.

Click the link for full details.

ricane Sandy.

On Friday, November 2nd, a disaster declaration was ordered for Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Richmond, Suffolk, and Queens counties. This declaration allows HUD to offer foreclosure relief and other assistance to certain families living in these counties.

Click the link to be directed to full details including direct links for each of the informational bullets below.

HUD is:

Offering the State of New York and other entitlement communities the ability to re-allocate existing federal resources toward disaster relief – HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs give the State and communities the flexibility to redirect millions of dollars to address critical needs, including housing and services for disaster victims. HUD is currently contacting State and local officials to explore opportunities to use the Department's CDBG and HOME programs in order to expedite the repair and replacement of damaged housing;

Granting immediate foreclosure relief – HUD granted a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and forbearance on foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured home mortgages;

Making mortgage insurance available - HUD's Section 203(h) program provides FHA insurance to disaster victims who have lost their homes and are facing the daunting task of rebuilding or buying another home. Borrowers from participating FHA-approved lenders are eligible for 100 percent financing;

Making insurance available for both mortgages and home rehabilitation – HUD's Section 203(k) loan program enables those who have lost their homes to finance the purchase or refinance of a house along with its repair through a single mortgage. It also allows homeowners who have damaged houses to finance the rehabilitation of their existing single-family home; and

Offering Section 108 loan guarantee assistance – HUD will offer state and local governments federally guaranteed loans for housing rehabilitation, economic development and repair of public infrastructure.

-transit system in the U.S. will remain disabled.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the MTA’s Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road will begin limited service at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Limited subway service between Manhattan and Brooklyn will resume Thursday, he said a press briefing at midday.

But large sections of the city’s transit system will remain closed as repairs and assessments of storm damage continue, MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota said following a meeting with Mr. Cuomo, U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and state officials.

There will be no subway service below 34th Street, the governor said, because of continuing power outages. Three of seven flooded subway tunnels have been pumped out so far, Mr. Cuomo said. There will be “more service literally on a day by day basis,” he said.


http://on.wsj.com/Q6FnAq