Important information and tips about recovery efforts in NY after Hurricane Sandy

As New York continues its recovery efforts, I hope that you and your family made it through this terrible time safely. I wanted to pass along some important information, tips, and reminders that may be useful to you during this time.

FOOD AND WATER DISTRIBUTION:

The National Grid is preparing for water and food distribution in the areas most affected by Hurricane Sandy.  This will include ready to eat, packaged, shelf stable meals and 16 oz. water bottles for individuals.  These distribution sites will be set up in outside tents in all the areas listed below. These distributions will occur daily, through the weekend, and may be extended if needed. Thursday: 3pm-6pm, Friday: 7:30am-11:30am, Saturday and Sunday 9am-1pm. I will provide more information on this as I receive it, please check back for more details.

QUEENS
Rockaways
•    Conch Playground – 51st Street and Rockaway Beach Blvd.
•    Hammel Playground – 84th Street and Rockaway Beach
•    Red Fern House Playground – Redfern Ave. and Beach 12th Street
Astoria
•    Halletts Cove – Veron Blvd and 30th Rd and Astoria Blvd

Brooklyn
•    Surf Ave Playground – West 25th and Surve Ave
•    Red Hook East and West – Red Hook Coffey Park, 85 Richards

Staten Island
•    Parking Lot – Corner of Mill Road and New Drop Lane
•    Empty Lot – Yetman and Hylon Blvd

Manhattan
•    Confucius Plaza/Beekman Gold Pearl – Confucius Plaza on Division Street
•    Grand Street Settlement Houses (WATER ONLY) – 413 Grand Street

Lower East Side
•    Vladic Playground – Tenth Ave between Ave C and Ave D
•    Smith Playground – Catherine Street between Cherry and Monroe
•    Hamilton Fish – Pitt and East Houstan

Chelsea
•    Chelsea Park – 27th between Ninth and 10th Ave

FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers Operational TODAY (11/1/2012)!

Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers will be operational today from 1:00-8:00PM in the following locations:
•    Queens – Hillcrest High School, 160-05 Highland Avenue

•    Manhattan – Seward Park High School, 350 Grand Street

•    Staten Island – Susan Wagner High School, 1200 Manor Street

•    Nassau County – Nassau County Community College, 1 Education Drive, Garden City, NY 11730 (Beginning Friday: 8:00AM-8:00PM)

•    Suffolk County – Edward W. Bauer Elementary School, Montauk Hwy, Lindenhurst, NY 11757

Beginning, Monday, November 5, 2012, a permanent DRC will be at: H. Lee Dennison Bldg, 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge, NY 11788

FEMA personnel will be on hand to answer questions and help residents register for FEMA assistance.

Federal Disaster Assistance:
•    Anyone affected by Sandy – homeowners, renters, and businesses – can apply for federal disaster assistance.
•    They can register at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling the Federal Emergency Management agency at 1-800-621-3362.

Safety:
Safety is still the number one priority. Please stay away from power lines, parks, damaged trees, beaches, boardwalks, and seawalls, these areas should be considered extremely dangerous and avoided. To report conditions such as fallen trees and sewer backups, please use 311 Online, text 311 at 311-692, or call 311. You can report power outages and live wires directly to ConEd (1-800-75-CON-ED) or LIPA (1-800-490-0075). Keep in mind that NY is still experiencing substantial power outages and ConEd and LIPA are working hard to restore power as quickly as possible. If you need information about applying for FEMA federal disaster assistance, please click here or call (800)621-3362.

Transportation/Roadways:
Update (11/1/12): Gov. Cuomo announced that LaGuardia Airport, which had experienced major flooding, will re-open at 7 a.m. Thursday. Both runways will be open.

•    There is very heavy traffic on the roads today.
•    To reduce the number of cars coming into lower Manhattan, the City has ordered that the four East River bridges be restricted to High Occupancy Vehicles only – meaning 3 or more people per vehicle.  This restriction will be in effect for Thursday and Friday, 6AM to midnight each day.  Exceptions to the HOV rules include commercial, emergency, and para-transit vehicles, as well as buses.  These restrictions will also be in effect on the RFK Triborough Bridge, the Henry Hudson Bridge, and the Lincoln Tunnel.
•    The Hugh Carey Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel are both closed.  The Lincoln Tunnel is open.
•    We are establishing bus lanes on key corridors – including 3rd Avenue, Lexington Avenue, and Flatbush Avenue.
•    People should be extremely cautious when driving, particularly at intersections where traffic lights have no power.
•    We encourage people to stay off the roads if at all possible.  If they have any other option to get to work, they should use it.

For updated subway and bus info please visit: www.mta.info

Subway service will be limited Thursday, due to ongoing water remediation, infrastructure repairs and power related problems. Limited service will operate along parts of several routes between The Bronx, Upper Manhattan and Midtown. Other lines will run in parts of Queens and Brooklyn, with service terminating in Downtown Brooklyn. Since service will be limited, waits will be longer and trains will be more crowded. Customers are advised to consider changing their normal routines to travel later in the morning or later in the evening.

Bus service is operating on a near normal weekday schedule today. Some routes may be operating with minor detours due to street conditions, customers are advised to look for signage at bus stops. Customers should also expect longer waits and crowded conditions.

Building Inspections:
•    The Department of Buildings has begun inspecting buildings in hard-hit Zone A areas to assess their structural integrity. There are three areas where these inspections are happening: Staten Island, the Rockaways, and Lower Manhattan.
•    Buildings will be tagged with one of three color placards to indicate their safety:

o    Green: the building is safe to enter

o    Red: the building is not safe and may not be entered

o    Yellow: it can be occupied conditionally (i.e. one floor may be safe while another is not.) These conditions would be explained on the placard.
•    Rockaways and Lower Manhattan inspections began yesterday.
•    Building owners can also self-certify with the Department of Buildings.

Support to Businesses:
o    Emergency loans of up to $10,000 for small and mid-sized businesses that have been interrupted as a result of the storm.
o    For larger businesses that were damaged, temporary City and State sales tax deferment on materials needed for rebuilding.
o    For businesses displaced from their locations, we’re offering temporary office space free of charge at the Brooklyn Army Terminal for the next 30 days.
o    EDC has about 40,000 square feet of space at the Terminal that is now available for this use.
o    Loans up to $2 million are also available for business property losses not fully covered by insurance – and for businesses that have had cash flow problems caused by the storm and need funds to get back on their feet.

That applies to small businesses, agricultural co-ops, and most nonprofits, regardless of size.
•    To get information contact NYC Business Solutions by calling 311 or going to nyc.gov.  

Shelters:
The 76 shelters across the state will stay open until those displaced by the storm can return home or find temporary housing. NYC drinking water is safe, so if your faucet is working the water is safe to drink. NYU Langone Medical Center, Coney Island Hospital, New York Downtown, Manhattan VA Hospital have all been evacuated and will remain so until conditions are safe for return. The power needs at Bellevue Hospital and others are being closely monitored.  For food and water safety tips and how to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning when using a portable generator, please click here.

Ice:
Con Edison will distribute ice at six locations starting at 4 p.m. today (Wed, Oct 31) to customers who are without power due to Hurricane Sandy. The company will also have personnel at the locations to answer customers’ questions.
These are the locations:

Brooklyn (dry ice)
Walgreen’s, 532 Neptune Ave. (between W. 5th & 6th Streets)

Bronx (dry ice)
1200 Waters Place at the entrance to the Hutchinson Metro Center

 Queens (dry ice)
121-10 Rockaway Blvd.

Staten Island (dry ice)
The entrance to Great Kills Park on Buffalo Street
Westchester County (dry ice)
Yonkers Raceway, 810 Yonkers Ave., Yonkers

Manhattan (wet ice)
Union Square Park, Union Square East and East 17th Street.

Instructions for safe handling and disposal of dry ice are printed on the bag for residents who pick up dry ice. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and should be used only in well-ventilated areas. Keep children and pets safely away.

Healthcare Facilities:
•    17 chronic care facilities in Zone A have been evacuated, with 4 of those evacuations still under way.  Most of these patients were moved to other chronic care facilities, and some were moved to the 7 city shelters for those with special medical needs.  These shelters are short-term facilities, and so we are arranging for these patients to be transferred to long-term facilities by this Saturday.  All the patients from the 17 evacuated facilities are safe and being cared for.  There were no deaths from any of the evacuated facilities.
•    Bellevue Hospital is currently being evacuated.
•    Previously New York Downtown, Manhattan VA, NYU Langone, and Coney Island Hospital were evacuated.

Important Info:
•    Any food – including packaged food – that was touched by flood water should be thrown away.  The flood water may contain sewage or other contamination.
•    Other items that have been touched by flood water should be cleaned and disinfected.  This should be done as soon as possible to prevent mold growth.
•    Tap water is safe to drink.
•    Do not use generators or grills indoors.  Carbon monoxide poisoning is a serious threat when these devices are used indoors.  The should only be used outside and kept away from windows and vents.
•    Everyone should have and use battery-operated carbon monoxide alarms. They should test the batteries if possible.
•    If someone experiences sleepiness, dizziness, headaches, confusion, weakness or the carbon monoxide alarm sounds, they should immediately seek fresh air and call the poison control center at 212–POISONS (212-764-7667.) They can also call 911, since poisoning is life threatening.
•    Important guides on carbon monoxide poisoning and food safety can be found at nyc.gov/health.

Animals:
A 24-hour hotline has been set up for New York City evacuees who were unable to bring their pets with them before Hurricane Sandy hit. Evacuees with pets still at home are urged to call New York City's Office of Emergency Management Animal Planning Task Force at (347) 573-1561 for assistance with reuniting with their companion animals.

For those New Yorkers who are able and willing to assist in the recovery efforts, you can visit facebook.com/nycservice.com. If you are a doctor or a nurse, there is great need for your assistance at shelters, details can be found here. If you would like to volunteer at Food Bank for NYC, whose network relies heavily on volunteers everyday to keep routine operations going, please visit this site.

Should you have any other questions or concerns please contact my district office at (718) 725-6000 for assistance. You can also follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for regular updates as we get them.