Hurricane Sandy Response

In lieu of our usual post of upcoming activities, we are providing a list of resources for those affected by Hurricane Sandy in the New York and New Jersey areas. It’s been a challenging week for everyone. Our New York City offices are downtown and have been without power. Some of us have managed to work remotely and others are working in our Emergency Response Center located in Edison, NJ. Despite these challenges, the U.S. EPA continues to coordinate with other federal, state and local agencies to provide assistance to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Below is an excerpt from a message by our Regional Administrator, Judith Enck:

“We know that this will be a long storm recovery and helping the people of NY and NJ is our main priority, along with the safety of our staff. We are privileged to be able to be of service as part of our daily work.”

Please leave us a comment or tweet us @EPAregion2 if you have any questions or comments. Also feel free to add your links and suggestions, as this list is by no means complete. Thank you for reading and we hope you and your loved ones are healthy and safe.

Gas and Transportation Issues:

NJ Transit, Metro North, Long Island Railroads and the MTA will continue to have service disruptions. Visit their respective websites of follow on twitter to receive the most up-to-date information.

For the most current information on gas stations and availability of fuel, search these twitter hashtags: #nyopen, #nygas, #nypower, #njopen, #njgas, #njpower, #GasLines

General Resources:

Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov/sandy

More Federal Government links: http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Weather/Hurricane/sandy.shtml

If you observe any oil spills in your area, call the National Response Center at 800-424-8802 or report online: http://www.nrc.uscg.mil

Federal assistance is available if you’ve been impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Visit http://www.disasterassistance.gov/ to apply.

New Jersey:

For state emergency management information in New Jersey, check out http://ready.nj.gov/programs/sandy_recovery.html

For questions about food and water safety or mold removal, call 2-1-1 to speak with a public health expert.

For updated list of pharmacies, hotels, restaurants and gas stations, visit: http://readynj.posterous.com/list-of-pharmacies-hotels-restaurants-and-gas

New York City:

Food and Water locations:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/misc/html/2012/foodandwater.html

For non-emergency services, call 3-1-1 or online at http://www.nyc.gov/apps/311/

Small Business Assistance: http://www.nycedc.com/backtobusiness

New York State:

New York State Hurricane Sandy Helpline: 888-769-7243

Office of Emergency Management: http://www.dhses.ny.gov/oem/

Shelter and Basic Needs:

Find the closest shelter online: http://app.redcross.org/nss-app/ or text SHELTER and your zip code to 43362 (4FEMA).

All Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles have water, snacks and comfort kits. The vehicles are at various locations.

Volunteers:

If you are not in an affected area and would like to help out those less fortunate, there are many ways to get involved. Check out the New York Times post for a list of volunteer resources: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/hurricane-recovery-and-volunteer-resources/ or search twitter #Sandyvolunteers.

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.