Please be careful!
The Boy did not stay in Pittsburgh. He hopped a flight to Philly with a vow that he would walk home from there if he had to. He arrived in Manhattan at about 9:30 this morning by bus.
I suspect he’s at home now, asleep.
Back online.
No damage or flooding to my property…just a shitload of leaves to vaccuum-up with my lawnmower.
A storm grate in front of my house on the street popped out due to storm surge hydraulic pressure…and dropped back down the hole. A public works truck has parked over the hole since landfall.
Briefly has power (15-20 minutes) before a dead branch dropped on the transformer, blowing it out.
All these seaside resorts losing their boardwalks? Us, too.
Normally:
Hooray. I’m glad for you.
A friend of mine has family on the NJ shore, and he hasn’t heard from them since Saturday. At what point do I suggest he call somebody, and who might he call?
in blacked out areas of NY city there is likely no cellular phone coverage and/or people’s phones have run down. people are resorting to pay phones which are operating. some young adults needed instructions in how to use them. good for POTS.
Does anyone know anything about the status of Bound Brook, NJ? I have friends there who I have not heard from since Monday.
You might try asking here: Jersey Shore Hurricane News
It seems to be a good clearinghouse of information.
My friend just posted on FB that his relatives are fine. Whew!
Thanks, MsWhatsit…
Power tanked shortly after 5 pm, the wind started fairly early in the day, no real massive amount of rain. We just got power and internet back about an hour ago. Much of CT is still blacked out from what it sounds like. No idea why our little podunk town and our little normally last plowed/electricity restored in the entire state actually seems to be hooked back up. Maybe our first selectman blackmailed someone at cl&p …
Some post hurricane pics of Staten Island:
Now that the main danger has passed and it looks like everyone here is accounted for (I hope), here’s an interesting article: 5 Ideas That Could Have Prevented Flooding in New York. The photo in #2 is of a Bangkok subway entrance. The inner city did not flood last year, but it did around the outer reaches of the subway line, and the subway came though unscathed. (Sandbags helped too, I think.)
I spoke to my brother this afternoon and he told me my parents weren’t expecting to get their electricity back for another 7 to 10 days. My father called me about two hours later and said the power was back on. So there’s a nice surprise, at least.
I just saw a report on MSNBC about the situation on Staten Island. I thought I had already seen some serious destruction but from what they showed it looks like Staten Island was annihilated.
Saw a link to food and water distribution sites for NYC. They open tomorrow at 1 pm, and have locations in Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, and Manhattan. I saw footage on the news of pissed-off people in Staten Island yelling about how they were being ignored, so if you can get a message to anyone in need there, please forward them the relevant info.
Also, for people with flood damage, be very careful when going back to your house or car. I swiped some links from elsewhere describing the dangers and how to deal with the situation:
Flooded house, from NOLA residents: The Advocate
Flooded car (do NOT start it!): What to do if Superstorm Sandy flooded your car
I used to live in Staten Island. Local news is reporting the body count on the island is 20 so far. 
It’s much more low lying than people think, even Staten Islanders. The New York Times had a detailed list of mandatory evacuation areas. I looked up my old address. It was up a hill yet it was still in the mandatory zone. So I’m not surprised at the extent of the damage. Unfortunately some people refused to leave and then paid the ultimate price.
I have a friend in Somerset county, he lost both power and phone for a couple of days, but he’s back posting on Facebook now, says there was a lot of wind, a lot of trees down, but not much water. No flooding. Your friends may simply be incommunicado like a whole bunch of people in that area.
Missed edit…here’s a news article on Bound Brook. Looks like they’ve got a lot of work to do, but not the devastation like some areas.
The New York Aquarium was flooded. The aquarium is directly adjacent to the beach at the foot of Brooklyn. They have a widely respected marine biology research program. I grew up across the street from the place and had my first job there. At night you could sometimes hear the seals barking from my apartment.