NEW YORK —
Life regained some semblance of normalcy on Thursday for New Yorkers affected by superstorm Sandy, as public transportation started to come online and millions of people returned to work. But for those hardest hit by Sandy, the National Guard delivered ready-to-eat meals and bottled water.
New Yorkers are known for their toughness and sometimes their testiness. But on Thursday, despite long lines for buses from the borough of Brooklyn to Manhattan, most New Yorkers were in a good mood. On average, commuters waited half an hour for free buses to take them to a central Manhattan drop-off point where they could then reach their final destinations through a combination of local buses, limited subway service and walking.
Erlene was among the thousands of people trying to make it into work. She said the bus line was moving slowly, but no one was complaining.
“It's just going nicely, everybody is doing well, no complaints. Thank you MTA [i.e., Mass Transit Authority]. In times like these, we do come together,” she said.
Hurricane Sandy Aftermath in New Jersey, New York
1/13Raymond Palermo, left, wears a protective mask as he helps to remove debris from his cousin's electronics store in Brooklyn, NY, Oct 31, 2012
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
2/13Dry ice is unloaded from a flatbed truck in Union Square for distribution to residents of the still powerless Chelsea section of Manhattan, Nov.1, 2012.
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
3/13روس کے شہر سوچی میں منعقد ہونے والے سرمائی اولمپکس اتوار کے روز ختم ہوئے۔
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
4/13A New York resident charges his cell phones from a generator connected to a 14th street market in the still powerless Chelsea section of Manhattan, New York, November 1, 2012.
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
5/13The red arc in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is a giant shock wave, created by a speeding star known as Kappa Cassiopeiae. It is a massive, hot supergiant moving at around 2.5 million mph relative to its neighbors (1,100 kilometers per second). But what really makes the star stand out is the surrounding, streaky red glow of material called a bow shock, in its path. (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
6/13Commuters wait in Brooklyn, New York to board buses into Manhattan, due to the widespread subway closures throughout the city.
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
7/13Flooding in the area after the storm is widespread. Joe Donnelly of Island Park, New York shared a photo of his flooded home on Halloween, October 31, 2012. (Courtesy photo)
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
8/13Early morning traffic in Brooklyn, New York moves slowly beneath the still-dark Manhattan skyline, November 1, 2012. New York is trying to resume its normal frenetic pace, but still finding it slow going on gridlocked highways.
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
9/13This aerial photo shows the damage to an amusement park left in the wake of superstorm Sandy on October 31, 2012, in Seaside Heights, N.J.
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
10/13An aerial photo of the Breezy Point neighborhood in New York, October 31, 2012, where more than 50 homes were burned to the ground as a result of the superstorm.
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
11/13Raymond Simpson, Jr., with Atlantic City's Department of Public Works, looks out over debris from superstorm Sandy in Atlantic City, N.J., November 1, 2012.
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
12/13An historic roller coaster from a Seaside Heights, N.J. amusement park fell in to the Atlantic Ocean during superstorm Sandy.
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
13/13PSE&G employee Percy Thompson III unloads new electrical transformers in a parking lot used as a staging area at the Quaker Bridge Mall, November 1, 2012, in Lawrence Township, N.J.
Millions of people in the northeastern US most of them in the New York metropolitan area, remain without electricity iafter superstorm Sandy.
Previous slide
Next slide
Tony, a staffer at the ESPN sports television channel, said he was trying to make it to the west side of Manhattan. He had been waiting about 45 minutes, but was philosophical about the inconvenience.
“It's all right. Considering what we went through and what others are going through, the MTA is doing a great job,” he said.
On New York's Staten Island, which was hard-hit by the storm, ferry service remained suspended. Authorities recovered four more bodies on the island Thursday, including two young brothers who had been swept from their home by the storm surge.
Nearly two million New Jersey residents are still without power as they struggle to recover from Sandy. Their train system is not operating yet as the state awaits new rail cars to be flown in by the Department of Defense to replace ones that were lost or damaged in the storm.
In New York, taxi driver Lal worried that there could be fuel shortages.
“I'm worried about the gas today. There is no gas. The gas stations are closed. All, most, of the gas stations are closed. If no gas, maybe no working tomorrow,” Lal said.
As some New Yorkers struggle to recover from the storm, Governor Andrew Cuomo urged residents to look out for one another.
“If you know there is a person down the hall, a senior citizen down the hall, if you know there's a family who might need help down the hall, walk down the hall, knock on the door and say is there anything I can do?,” Cuomo said.
Along with restarting New York's mass transit system, restoring electricity is the city's top priority. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says more than half a million residents are without power, down from a peak of 750,000.
Consolidated Edison, the company that supplies power to the city, says residents in Midtown and Lower Manhattan will have their electricity restored by Saturday. For others, the wait could be much longer.
Some Lower Manhattan residents, like Michael Victor, are doubtful that power will be back on by Saturday.
“I have hope, but I'm skeptical,” Victor said.
Mayor Bloomberg says that city parks will reopen early Saturday and that public schools will be open on Monday. He says there have been few arrests for looting and no murders in the city during the past two days, dispelling fears that crime would rise in the storm's aftermath.
There are other signs that life is slowly returning to normal. Many shops and businesses have reopened, and shelves were being restocked. Area airports resumed more operations on Thursday, and it was announced that the New York City Marathon will go on as scheduled on Sunday. The United Nations also reopened after severe flooding caused the world body to close its sprawling East River complex for three days.
