UPDATE (Nov. 3): Hurricane Sandy important information and resources for constituents

November 3, 2012

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: 1pm-5pm, Saturday and Sunday 1pm-5pm. I will provide more information on this as I receive it, please check back for more details.

QUEENS (1pm-5pm TODAY NOV. 3RD SATURDAY)
Rockaways

Beach 44th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard
Red Fern Avenue and Beach 12th Street
Beach 84th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard
Highland Place between Rockaway Point Boulevard and East Market Street
129-16 Rockaway Beach Boulevard between Beach 128th and 129th Streets

Brooklyn

Coffey Park at Richards Street
West 25th Street and Surf Avenue

Staten Island

Mill Road and New Dorp Lane
Hunter Avenue and Father Capadanno Boulevard

Manhattan

West 27th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues
East 10th Street between Avenues C & D
Catherine Street between Cherry and Monroe Streets
Pitt Street and East Houston Street
Confucius Plaza on Division Street
413 Grand Street (Water Only)
3 Washington Square Village (#1A) at Bleecker Street
295 Greenwich between Warren and Murray Streets

INFO ABOUT SITES:
• Each person will be able to take three meals and five bottles of water at these sites.
• People should bring their own bags to carry their food and water.
• We will be distributing 500,000+ flyers in English, Spanish, and Chinese to get word out to these impacted communities.
• 400 members of the National Guard, 150 volunteers from NYC Service, and 24 staff from the Salvation Army will help implement this program, which will include going door-to-door to take meals to homebound residents.
• Supplies are being delivered by FEMA in coordination with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Management.
• A number of companies have provided support in the form of supplies.
• AT&T will bring pods that provide cell service and charging stations to the areas around the food distribution sites.
• These distribution centers will be open for as long as they are needed.
• We are working to add additional resources in these areas shortly.

FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers Operational TODAY (11/3/2012)!

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.

Ice:

CON EDISON TO DISTRIBUTE DRY ICE

TO CUSTOMERS AFFECTED BY HURRICANE

TODAY(Sat, Nov. 3) to customers who are without power due to Hurricane Sandy. The company will also have personnel at the locations to answer customers’ questions.

Queens (dry ice)

Baisley Pond Park at 155 St and Baisley Blvd. in South Jamaica

Flushing in the parking lot at the Kissena Park Velodrome near Booth Memorial Avenue

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

Bronx (dry ice)
PS 83 at 1846 Radcliff Avenue (Between Morris Park Avenue & Rhinelander Avenue) Bronx, NY 10462

Staten Island (dry ice)
Great Kills - Gateway National Park at Hylan Blvd & Buffalo Street

Westchester County (dry ice)

Westchester County Center at 198 Central Avenue in White Plains

Yonkers Raceway - 810 Yonkers Avenue

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.

TEMPORARY FUEL TRUCKS to help provide gas to emergency vehicles and the general public. The trucks are provided by the U.S. Department of Defense at the direction of President Obama and are being deployed in coordination with the New York National Guard at the direction of the Governor. The 5,000 gallon trucks will be deployed throughout the morning and there are an additional 150,000 gallons of fuel available to restock the trucks throughout the day. There is a 10 gallon limit per vehicle. Cars can fill up directly off of the truck. Here are the locations:

Queens Armory
93-05 160th St.
Jamaica, NY 11433

Bronx Armory
10 West 195th St.
Bronx, NY 10468

Brooklyn Armory
1579 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11225

Staten Island/Elizabeth Armory
321 Manor Road
Staten Island, NY 10314

Freeport Armory
63 Babylon Turnpike
Freeport, NY 11520

National Center for Disaster Fraud - Hotline, Consumer Tips for Reporting Hurricane-related fraud schemes

If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud by a person or organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of hurricane victims, or if you discover fraudulent disaster relief claims submitted by a person or organization, contact the NCDF by phone at (866) 720-5721, fax at (225) 334-4707 or email at disaster@leo.gov.
You can also report suspicious e-mail solicitations or fraudulent websites to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at
www.ic3.gov.

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.

Volunteering, Donating, and Giving Blood:

Cash donations to support these and other efforts can be made through the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. Learn more here: nyc.gov/fund
Generally speaking cash donations are preferable to in-kind donations because the logistics of collecting and distributing those supplies are complex
Those who want to volunteer can visit NYC Service at: nyc.gov/service
- Giving blood is incredibly helpful right now. For more information visit: nybloodcenter.org

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 (11/3/12):

Traffic is very heavy in the city, particularly on routes into Manhattan. We strongly urge people to not take their cars into Manhattan if at all possible.
The 3-person HOV restriction on crossings into Manhattan expired at 5pm today.
The Holland Tunnel is open to commercial vehicles and buses. Details here: https://www.panynj.gov/alerts-advisories/inclement-weather.html
The Hugh Carey Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is still closed.
Alternate side parking is will be in effect tomorrow (Saturday).
Meters are in effect.

Commuters should expect extensive delays on mass transit.
Subways, railroads, and buses are operating on a modified basis.
- Lower Manhattan below 34^th Street has no subway service, and some lines are still completely suspended.
- LIRR and Metro North are running with modifications.
- Bus service is largely restored
- Fares on MTA services are waived today.
- All details on MTA service status can be found at: mta.info
Staten Island Ferry service is running and will be back on its full schedule tomorrow.
The East River Ferry is running
PATH service is still suspended
NJ Transit services have been restored on a limited basis. Details are here: njtransit.com.

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.

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.

Parks:
Partnerships for Parks and NYC Service have joined together to host several clean- up events throughout the boroughs. Many of New York City’s parks and playgrounds were impacted by Hurricane Sandy and we are calling on New Yorkers for their help. Here are the list of parks:

Queens (Friday and Saturday only)
Brookville Park
Baisley Pond Park

If you are interested in volunteering please visit this site.

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.