So is NYC in complete pandemonium?

[Iris]

The handful of right wingers I know on Facebook are posting all kinds of things about how badly the situation in NYC and NJ is going.

The 3 that stick out the most:

1. There's widespread looting going on
2 . This is being handled as badly as Katrina (and something about the marthon going on as scheduled is like the Saints playing a week after Katrina)
3. Help from Alabama was turned away by Gov Christie because worker were not unionized

[SomethingFishy]

1. I have seen not one report of looting...

If this had been KAtrina they would still be waiting for a sign of help. It took 5 days to get water to N.O. after Katrina.

And here is a debunking of the "Alabama" story:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/non-union_utility_crew_from_al.html

[Nye Bevan]

7. Plenty of looting. Just search on Google News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/looters-target-coney-island-sandy-article-1.1195080

A wave of looters followed the Sandy storm surge in Coney Island, creating a double-whammy for business owners trying to pick up the obliterated pieces.
The thieves started down Mermaid Avenue Tuesday morning as the chest-high water receded, turning the seaside community known for its hotdogs and tourist attractions into a lawless free-for-all.

"People were running in and out of Rent-A-Center carrying these big flat screens. They were holding on tight," said witness Aisha John, 20. "I couldn't understand how someone could steal a big TV in broad
daylight, but no one cared.”

She said people were running out of a nearby Rite Aid with bags of diapers and wipes.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

16. Flat screen TVs and top-shelf liquor. Awesome.

NOT. The diapers and wipes I'd turn a blind eye to...

[vaberella]

35. The TVs wouldn't work since those were store fronts that experienced damage.

Normally by water and debris. And right after those lootings happened police were dispatched and most of those people were arrested. So I'm not getting this tons of looting by the poster above you.

[HooptieWagon]

17. Yes, reports of looting on Coney Is before storm was even over.

Liquor stores, pharmacies, and a Rent-a-Center that was cleaned out of flat screen TVs. Took a while for police to get under control.

Seemed to be just a pocket of looting, though. I didn't get the impression it was widespread.

[Walk away]

2. I've seen it on the blogs too. It doesn't seem to be getting too much traction....

Because there is plenty of press coverage and nothing like that is happening. I think they are just circle jerking each other. I can see NYC from my back yard (really) and everyone I know there is doing fine. It's not great but nothing desperate at all.
I just got an email from a friend working in midtown at a bond rating agency. They have been open since Tuesday.

[democrat_patriot]

3. It's all they have left. Lies. #3 has beeb thouroghly debunked, it never happened.

NJ had the worker they needed, they instead were sent to Maryland. They weren't truend away.

I haven't heard any looting stories - but a city that big, it's gonna happen.

The marathon is going on, that's a trickier situation. $350 million to local business VS. not having it. I'll NY'ers decide that one.

[geardaddy]

5. ^This

#3 is lies.

[The Wielding Truth]

4. This was not a little rain and thunder. This was a hurricane.It's got to be bad in some parts of NY.

The infrastructure has not been prepared for such destruction. If any thing can truly be. I think there are desperate situations happening and we must try to be there. To wring our hands and talk down those helping is not useful.

It's so like the Republicans to impede progress to the detriment of our country. To quote their hero, " Here _they_ go again".

[stevenleser]

6. Two of three are definitely not true

1. No, there is not widespread looting going on. There is very little looting going on.

2. It is being handled pretty well. Everyone here has said so. Services are being restored pretty quickly in general.

3. I have no idea whether Chris Christie turned away help. I have a feeling its not true though.

[Iris]

9. Then looks like all 3 are now debunked.

(look above to find out about #3)


Thanks DU! Record time!

[former9thward]

13. You must live in an alternate universe where there is no news about this.

It is being handled pretty well. Everyone here has said so. So you get your information from people who are sitting their comfortable warm homes posting on the internet?

The residents of Staten Island are pleading for help from elected officials, begging for gasoline, food and clothing three days after Sandy slammed the New York City borough.

“We’re going to die! We’re going to freeze! We got 90-year-old people!” Donna Solli told visiting officials. “You don’t understand. You gotta get your trucks down here on the corner now. It’s been three days!”

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/were-going-to-die-staten-island-residents-plead-for-help-3-days-after-sandy/

Drivers Waiting For 6 Hours At Midtown Gas Station http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/11/02/drivers-waiting-for-6-hours-at-midtown-gas-station/

I think people in the real world disagree with you.

[stevenleser]

18. I'm in New York City, not Tempe Arizona. Let's start there. nt

[former9thward]

21. Oh yeah.

I guess the network news sources I linked to get a special Tempe edit. Why did the marathon get cancelled if everything is going so well?

[stevenleser]

22. I guess I have to spell it out for you.

I see things with my own eyes, I have friends all over the tri-state area. I dont have to go to the news

The marathon shouldnt have been cancelled. Its a perception thing.

[boilerbabe]

23. well my friends in NYC are telling me people are stealing generators and looting all over

the place. many are packing heat or sleeping with baseball bats because of it. and nobody i know that lives there was FOR this marathon going on.

[stevenleser]

25. There is extremely little looting going on except in certain pockets, even then, its minimal

compared to what happened in Katrina, for instance. Lets put this into perspective

#1 - Virtually no one above 34th street in Manhattan, or the Bronx lost power. Most of Queens didnt lose power, except for the southern portion near JFK. In the areas without power loss, there is zero looting.

#2 - There is zero looting in southern manhattan even in the areas without power.

#3 - In some areas in brooklyn, near the water, i.e. Coney Island and Brighton Beach, there have been reports of looting. THere is basically zero looting in the rest of Brooklyn.

#4 - Staten island is the worst hit part of NYC proper. There is some concern about conditions there. I'm not sure the conditions are as bad as some of the reports in the media indicate. The Staten Island ferry is back up and running and a lot of focus is now being put on Staten island. The idea of freezing to death when the low reaches only in the upper 40's in the middle of the night is probably a little exaggerated.

Outside of NYC, Long Island was hit hard and the Jersey shore were hit hard. The reports of generators being stolen that I heard about happened in Long Island. This doesnt surprise me. I grew up out there and lived through Hurricane Gloria which resulted in a loss of power in my area for 7 days and the frustration out there was palpable. Many of my friends on Long Island reported that their power was back on today. Many of those folks are offering showers and a place to sleep for friends who dont have power.

The NYC area is handling this whole thing very well. But I guess that depends on your perspective. This is not a Katrina event or an Andrew event. In two weeks, 99.9% of the metro area is going to be fine.

[former9thward]

27. Mayor Bloomberg is this you?

[stevenleser]

28. Karl Rove, is that you?

[former9thward]

29. So its only Karl Rove who thinks there are problems on the east coast?

[HappyMe]

30. What the hell?

Steven Leser is pretty much giving a first hand account of what is going on. I don't understand what your beef is with that. If you would prefer to believe faux news, then you are welcome to that.

[former9thward]

31. If you read my posts I never linked to Fox.

I guess ABC, NBC, CBS are all in the conspiracy too!

City Councilman James Sanders (D-Far Rockaway) said he fears the situation will devolve into anarchy.

“We have an explosive mix here,” said Sanders. “People will take matters into their own hands.”

When night falls in the Rockaways, the hoods come out.

Ever since Sandy strafed the Queens peninsula and tore up the boardwalk, it’s become an often lawless place where cops are even scarcer than electrical power and food. Locals say they are arming themselves with guns, baseball bats, booby traps — even a bow and arrow — to defend against looters.

Thugs have been masquerading as Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) workers, knocking on doors in the dead of night. But locals say the real workers have been nowhere in sight, causing at least one elected official — who fears a descent into anarchy if help doesn’t arrive soon — to call for the city to investigate the utility.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/queens-residents-arm-looters-article-1.1196031#ixzz2BBl5C33x

Everything is going real great there. Nothing to see move on. Where have we heard that before???

[HappyMe]

32. Nobody said it was going great.

Yeah there are probably some problems, but I'm sure it's pretty much under control. If you prefer to think hell has broken out, go ahead. We'll carry on just fine.

[karynnj]

34. The news covers what is news

The devastation in Staten Island was news and the clip is from earlier in the week. No level of response would have changed the devastation there. That is real and it is emotional. The question is what help will be there in the coming weeks. As it is, Obama waived the normal process and designated that area and parts of NJ as disasters. FEMA and other federal organizations are working hard.

Some of the really major problems are being fixed faster than anyone thought possible. For instances, the 4 and 5 subway lines that go from Manhattan to Brooklyn via a tunnel that had been flooded is back in service today.

The gas lines story is curious as most NYC residents do not have cars and there are not many gas stations in Manhattan. There were initial shortages i n NJ because some portion of the stations were not open. This led to lines. The government has already moved to get gas here and large areas have regained electricity.

None of this is to minimize the real devastation on the shore of both NY and NJ. However, the fact that even in a less affected area, I can see real progress day by day means something. That was part of the problem with Katrina.

[DollarBillHines]

15. I've been wondering...

where did they evac you to when the Parker Meridien was cleared?

The crane pic you posted was just too cool.

[stevenleser]

26. Thanks for asking!

I talked about it right up front in the last episode of my radio show. Here is a link to the archive http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lesersense/2012/11/02/the-presidential-election-who-is-ahead-and-why

[Liberalynn]

8. Haven't heard any of this

except for major complaints about the marathon being run. A lot of talk about people who'd lost their homes or who have no electricity being kicked out of hotels to make room for the marathoners. How the marathon is diverting resources needed for the disater such as generators being used to heat marathon tents when homes and hospitals don't have power, etc. That was coming from both Democrats and Republicans and I have to say I agree, they should not be holding the Marathon now but postponing it to a later date.

The Marathon decision had nothing to do with Obama, however, it was Bloomberg's call so it shouldn't be used against Obama, but the desperate PuKes will try anything at this point.

[gateley]

10. The Alabama story is bogus:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021692322

There's always looting after a disaster like this -- that's not FEMA's purview, anyway.

This is NOTHING like Katrina! Bush signed a relief package FOUR DAYS AFTER Katrina, Obama signed major Disaster Declarations for all potential areas AHEAD of Sandy's arrival (Oct 27th I think)

[Iris]

14. That's what makes me so sick. Comparing this to Katrina.

There is no end to their blind loyalty to the party tht treats them like dirt.

[nolabear]

11. Brought to you be the "Too Close to Call" crowd. If it bleeds it leads.

I have no doubt there are people who have had terrible losses and this is a huge tragedy. And they're angry because they're hurt and grieving and no one can make that go away quickly and easily so they hate them. And the media loves a crying woman and a dead child. I hate to say it, but it's true.

[lindysalsagal]

12. I just heard Bloomberg's update and he argued with the accusation that he turned down

FEMA help before the storm.

He meant that unlike small towns, he already has fire and police workers so doesn't need the national guard to come in. He decided to let them go to other places where they're really needed.

I don't know the specifics of the Christie refusal, but Bloomberg's makes sense.

It would look bad afterwards if there were places where FEMA and the guard were needed, but instead, they sat around NYC doing nothing.

These events sound simple on a message board, but in reality, we here on this board do not know what's happening yet.

[Viking12]

19. Hannity generated bullshit...

He screamed these lies for 3 hours today trying to smear and undermine Obama's leadership in the crisis.

[bluethruandthru]

20. This is why when people talk about bias in the media and they say "both sides do it"..I like to

have them tell me an example of a left leaning radio or tv host who flat out lies non-stop like Hannity, Beck, Limbaugh, Malkin, Coulter...and the entire cast of idiots on fox and friends!

[Odin2005]

24. It's all bullshit.

[SaveAmerica]

33. The comments I've read on FB on this are followed

by several people who are in different areas of NYC and they say they haven't seen that at all. It looks very much like the responses you have here.

I'd say it's more of them trying really hard to make President Obama appear worse than Bush when the reality is they are dying inside knowing that he's not only better than Bush, but he is much better than him.

*This is not to say that people aren't doing any stealing or other negative acts, NY is chock full of people and if some were stealing and stuff before the storm, why would they stop after? Just no real evidence of massive looting and over the top behavior.

[vaberella]

36. False to all of the above. They are lying...this is coming from a New Yorker.

The looting was extremely minor. Actually once reports of looting were mentioned the police descended in those place right away. The example of Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island is a perfect example. Both people living there and newscasters said within hours the looting stopped.

It is no way at all like Katrina. That is false. The MTA has about 14 of the 23 lines running. They took precautions and the national guard, coast guard, dewatering team and any other guard and team has been in both NY and NJ since Tuesday. Tuesday! So stop listening to assholes who have too much time on their hand. It is nothing like Katrina.

As far as help from Alabama. I have not heard any Governor or Mayor or whatever turn anything or any help away. Actually why would right wingers push the third one anyway. Christie is their boy and they're anti-unions anyway. That should be a sign of pride for them, in actuality is seems a sign of desperation on the part of people to raise drama.

NY/NJ is getting back on their feet. Tell these assholes to mind their own business. That's why us in the North East like to think we're a separate country.