Jeremy
From the Upper West Side, without any communications with the rest of the city or the internet, we would have no idea that Sandy had been such a disaster. Round here, it was windy, it was stormy, and it was rainy. And some trees fell down. But we've all seen the pictures of devastation Downtown.Looking out my apartment window, I watched the lights in New Jersey go out—they were only turned back on a week later, or so. We've heard horror stories of Long Island, particularly Long Beach and Rockaway where whole streets were destroyed, army personnel are guarding the streets and giving out aid, and they might not get power back for six months.
Miri
But there's something amazing about New York city's reactions.
Before moving from New Haven to New York I really thought that
'New-Yorkerness' was grossly exaggerated. But, as it turns out, New
Yorkers are incredibly resilient. Much of the city went back to work
whilst the bottom third of the island was without power or water. People
walked through streets with no traffic lights (or 'stop lights') to
shower at offices above 40th Street as though it were just another item
on a long to-do list. And the snow storm just over a week after Sandy
hardly phased anyone. What still troubles and confuses me is the
question of how to characterise the reaction of this city to the
hurricane. On the one hand New Yorkers came together in extraordinary
ways; volunteering, donating food, blankets, money and even blood.
