New York Keeps Running and that's a good thing.

(Wrote this on Friday 11/ 2, had some technical issues preventing me from publishing (nothing tragic) but I stand by this even and especially in light of the type of criticism the Marathon received and it's cancellation)

Friday, Nov 2nd:


Cancelling the Marathon doesn't remove water from people's homes, lift trees off of houses and cars, repair roofs, return electricity to the hundreds of thousands without it. Deliver vital medicine to those with chronic illness or sadly raise the dead. Beat cops do not conduct disaster relief missions. Currently relief efforts are underway it's a shame that they were not there sooner, just as its

equally a shame that people who didn't take two days of evacuation orders and open shelters and near by higher ground were not willing or able to use them. Should evacuation failures be investigated and improved, definitely. Cancelling the Marathon doesn't do that. Should available resources from the marathon go to survivors I think so, should the proceeds of the marathon go to survivors, i think a chunk should at least.

Should people get booted from hotels for marathoners? Hell no! Give the runners trailers or something, they're only here for a few hours, but does cancelling an event that arguably focuses the city and to a degree the nation's focus on New York at a time when many New Yorkers need all the attention and assistance they can get, improve conditions for hurricane survivors? I don't think so.

 

The Marathon should be used to increase attention and aid to people in need, so regular people who've focused their lives on this event can be given the opportunity to run for something bigger than personal achievement. Let's make that happen. The Marathon has run through Harlem, Spanish Harlem & the South Bronx for 40 years and in that time child mortality rates in those areas have rivaled 3rd world nations. Economic, educational and environmental suffering has existed in those marathon run through neighborhoods for years as well. Yet there's never been a huge outcry that the marathon is being run while people suffer. Quitting the marathon doesn't miraculously fix things.

When we fall we get up. When people fall we think it's right to give compassion and we hope that compassion will be there if we ever need. I think people should be helped when they fall. all people. but when we fall we don't make progress but asking the people standing to lay down.

My two cents.

 

(As I was writing this word came in that the Marathon would be cancelled, the following then came to mind)

I blame Bloomberg but not for a failed response to the Hurricane. Personally I think people need to go back and look at the days preceding that terrible storm and look at what and how Bloomberg did to prepare New Yorkers of the disaster to come. There were two days of warnings that people in the flood zone (Evacuation Zone A) were in danger and needed to leave to be safe.

 

Shelters were opened. Evacuation instructions were given. Warnings were made.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121029/new-york-city/where-find-shelter-closest-you

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20121028/new-york-city/heres-what-do-if-you-live-hurricane-evacuation-zone

So what do I blame Bloomberg for? His style of leader ship for more than a decade, which in and of itself is part of the problem. He broke the rules, bending them from illegal to legal for his own desire, and said it was for our betterment. He's made dozens of changes to our city, often against public opinion and ignored most grievances saying essentially it's for our betterment.

I blame Bloomberg for squandering his clout and the goodwill of New Yorkers such that anything he does is now likely to be greeted with scorn. A Mayor, a leader, who engendered good will of his constituents could have presented an event like the Marathon as a way for New Yorkers and the world (by way of the international cast of competitors) to give to the hurricane survivors. 

As of last weekend most people in outside of Staten Island wouldn't know where or how to get to Staten Island right after the disaster, or who to help. People didn't know how to reach out and some New Yorkers didn't have a direct connection to the tragedy in Staten Island, Breezy Point, Rockaway and the Lower East Side but you know what does reach Millions of New Yorkers? The marathon, which is why i feel it could'a been and could still be a way for people to help. 

 

On the street level it almost all volunteers, runners could have been designated as representatives for stricken communities. rest stops could have been set up as donation points, the proceeds or at least a sizable chunk could have been donated to the disaster relief.

The NFL continued with the Giant's game in New Jersey less than 20 miles from the destruction zones. They used the game to honor 1st responders, donate to the survivors and encourage more donations and awareness.

A better leader who would have been able to show and connect us to the ties that bind us as people and New Yorkers instead of stubbornly plowing ahead as our communities frayed.

Con Ed's storm plan went out with a bang. (Yesterday's planning won't stop tomorrow's storms)

Technically speaking, this time, you can't fault Con Ed.

The electrical utility planned for Hurricane Sandy and the storm surge of water it would cause. They preemptively cut power to areas of the city whose power lines were likely to be flooded (as detailed in this article from Bloomberg Businessweek News) and they had previous experience with extreme storms most recently last year's Hurricane Irene which cause a 9.5 foot increase in the water level near the substation. The utility was prepared to stop a storm surge of 12 feet reasonable thinking when considering that since 1821 the highest storm surge had been 12.5 feet.

But we clearly live in a climate changed world. What was isn't what's likely to be. The storm surge on Monday night rose to 14 feet.

When flood waters (not very deep once it crested and flooded through the streets, but deep enough) made it through the grates and into the 14th Street Con Ed Sub-Station that's when all the planning went down the drain.

The Bloomberg article said it best,

"It's like what happened at the Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan last year — without the radiation."

As you should expect as a reader of this blog, I have a personal story about that sub-station; a relative worked there back in the day and took me by once when he had to drop off some gear. I won't wax on as I usually do, although there is a great story about cats and birds to be told, the point is there is an unbelievable amount of infrastructure on that site. Volatile vital energy infrastructure. That we need to live on in this city. Ask anybody who lives on a respirator or the much less inconvenienced but still frustrated people hanging on street corners in midtown trying to get a cell signal.

I hope the Governor's remarks about updating New York City's ability to withstand the climate we live in today and tomorrow is sincere. And most important that we the people get why we need to pay up to improve and prevent the situations.

Btw if you haven't seen it here comes the boom(starting from 22 seconds in), from the 14th Street Con Ed Sub-Station:


If you want to know why shutting power down is the best bet and why electrical power stations go boom when exposed to salt water (and you couldn't be bothered to read the linked article, here's your crib-note from the same article)

"When live electric equipment is inundated with salt water, electricity escapes every which way, sending sparks flying and damaging equipment. "You see a huge blast just from the short circuit," says Arshad Mansoor, senior vice president for research and development at the Electric Power Research Institute, an industry-funded research group."

So my two cents. Lets look at the cost of repairing the damage from this storm, plus the lost wages and tax revenue, and productivity (and lives directly attributable if any) project that forward based on the frequency and intensity of storms in the last 10-20 years and see if that comes close to what it cost to make long term fixes. One way or another we're gonna pay for this better it be less now vs more later.

Life's not so easy living Breezy - Hurricane Sandy brings hard facts home for Rockaway community, New York City in general

Breezy Point, Queens took a helluva a beating from Hurricane Sandy.

The winds turned bits of home and property into shrapnel, the storm surge brought floods in from the ocean overlapping the low land, inundating homes, drowning possessions and of course as has been widely reported causing fires to erupt surrounded by impassable roads, which sweep through the community on the Rockaway peninsula disintegrating over 100 homes and leaving smoldering foundations in it's wake.

Fortunately so far, there haven't been reports of any deaths as a result.

Most New Yorkers would have an easier time finding Staten Island than Breezy Point, (go ahead ask ten random New Yorkers to locate Staten Island on a map) Being the geek that I tend to be I knew where Breezy Point is but besides being gobsmacked by the fire and destruction I was way stunned at how many people live there. It's not what I remembered.

On summer days in the late 80's I'd ride my bike about 3 miles from the Flatlands/Mill Basin (yeh Mill Basin) area of Brooklyn where my grandmother's home is down along the Flatbush Avenue extension past the former Red Lobster, past the Toys R Us (usually past, there were frequent pit-stops at Toys R Us, hey I was a kid) out to Jamaica Bay. I'd then make what I still think is the most terrifying bike ride over a bridge in New York City, over the Gil Hodges Bridge stretching over the Jamaica Bay inlet between Brooklyn and Rockaway's slender strip of land.

Almost directly on the other side of the bridge is Jacob Riis Beach, in my opinion the best of the city beaches. The waves are higher at Riis Beach. I'd argue it's water and sand is cleaner than most of the city's beaches. It faces the ocean straight away unlike Coney Island which to an extent is behind Rockaway's eastern most point and that point is Breezy. Which is why I know of Breezy Point.

The first time I went, I did so simply because its words were otherwise unremarkably printed on the outskirts of the 1980's NYC Subway map. It seemed so distant. The map showed no landmarks. Not the ambiguous green geometry of a possible park or even a line to indicate roads. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to stand there, at the point drawn on the map, noteworthy enough at least to have been named but possibly consisting of nothing else. Being the literal minded kid I was, hoped for a pointed piece of sand to stand on, water on either side of me and what else, a breeze, at least.

Usually though, the summer heat and the 3 mile bike ride narrowed my focus and desire to nothing more than a quick splash in the accessible surf. It took many trips before I realized my Breezy Point investigation had never been conducted, so one day I made it the primary goal. Turning right off the bridge instead of my usual left toward Riis, I found a quaint street, a small fire station, and after a short ride not much else. The road as I recall stopped after less than a mile and became a sandy path. Curious as I was, a random sandy path into a neighborhood that didn't look a lot like me, wasn't so appealing to my teen-aged bike riding self. Yusef Hawkins was a constant presence in my mind when I rode into foreign outer borough neighborhoods. A few years later I convinced a girl friend that we should drive to Breezy Point. Of course I had an ulterior motive, besides whatever shenanigans we'd get into I wanted to see if we could get further in the car than I could on bike. Well a few minutes later I got my answer. The road had ended and we were surrounded not by water but tall grass. It was higher than the car, we couldnt even see the water but I suggested we drive deeper. We did and were rewarded by the sound of tires with no traction spinning out in the sand. She turned the car around and we high tailed it outta there.

That was all I knew of Breezy Point until Sandy hit. The number of tragically destroyed homes on inspired me to do some research and I learned it's a co-op community. Built from land purchased in the 60's but much of it developed only since the 80's.

A New York Times article from 2008 mention's this;

In 1960, when the neighborhood went co-op, Breezy Point was mostly a summer retreat for middle-class families from Brooklyn, particularly Marine Park, Sheepshead Bay and Flatbush. In the late 1990s, according to brokers, hundreds of residents began razing one-story bungalows and building year-round dwellings.

That might explain why I didn't notice so much community when I rode through. Unfortunately the community has a lot of undesired attention these days. Hopefully they can rebuild but I wonder how they will.

I watched this 20/20 report about Breezy Point.

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

Two ABC producers were there when the storm hit, to cover the folks who'd refused the mandatory evacuation. Several residents expressed a stand our ground philosophy. I understand that. I write this blog and more substantial live a good part of my life from the perspective of this land is my land, where I'm from and will remain. I understand that way of thinking. But ultimately I know in my heart outside forces come into our situations and influence our lives. We can stay put, but if we don't adapt to our new realities we won't last long. Whether the reality is gentrification or climate change.

Considering the storm was the result of climate change (leave comments if you can prove otherwise) and at-sea-level communities like Breezy Point, the outer banks in North Carolina and all around the world are going to be exposed to more intense storms and higher water levels, I can't help but wonder if residents are going to make long lasting solutions (building higher at least) or simply engage in the kind of cognitive dissonance that leaves people doomed to repetition.

St. Teresa Church in Brooklyn with Dangerous Storm Damage

That didn't take long.

(photos: Jason Scott Jones)

I was headed on bike to the bar to administer my cabin fever and I half considered doing some "Storm Surveying" post Hurricane Sandy.

After two blocks I saw the metal facade had been torn from St. Teresa of Avila Church on Classon Av and Sterling Place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn (I know some folks insist it's Prospect Heights now but despite what googlemaps says, Washington Avenue is the boarder and where I stop tolerating real estate delusions).

I know the church well having attended it as a kid. It's part of the Catholic Diocese and it's towers were built in 1905. I've seen it take hits from storms, usually blizzards back in the day, but this is the most extensive damage I've seen the church endure in 30 years.

The street below is taped off but otherwise there isnt much way to know that the facade is dangling dangerously overhead so be careful if you're in the area.

Update 10/31/12 Councilmember Letitia (Tish) James has exressed that she's aware of the situation and it is being addressed, the street may be closed to avoid potential danger.

9/11/12 another beautiful Tuesday morning, this time will more lessons than loss

One of my biggest challenges is moving on without the feeling of loss. It's easier to turn away and ignore than hold a memory of the past living in my mind and still navigate into the future.

Today's 9/11 anniversary, on a beautiful bright Tuesday just as the tragic day itself was, reminds me of the difficulty I find in moving forward while looking back.

No one should want to forget but how do you move forward while a part of you lives in the past? If we move to far forward, letting time and daily life erode the moment, how do we respect, remember and learn from what has happened.

I don't have an answer.

Millions of lives were changed eleven years ago today. Thousands of lives ended. Some of those lifes snuffed out that day, and some thousands had a chain of events set in motion that morning that would steal their lives too soon. People personally connected to the victims of this day eleven years ago had dents, detours and holes placed in their lives and hearts. The world contoured itself on the basis of that tragic day, in ways we have yet to unravel.

It's obvious we should never allow the loss and resulting impacts to be forgotten, all while we continue striving on toward a better world.

Rest and peace to those innocents lost as a result of that tragic day, love and strength to all the 9/11 survivor.

New York Shi**y, sometimes

Sewage overflow. Sound bad? it generally is, its the term for and what happens when a huge amount of water from say sudden and epic rainfall (as is seen in this AWESOME photo

Photo by Dhani Jones / https://twitter.com/DhaniJones/status/225644233309163522

now famously snapped by former NFLer & Travel Channel star Dhani Jones as his flight was in a holding pattern over Long Island waiting to land at LaGuardia) is dumped into the sewers and drainage of NYC. 


Yesterday's epic downpours dropped nearly an inch of rain within an hour's time. 


When this happens the actual floodgates are opened and the sewage, a combination of toilet waste, street run off and other less than pleasantry and the sudden rain are dumped, into our rivers. That's bad enough, but worse of course is that we live in an interconnected world and so what goes into the river yesterday will be around the beaches this weekend, and in smaller amounts remain for days to come.


Sewage overflow does have to go somewhere or it will back up into your home, but this is the only solution we as a city have available for when there's heavy rains like yesterday. We let it pour into the rivers and eventually beaches and either don't know or don't think about the results.




That is until someone records one sewage release point (above) this one into the Hudson River, great music select from 4Sespecially who posted the video on youtube.