It was four years ago that Superstorm Sandy hit the New York Metropolitan Area. I worked the overnight shift the night Sandy hit, and aside from the loss of power to the worksite, escaped any major consequences. In the subsequent week, though, the unavailability of fuel (no gas to be had in my home neighborhood, no electricity to run the gas pumps near the jobsite) forced me to camp out on the job for four days, eating canned sardines and lamenting the fact that I was working in a dark, unheated building while I'd never lost power at home.
My Sandy experience was a walk in the park compared to that of a lot of New Yorkers and New Jerseyites, but it convinced me that the United States needs a major infrastructure overhaul. As I recall, and I blogged about the storm soon after it hit, Sandy was mainly characterized by strong sustained winds which created an unprecedented storm surge- if the power lines in the neighborhood in which I work had been buried, I probably would have spent the time with light and heat, not to mention the internet. This country needs jobs, and building an improved power grid and improved transportation system would be a lot better for us than building some goddamn stupid wall.
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2 comments:
I remember a couple of big power outs. The Con Ed explosion at 23rd and the East Side Highway (err FDR drive) was worse than what happened near where I lived than 9-11.
(Of course, 9-11 had so many more dire consequences than what happened with power in my apt, and we're still suffering from them.)
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That big blackout back in, what, 2003, was great- one could see an amazing amount of stars even in the city. Luckily, I rode my bicycle to work that day, so I wasn't stuck in a long line of traffic.
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