After a night of howling wind, slashing rain and rattling windows, I woke up this morning to a new world. The sidewalks of the Upper East Side were covered with leaves, large branches and in some cases whole trees were on the street. People were out in huge numbers as the result of yet another day with no public transportation and most non-essential businesses closed! Going out for breakfast in New York on the weekend or in this case a day off is practically a national pastime. This morning we joined our friend, Gail for a late breakfast/lunch at Gracie’s, a coffee shop across the street. The line to get in was out the door and to the end of the block! Luckily Gail had gotten there before us and we were able to go right in and get a table. I ordered one of my usual breakfast. I said, “I’ll have scrambled egg whites on a toasted bialy with one slice of turkey bacon”. The waiter said, “Just white or rye”. I said, “Ok, I’ll have two poached eggs in a cup and…” at which point he interrupted me and said, “we only have scrambled eggs”. So I laughed and said perhaps he ought to just write out the order himself!!! So scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, rye toast and home fries was breakfast du jour.
Walked over to 87th St to watch the trees being fed into an automated garbage truck, not something you see around town.
Once back home an online, the horrors wrought by Sandy the night before began to reveal themselves. Between fielding phone calls from friends around the country who were checking in on our safety and well-being and trying to access the internet to see what was written on Blogfinger, I watched the news. Switching from NBC to ABC to CNN I was horrified by what I saw. Massive destruction of the Jersey Shore! Subway tunnels flooded and our own Eastside #6 line under water. The crane still dangling over West 57th St. My cousin Marian called me and asked if they could stay at our apartment on Wednesday as she is still banned from her building due to the threatening crane.
How ONE Crane Ate A Neighborhood
Another telling photo, this one from Hoboken, NJ
The Yellow Submarines
Every borough was severely affected by Sandy. Below is a freak incident brought about by high winds and a stupendous storm surge.
Sandy took a wrong turn on Staten Island
Photo courtesy of (AP Photo/Sean Sweeney)
Late in the afternoon, I was able to go online at a friend’s house and view Blogfinger – THE DAY AFTER: Assessing the Damage
The following photos are from Blogfinger, a great source of community information. If you read the comments, you will see how many home-owners such as myself rely heavily on the blog to find out what is happening in the town when we’re not there. The bad news was right there in black and white. No power, more trees down, the board walk a twisted and buckled wreck, a former restaurant ripped open by the sea.
Ocean Grove boardwalk covered in sand, benches strewn around like toys,
Photo by Paul Goldfinger
And then I called Jane at the Lillagaard to find out what damage had been done. The news was NOT GOOD. The storm surge broke the entry door to the Tea Room, not only pushing the door open but also bending the door frame. Can you imagine the forces of nature at play with this ferocious Frankenstorm? As of tonight the kitchen was still flooded and the Tea Room is closed till further notice 😦
Related articles
- Pictures: Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (fox4kc.com)
Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
Pbenjay's Blog 
Glad to hear you’re OK! My partner’s friend in Jersey City has water waist-high in the basement. 😦 Hang in there, mama!