Hello from post-Sandy New York City! JB and I are just fine, have power and no flooding. In other words, we are the luckiest people on the island of Manhattan.
Just outside our apartment building.
Down the block.
As I walked around my part of town and surveyed the damage, I became even more appreciative of our good fortune. Many of my friends and classmates are without power, cell phones, and all the amenities that go along with that infrastructure. And there is no end in site for them, as Con Ed works to get the power back on.
Pumping out one of the basements in Stuy Town.
This was washed ashore A FULL CITY BLOCK and demolished a car. Thankfully, it wasn’t a person.
This storm was no joke. People were killed. People are now homeless. NYU Langone Medical Center lost power and had to transport more than 200 patients to other hospitals in the middle of the night last night. Thankfully, we have a massive team of First Responders here to help.
Ready to go.
Thankfully, we still have a President who believes FEMA is important enough to fund.
Our city is trying desperately to hold it together and help one another. Downtowners, come on uptown. We got you. Our beloved Central Park is being cleaned up. Our Rivers are still washing stuff onto running paths. We have a lot to do to bring our city back to normal.
The sirens have been going all day and night. I’m just glad they’re responding to emergencies.
Debris under the FDR.
The clean-up effort has already begun and is tremendous. I high-fived a sanitation worker over on Avenue C today who was kind enough to smile at me as I passed by his job site (a massive tree that had toppled over). The city services are out in force!
The scene from Broad St. into a below ground parking garage this afternoon.
One of the tunnels that merges with the FDR downtown.
But we have a long, long way to go before things are back to where they need to be in order for us to get back to school and work and life. You know what the last thing on my mind is?
The New York City Marathon.
Yes, I am part of the Medical Team. But right now, my efforts and energy are elsewhere.
Both Bloomberg & Wittenberg say the marathon will happen and I believe them. There is far too much money in it for them to cancel such a main event for the city. It will turn into some “enduring spirit of New York-ers” sort of PR event and the city will make lots and lots of money.
I don’t care.
I feel for you who have trained for it and would be so, so disappointed if it were cancelled. I do. I’ve been there. But you know what? Let’s put things into perspective and quit bombarding the {New York} Road Runners Facebook page and Twitter account with your panicked messages.
It’s going to happen. Come as planned. Quit your bitching.
Yada, yada, yada, the bleachers are up. Quit freaking out.
That’s two days in a row that I’ve sworn on my blog. I supposed hurricanes bring out my saucy side.
As for my New York neighbors, there are plenty of places to volunteer now that we are all out of work and school for a few days:
- Make a plan to donate blood since so many blood drives were cancelled.
- Get informed about volunteering for Sandy clean-up.
- Help out our friends over at JackRabbit Sports as they forge ahead with the Marathon Expo.
Our NYC Marathon Medical Team needs more volunteers since so many docs were pulled away because of Sandy. Email me: runstrongereveryday{at)gmail{dot)com if you are a medical professional or student who would like to volunteer on Marathon Sunday.
Please, give of your time, your talent, and your resources to help those who are in need and those who are helping to get our fairy city back on her feet. If anything, just be thankful it wasn’t you. And quit bitching about the marathon.
(There I go again…)
Now go out and run!
PS. I will see all of you at Flywheel Sports (11:30am @ JCC), luluelmon E 66th St., and the Javits Center tomorrow. Sweating, hugging, and volunteering. Hope to see some of you there!
