Still hobbled by power failures and waterlogged transit, the New York region started to restore some transportation services on Wednesday as it struggled to return to daily life during a daunting period of recovery.
The extent of the challenge was apparent during the morning commute, which quickly froze to gridlock. People who normally took the subway or regional rail lines were forced into taxis or their own cars, clogging the streets. Drivers reported delays of hours, with vehicles lined up at the major crossings and at parking garages.
But the transportation situation could soon improve. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Wednesday afternoon that limited service would be restored to two commuter rail lines for the city’s suburbs — the Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road — starting at 2 p.m. He also said limited subway service would resume starting on Thursday, with a bus bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan, but no service below 34th Street.
Mr. Cuomo said a major problem continued to be water in the subway tunnels, as well as in the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which connects Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Getting water out of the tunnels, he said, was “one of the main orders of business.”
More than 4,000 cabs, which for the moment could be shared among harried commuters, offered another partial lifeline to those cut off by the continued suspension of subway service. Some ferries were expected to be crossing between New Jersey and Manhattan.
In a briefing, Mr. Cuomo said that the Queens-Midtown Tunnel was still closed, contributing to the high volume of traffic, and that traffic signals were still out. Power restoration was being worked on. The greatest challenge was on Long Island, and utility workers were being brought in from upstate to help.
“These are significant challenges,” he said.
But in other ways the city slowly went back to business. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg rang the bell to open the New York Stock Exchange after a two-day closing, the first for weather-related reasons since 1888, as Wall Street and other businesses began to shake off the storm and return to work.
Newark Liberty International Airport opened at 7 a.m., and Kennedy International Airport also resumed operations, but many airlines were still working on a limited basis. La Guardia Airport, which sustained damage, remained closed.
State courtrooms in the city were also reopening. Connecticut, New Jersey and New York began reopening many closed roads and bridges on Tuesday.
Yet schools, parks and East River tunnels remained closed in the city, and many residents up and down the mid-Atlantic still stumbled through their morning routines with candles, flashlights or in darkness.
Amtrak said it would provide modified Northeast Regional service from Newark to points south.
President Obama approved disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey, making them eligible for federal assistance for rebuilding.
On Wednesday, the president started a tour of storm-hit areas with Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.
The two shook hands at the bottom of the stairs at Mr. Obama’s plane, and the president patted the governor on the back several times. Craig Fugate, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, also shook hands with Mr. Christie.
Mr. Christie and Mr. Obama talked to each other as they walked to Marine One, the president’s helicopter, for the brief ride to the storm-damaged area. Mr. Obama gestured to Mr. Christie to board the helicopter first.
“All of us have been shocked by the force of mother nature,” the president said in remarks before the trip. He promised “all available resources” for recovery efforts.
In Hoboken, N.J., a city of 50,000 people across the Hudson River from Manhattan, local officials issued dire warnings about thousands of people stranded by flooding, and the National Guard began moving in on Wednesday morning to try to rescue them.
“Keep an eye out, go down to the lowest possible floor, but do not go outside,” the city said on its Facebook page. “Signal to get their attention.”
The toll — in lives disrupted or lost and communities washed out — was staggering. A rampaging fire reduced more than 100 houses to ash in Breezy Point, Queens. Explosions and downed power lines left the lower part of Manhattan and 90 percent of Long Island in the dark.
Routines Restart, if With Less Power and Public Transit
This article
Routines Restart, if With Less Power and Public Transit
can be opened in url
http://newsbillboards.blogspot.com/2012/10/routines-restart-if-with-less-power-and.html
Routines Restart, if With Less Power and Public Transit
