Another Sign I've Lived Too Long in New York?

My sister-in-law walked to her meditation class, and asked me to drive over with the girls and pick her up afterward. The little one was surprised: "You learned how to drive?" I told her I learned when I was 17; I just don't drive very often these days. We discussed the forms of transportation I use in NYC, then she returned to the interrogation: "But this is the first time they let you drive by yourself?"

Lower Manhattan

It's strange to have seen lower Manhattan post-9/11 and post-Sandy.  The economic devastation is greater this time (particularly around Water Street), but the mood seems less grim than in 2001.  It might be the fact that more folks live downtown these days (due to the post-2001 incentives), so the streets are not completely deserted.  And it also helps that this is seen as a freak natural disaster, rather than a purposeful attack.  And (relatedly) that the streets are not patrolled by military folks in camouflage garb - just the NYPD, in their usual stations.

A nod to normalcy: union workers lighting
the trees in Hanover Square

Near Water Street, many familiar franchises (eg Starbucks & Au Bon Pain) have completely blocked out their plate glass windows with brown paper on the inside.  I suspect they don't want to expose potential consumers to the unsavory storm-recovery and cleanup operations.

By contrast, a mobile device retail store on Water Street did not cover its windows (after all, they don't sell food!).  This photo shows the kind of gutting that was necessary:

Retail Store, Gutted

A mail room with damaged sheetrock removed,
and dryers still running

The lights have started to come back on the east side of Water Street, but some buildings are still dark:

Meanwhile, my office building has reopened two select floors, with power supplied by a generator.  Only one elevator is in operation, and you have to be escorted up and down by a security guard.  The rest of us "refugees" from the building are squeezed into conference rooms and cubicles in other buildings across the city.  It's a whole new world.

My heart goes out to all the small businesses in lower Manhattan, especially the independently operated ones that don't have the support of a franchisor -- all those that operate, in best of times, with narrow margins.  The restaurants and bars in other NYC neighborhoods that were actually able to keep running without interruption surely made a killing; the ones in lower Manhattan and other affected areas that were able to reopen quickly with minimal damage once power was restored may be OK.  But many other places remain dark, and I worry for them.

And of course, all this is nothing compared to the places that were really hard-hit.  Many coastal areas and barrier islands in NJ (Sea Bright, Long Beach Island), as well as Staten Island and the Rockaways.

Putting a Flower-Box to Use

It felt like spring today as the snow melted (and sounded like it too:  gentle thuds throughout the afternoon as softening clumps fell from tree branches).

So that got me thinking of my lovely tulipus eternicus...  Why not put that flower-box to use?

Brooklyn Transportation Alternatives: Snowfall Edition

I went out for a walk in the first snowfall, with an idea that I might go see a movie, or possibly stop by a hardware store to get some supplies.  But the hardware store was closed, the subways were slow, and the weather blustery enough that I was dissuaded ... and in any event I was completely sidetracked by the extraordinary number of bicycles parked unprotected outside in the snow.  Most were locked; a few nonetheless lacked wheels.  A few intrepid delivery folks were actually riding their bikes, but they tended to park 'em under awnings when they stopped.

This is why Target uses self-locking shopping carts

On 5th Avenue: bicyclist, pedestrian and parked vehicles.

Sans seat, sans wheels, sans gear chain, sans all.

A horse! A horse!  My kingdom for a -- oh, never mind.

 

Special delivery

I saw 4 parked motorcycle/moped vehicles, and 2 in active use.

2 bikes under the awning, 1 on the curb

Love the black and white stripes.

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

My last surviving grandparent stopped eating and drinking about four days ago.

I got the news that he was dying on Friday night, and booked a flight out first thing Saturday morning.

Everyone who could, dropped everything and came out to see him.  He was on oxygen, waxy and largely immobile except for the occasional spasm of a limb.  He seemed to be sleeping the entire time we were there, though his eyes occasionally half-opened and his face passed through different expressions from time to time.

We spent as much time with him as we could over the course of the weekend, catching up with each other in his presence.  As the spirit moved us, we stood at his bedside, held his hand, and spoke with him.  I told him who I was, told him we all loved him and would miss him, but that we were grateful for all he had done for us, and that we were really proud of him.  I told him how much I liked re-telling stories of his adventures in the Foreign Service.  I told him we were sad to say good-bye, but that we understood he'd had a full life and that we understood if it was his time to go.

I cried when my dad and brother spoke to him, trying to reach him and see if he was in there somewhere.  I cried in the airport.  I'm crying now.

It would be wonderful if he revived and rallied again, but I do not expect it.  Given that he has lost the will to live and is dying, I just wish we could all have stayed with him until the end.  (Only my cousin remains at this time, and she leaves tonight.)

So I am back in New York now, where everything is still off-kilter, and I am waiting for the other shoe to drop, the inevitable phone call or email that will let me know that this extraordinary man, the last link to my ancestors, is gone.

A New Halloween Tradition: Horizontal Tree-Climbing

The lighting was a bit tricky for my camera, but this was an unexpected treat on my way to the grocery store to replenish our candy supplies:  kids in costume making the most of a storm-felled tree as an impromptu playground.  

A natural jungle-gym

A princess climbs up to join the fun

I am sorry for the loss of this big old tree, and for the property damage (at least two cars totaled), but it looks like there were no deaths or injuries from it, and I'm grateful for that, at least.

An Important Part of Recovery Operations

I went to Grand Army Plaza and saw that the entrance to Prospect Park was entirely unobstructed, and many people were strolling into the Park and around the interior roadway.  A very few folks were walking on the central lawn area (far from any trees).

There were a few large trees down, and some folks were posing for pictures in front of them.  

The feeling was very sedate and peaceful; a sort of Zen mood after a big storm.

Then I became aware of a muffled sound from across the other side of the park, a megaphone-amplified voice saying something like: "Prospect Park is still closed.  Please leave the park!"  Everyone kept strolling, as I did, and sure enough, an NYPD van slowly rolled up and by us, repeating this message of good cheer.

We did not visibly react to the announcement -- no one altered speed or direction of their stroll -- but we all quietly complied by exiting the park at the next exit we encountered.  In my case, this was the 3rd Street entrance, which (unlike the Grand Army Plaza entrance) is marked as "closed."

I couldn't help thinking that none of us were doing anything stupid or dangerous.  Surely, rather than deploying scarce NYPD resources to continually patrol the park and inform pedestrians that they must leave the park, they  could simply put up a barricade and signs at Grand Army Plaza? Admittedly, this alternative does require trust in our collective ability to exercise judgment and look out for our own interests, but it also frees up an NYPD van and drivers to where they might be better needed.

Sandy

The pre-emptive subway shutdown at 7pm last night forced my hand - did I want to be in Zone A or in high ground in Brooklyn?  I packed and unpacked my bags half a dozen times, before I finally hopped on the subway at 6:45 pm.  What finally tipped the scales: My workplace had just posted that they would be shutting down today.  That's how I knew it was serious.

A grocery store was open this morning, so I picked up a few small last-minute items... And a bagel place was open too for one last delicious cappuccino before I beat the retreat to work from home all day.

We'll see how long power lasts here, but so far, so good.  Watched Mad Max with a friend (a grimmer movie than I'd realized), now off to my online class...  Sandy permitting.

I was not at all sure about coming over to Brooklyn, and felt like a real wimp for evacuating, but over the course of the day today, I have been increasingly grateful that I did.  

Best wishes to all in Sandy's path -- stay safe.

Status Update

Since I'm still on my Facebook fast (notwithstanding my quick foray Friday to share the news about the Hobbit premiere weekend known as Mythmoot 2012: A Long-Anticipated Journey), I'll have to update my status here on my blog.

So here goes: I just submitted my first book review to Mythprint!!!  It's a review of Above Ker-Is and Other Stories, by Evangeline Walton.  Whether or not my proposed review is eventually accepted and published (fingers crossed), it's still good just to get it done -- I (ahem) actually started working on it a month and a half ago.

Now I can turn my attention (back) to researching and writing a paper for my class. 3,000-4,000 words.  Due two weeks from today.  Eep!

Mahjong Party

It was time for my first mahjong party on the roof.  Four friends joined me, and we played all the way through the East Wind round.

We seized the table right in the center of the room, which turned out to have plenty of space for dinner, snacks, and ... cake!!!