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Bloomberg: Your Morning Commute Is Probably Going To Suck
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 4, 2012
Modified Nov 4, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 4, 2012
Modified Nov 4, 2012
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Yes, Mayor Bloomberg was present for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's big city and state officials press conference updating New Yorkers on Hurricane Sandy recovery earlier today—but no cameo appearance could possibly contain all the Bloomberg updates we all crave. To that end, Bloomberg will be giving his own Sandy update around 2:30 p.m. this afternoon—and it looks like he may be starting on time! We'll likely get more MTA updates and more info about current plans to house those without power—and maybe he'll comment on his SNL depiction last night. Watch below, and we'll update with a full report afterwards.
Update: FYI, they seem to be having some technical difficulties with the sound. We'll still have an update at the end of the presser.
Update: Bloomberg was decidedly more realistic than he was this morning about what tomorrow's morning commute will look like for most people: he noted not all subway lines are back, and people should understand that their morning commutes will be slower than normal tomorrow. Nevertheless, "mass transit will be there for you," even if you curse its name for a little while.
Bloomberg commended the MTA for getting most of the subway system up and running in less than a week. He also reminded that all HOV/carpool restrictions for cars coming into Manhattan is over. As for Con Ed and power concerns, Bloomberg was happy to report that there are now under 145K powerless residence in the city, and the lights are slowly being turned back on in the Rockaways; at midnight, there were 25K people without power there, and that's now down to about 19K. But even buildings who get power back may be out of commission for weeks (or even months) because of storm damage.
And to that end, Bloomberg reiterated that one of the city's biggest concern right now is the worsening temperatures: "It's cold outside and it's going to remain cold...for the next several days." NYPD officers will use loudspeakers tonight to encourage people to move to warmer place. Bloomberg commented on the challenges of finding places for 20K people he estimates will need long-term housing: "We don't have a lot of empty housing in this city, so it's really a problem finding housing in this city. We're not going to let anybody go sleeping in the street, not going to let them go without blankets, food or water...but it's a challenge."
Other people who will be feeling the cold tomorrow: public school kids. Bloomberg noted that many school buildings will be without heat. He advised parents to give their kids extra sweaters for the school—of course Mr. Salmon Pink comfort sweater would. Overall, Bloomberg expects a lot of chaos with schools tomorrow, but argued it's better to get as many students in to classrooms as possible after missing a week already.
He also seems to expect chaos on Tuesday, when schools are closed once again for the elections. More than 143K people will have their voting locations changed because of the storm (you can see a PDF with new locations here). Bloomberg really went after the Board Of Elections as a result, calling it "dysfunctional" and advocating it be put under mayoral control: "The problems they've been having planning for Tuesday further underscores that." Later, he was asked whether he felt confident the board could pull off Tuesday: "I have absolutely no idea...I don't know what they're going to do."
Tagged
bloomberg
frankenstorm
hurricane
hurricane sandy
mayor bloomberg
press conference
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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