Around 40,000 lose homes in Sandy

Occupy militants switch from Wall Street to storm aid

US: Veterans of the campaign to bring Wall Street to a standstill are now in an army of volunteers helping the tens of thousands in a crippled district of New York one week after superstorm Sandy struck.

Hundreds of volunteers have poured into Far Rockaway, a poor working class district on the fringes of New York City, which endured an horrific storm last Monday.

A long line of people formed outside St Gertrude's church on Beach 38 Street, where the volunteers have made their headquarters.

An “Occupy Sandy” page was set up on Facebook on Wednesday as word spread of devastation in Far Rockaway, where the beaches are a popular summer attraction.

“We were able to mobilize very fast,” said Leo Eisenstein, 24, one of the organizers whose day job is at an AIDS testing laboratory. “We now have six or seven centers in Red Hook, Far Rockaway, Staten Island and other places hard hit by the hurricane.” “There is a time to demonstrate and a time to help,” added Bruno Giuliani, a 38-year-old filmmaker.

Another friend from the Occupy movement told them about the church. There the caretaker was putting sacks of donated clothes on the sidewalk for people to help themselves.

“Even two trucks of National Guard came to help,” Giuliani stressed, amused at the irony of the unexpected partnership between the security forces and the Occupy militants, hundreds of whom were arrested during last year's demonstrations. AFP

US: Tens of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed or damaged by superstorm Sandy faced a new crisis in New York on Sunday as temperatures plunged, raising the specter of people freezing to death.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg estimated that 30,000-40,000 homes in the city alone had been left unusable by the October 29 storm as the cold intensifies.

Sandy pummeled 15 states with fierce winds and a huge tidal surge that killed at least 109 people in the United States and Canada and a damage bill running to tens of billions of dollars.

More than two million homes in seven states are still without power and a new storm predicted to hit on Wednesday is bringing more heavy rain and winds.

“It is starting to get cold, people are in homes that are uninhabitable,” New York state governor Andrew Cuomo told a press conference. “We are going to have tens of thousands of people who need housing solutions right away.” “This is going to be a massive, massive housing problem,” the governor said.

Bloomberg compared the crisis to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. “I don't know that anybody has ever taken this number of people and found housing overnight,” the under-pressure New York mayor said.

Tens of thousands fled New Orleans because of the storm. “In this case people are staying in New York City and it's a challenge for us,” Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg called off Sunday's New York marathon because of protests about the diversion of resources with so many people suffering. Many of the 47,000 contestants descended on Central Park on Sunday to run part of the course while others handed out aid and money to storm victims.

Huge lines of cars and people on foot snaked back from gas stations across the northern half of New Jersey. Drivers with license plates ending in an even number can only fill up on even-numbered dates. Those whose plates end in odd numbers had to wait for odd-numbered dates.

In New York, Cuomo and Bloomberg also appealed for patience as tempers flared among anxious drivers lined up for hours at gas stations, and they insisted that deliveries are improving.

At Coney Island people waited for up to six hours to get some of the free gasoline that federal authorities have sent to New York to help alleviate shortages. Temperatures in New York hovered just above freezing point.

AFP