 Lucas Jackson / Reuters Local residents salvage food from bags thrown out of a flooded store on Coney Island on Sunday. By NBC News staff and wire reports NEW YORK -- A week after superstorm Sandy ravaged the New Jersey and New York coast lines, another challenge loomed Monday for the region: Commuters, public school students and motorists -- forced out of their own vehicles by fuel shortages -- will converge on transit systems not fully ready for them. While life was expected to return slowly to normal for many, close to 2 million people remained without power and a nor'easter, with the potential for 55 mph gusts and more beach erosion, flooding and rain, was expected to hit the region by midweek. "Though this storm will not have near the magnitude of the impact Sandy had, the combination of rain, wind and snow will add insult to injury for the recovery process along the East Coast," The Weather Channel's Chris Dolce reported. Yet another storm indicates it will blow through the Northeast, promising between two and three inches of flooding. It will likely be raining on Election Day in Florida, The Weather Channel's Kelly Cass says, but Ohio looks to be clear. The Weather Channel's Kelly Cass reports. "Well, the first storm flooded me out, and my landlord tells me there's a big crack in the ceiling, so I guess there's a chance this storm could do more damage," John Lewis said at a shelter in New Rochelle, N.Y. "I was hoping to get back in there sooner rather than later, but it doesn't look good." The good news in New York City was that, unlike last week, service on key subway lines connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn under the East River had been restored. But officials warned that other water-logged tunnels still were not ready for Monday's rush hour and that fewer-than-normal trains were running — a recipe for a difficult commute. "Service will not be normal tomorrow, and we need you to understand that before you enter the system," Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned Sunday. Full coverage of Sandy's aftermath Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters he expected to take the subway to work on Monday. He will be joined by many of the students returning to class in the nation's largest school system. About 90 percent of the 1,700 schools will reopen for the first time since Sandy hit last Monday, the mayor said. Last week, with much of the subway system still crippled, commuters who turned to street transportation caused gridlock in Manhattan and elsewhere. A patchwork solution of shuttle buses and rules limiting bridge traffic to cars carrying at least three people did not provide much relief. Brooklyn Heights resident Whitney Browne, a 43-year-old father of two grade school girls, was lucky that their school provided some daycare last week. But the girls, 7-year-old Annabel and 5-year-old Lucy, frowned when asked how they felt about having regular school again and Browne worried about returning to work Monday as a digital marketer based in lower Manhattan. Want to help the recovery? Here's how "Everybody is going to be coming back to work so I expect it's going to be a zoo on the subway," he told The Associated Press. Repair crews have been laboring around-the-clock in response to the worst natural disaster in the transit system's 108-year history, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota said Sunday.  Lucas Jackson / Reuters Superstorm Sandy made landfall Monday evening on a destructive and deadly path across the Northeast. Problems getting fuel N.J. Gov. Chris Christie tried to reassure people that refineries and pipelines were back online and gas was being delivered. "We do not have a fuel shortage," he said at a news conference on Sunday. Fuel shortage expected to last for days, Cuomo says There was no rationing in New York City, where the search for gas became a maddening scavenger hunt over the weekend. Gas lines continue to stretch onto highways as New Jerseyans try to get back to normal following Sandy. NBC's Richard Lui reports. Manhattan doorman Iver Sanchez, who lives in Queens, waited at an Upper West Side gas station for three hours and still had a long line of cars ahead of him. "If I don't get gas today, I won't be able to get any for the rest of the week," he said. In the Bronx, a Citgo station had received gas early Saturday evening, but within seven hours had run through a supply which usually lasts two to three days, said gas attendant Nagi Singh. "A lot of people were angry with me," he said. Cops: 2 arrested over alleged gas hoarding In New Jersey, Monday promised to begin the return to some everyday activities. About half the school districts reported they will reopen and New Jersey Transit said it would have more train and bus service restored in time for the workweek. Philadelphia's transit authority loaned 31 buses that New Jersey Transit planned to use to support shuttle service for commuters traveling to New York City. Many who live in the blue-collar fishing town of Highlands, N.J. are still living in temporary shelters after Sandy's floodwaters forced them from their homes. NBC's Michelle Franzen reports. The challenges were more severe for tens of thousands of people unable to return to their homes and many more than that living without power or heat. Bloomberg said Sunday that 30,000 to 40,000 people in New York City were in need of shelter, including 20,000 in public housing. Temperatures will remain chilly in the days ahead, according to The Weather Channel. Highs in the 40s or low 50s will be commonplace through Wednesday. Some interior and New England locations may not get out of the 30s, it said. Election Day disruptions? New Jersey has said it will allow people displaced by the storm to vote by email. In New York City, some 143,000 voters will be reassigned to different polling sites. Both states are normally easy wins for the Democrats. After a peak of 8.5 million outages across 21 states affected by the massive storm, the rate of restoring power each day has eased as line crews must work on increasingly difficult and isolated outages. In Highlands, a blue collar fishing town, 1,200 homes were flooded, including the mayor's. The federal government has pledged to pay for housing in the region. Meanwhile in New York, transit returns on line. NBC's Michelle Franzen reports. Still, about 1.9 million homes and businesses remained in the dark on Sunday. In New Jersey, about a quarter of the state remained without power. For many, that meant they had no heat. New Yorkers eager to get back to the office In New York City, Con Edison said late Sunday night that it had restored service to more than 770,000 customers, or approximately 80 percent of all those who lost power from the storm. It said that 5,000 customers remained powerless in Manhattan, 45,000 in Queens, 22,000 in Brooklyn, 16,000 in Staten Island and 10,000 in the Bronx. But efforts to get everyone back on line could be hampered by more wet, windy weather. "Restoration crews love blue sky days," said John Miksad, Con Edison's senior vice president of electric operations. "When the wind gets high and the weather gets ugly. ... It just slows things down."  Allison Joyce / Getty Images Residents of Rockaway, N.Y., stay warm by a fire during near-freezing temperatures on Sunday. In Far Rockaway Sunday, on a basketball court flanked by powerless apartment buildings, emergency volunteers handed out bagels, diapers, water and blankets. Organizers said several hundred people had come through the playground distribution center. Genice Josey, who shares an apartment with her son, sleeps beneath three blankets and wears long johns under her pajamas — a common strategy in the no-power zone. "Nights are the worst because you feel like you're outside when you're inside," she said. "You shiver yourself to sleep." NBC News staff, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. More content from NBCNews.com:  |
11/05/2012
Storm may 'add insult to injury'; commuting still tough
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