Opinionline: After Sandy, inching back toward normalcy
Mark Di Ionno,The (Newark) Star-Ledger: "With all the signature images of Superstorm Sandy's swath of property damage — from the roller coaster in the Atlantic at Seaside Heights to the home half-eaten by the Raritan Bay in Union Beach — the real face of the storm's residual despair is human. Yes, many of us are back to normal, with heat and hot food, having survived the week-and-a-half discomfort and inconvenience of no electricity and a shortage of gas. But many still are without all. No home, no food, and hope only hanging by a thread."
Staten Island Advance, editorial: "They are known as disaster tourists. Drawn by TV coverage of Sandy on Staten Island, sightseers have been flocking to stricken East Shore neighborhoods. Whether they are islanders or outsiders, gawkers with no reason to be in storm-torn areas ought to stay away. They risk interfering with vital relief efforts."
The (North Jersey) Record, editorial: "New Jersey is inching back toward normalcy. Over the weekend, power was restored for thousands in North Jersey who had been without it. Tuesday marked the end of gas rationing that had been put in place by Gov. Chris Christie in the days after Sandy hit. ... Certainly, people in Moonachie and Little Ferry, as well as Hoboken and other areas, face longer and more complicated recoveries after heavy flooding and more severe damages. ... Yet the state is slowly but surely coming back to life."
New York Post, editorial: "The chairman of the MTA and the boss of Transport Workers Local 100 pretty much performed a miracle — and New York noticed. It was scarcely two weeks ago that much of New York's 108-year-old subway system was submerged by Sandy — the worst storm in its history. Predictions were dire — understandably so. But quick as a wink, the system was back. ... Competence seems to have predominated."
Peter Bregman,Gawker: "We received e-mails announcing an effort to collect and deliver supplies to some hard hit neighborhoods, (so) we were prepared to help. (But) when we got to Far Rockaway, the distribution center was already maxed out. So we went to a church ... acting as a distribution center. Again, we were turned away. They had as many supplies as they could handle. We found a third ... but were turned away again. As we slowly drove through Far Rockaway looking for distribution centers, we witnessed devastation of a kind I have never seen. ... I simply could not believe that the people in these neighborhoods had all the supplies they needed. ... That's when I realized the problem: All this coordination was invaluable — to a point. It got our car to the right place, filled with the right things. But now? The coordination was getting in the way. ... Yes, food and clothing and blankets are necessary for survival. But so are the conversations, connections and sense of community that come from real people sharing with other real people. ... The more we act like employees, operating to get the job done as efficiently as possible, the less human we become."
Newsday, editorial: "There's room for debate about the steps we should take to Sandy-proof New York state, but one idea ought to be non-controversial: We should not be spending state dollars to build things — roads, bridges, you name it — that cannot stand up to our altered realities of frequent nasty storms and higher sea levels."
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