Disaster expert hired to help Sandy's New York homeless

• New storm threatens recovery efforts in New York and New Jersey
• About 1.4 million still without power
• N.Y. Gov. Cuomo relaxes voting requirements in today's election

NEW YORK — The disaster expert who led the federal government's New York recovery effort after the 9/11 terror attacks was tapped Monday to direct the city's effort to house thousands left homeless by Superstorm Sandy.

Brad Gair, a former Federal Emergency Management Agency recovery officer and Brooklyn resident, will immediately start mapping a comprehensive housing recovery plan.

"It's a big challenge, but I want to assure everyone that every New Yorker who needs a warm place to live and a roof over his or her head is going to have one," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

Gair said he would use innovative methods and "every possible resource available" to fulfill the mission.

According to the mayor, that could mean FEMA housing trailers like those used on the nation's Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina's devastation in 2005.

Bloomberg reduced his weekend estimate that as many as 40,000 New Yorkers displaced by last week's storm could need short- or long-term housing. "We're trying to get a handle on that," he said, adding that the number could be less than 10,000.

FEMA said it has already dispensed close to $200 million in emergency housing assistance and has put up 34,000 people in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area in hotels and motels.

More than half of those currently displaced are residents of the city's low-income public housing projects, and should be able to return to their apartments this week, Bloomberg said.

Gair said his first job would be to pin down the number of Sandy's victims who actually need housing.

Federal and state funding will be available to those who are able to find temporary housing on their own, he said. Hotel rooms and other temporary solutions are also options.

"We know that it will take a while. It will be difficult. There will be bumps along the road," Gair said. "But we believe that we have the resources to get this done."

Separately, Bloomberg also appointed four community restoration directors to identify urgent recovery needs and focus on "a more micro level" to ensure that storm victims get the help they need. And the Agriculture Department said it is is sending 1.1 million pounds of food to local food banks in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester and Rockland counties.

The USDA worked with New Jersey and local organizations last week to produce meals for victims in shelters there.

The department also has approved requests from Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia to automatically reimburse food stamp recipients in certain counties for food lost in the storm.

The moves came as the hard hit region continued efforts to return to normalcy, as more gas stations opened, students returned to schools and commuters went back to work.

The region is also bracing for a Wednesday storm likely to bring heavy rain, 55-mph winds and more coastal flooding. "It's going to impact areas many areas that were devastated by Sandy. It will not be good," said Bruce Terry, the lead forecaster for the National Weather Service.

During high tides Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, water levels could reach up to 8 or 9 feet. While not as severe as Sandy, a rise could once again flood coastal communities even more vulnerable with no dunes to protect them. Up to 3 inches of rain is likely from Delaware to Maine. Some communities were considering evacuating neighborhoods hit by Sandy and where residents had only recently been allowed to return.

"Prepare for more outages," said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pollina. "Stay indoors. Stock up again."

Sandy left more than 100 people dead in 10 states and cut power to more than 8.5 million customers.

Many of the communities in New York and New Jersey continue to struggle. More than 1.4 million homes and businesses were still without power in the New York-New Jersey area.

Also struggling are thousands in public housing, who often have no place to go and barricade themselves in darkened apartments for the 12 hours of night.

"Nights are the worst because you feel like you're outside when you're inside," said Genice Josey, a Far Rockaway resident who sleeps under three blankets and wears long johns under her pajamas. "You shiver yourself to sleep."

Con Edison reported Monday that it had restored service to more than 800,000 customers, or nearly 84% of those who lost power during the storm. The Long Island Power Authority reported service had been restored for more than 700,000 customers, but warned those in severely damaged areas on the island's northern shore area "to plan for the potential that power restoration could extend a week or more beyond Nov. 7th."

Among the bright spots: Motorists are finding more gas. Monday's AAA survey of gas stations in New York City, New Jersey and Long Island showed more fuel available, with 60 to 65% of stations in New York City's five boroughs open and pumping gas - up from 40% to 45% Friday.

New Jersey saw similar increases, with as much as 60% of the stations surveyed pumping gas, up from 50% Friday. And on Long Island, up to 55% of the stations surveyed were open, up from 40% on Friday.

"The situation is slowly improving across the region" as federal and state efforts brought more gas deliveries to terminals across the region, AAA spokesman Michael Green said. "The main problem continues to be lack of power."

"The lines are tremendously shorter,'' said West Orange police sergeant Robert Cosentino, who was one of several officers stationed at a local BP station.

The station had opened at 6 a.m. and after selling nearly 8,600 gallons of gas, finally ran out in the early afternoon, said station manager Mike Cumur. Though some motorists had waited hours last week to fill up, Cumur said Monday's wait on Monday was just 15 to 20 minutes.

For New York City-area commuters, Monday might not have been the first day they ventured back onto public and commuter transportation to make it into work, but it was the first day many said it went relatively smoothly.

Long Island commuter Ellice Schneider said she only had to leave 30 minutes earlier than normal on the Long Island Railroad to get into Manhattan on time. She took a 5:45 a.m. train and she and other commuters were in good spirits, she said as she gulped down a lunch she'd bought from a street vendor and walked north on Lexington Avenue.

"It was great," said Schneider, 59. "The train was packed, but everyone was fine. We stood in the bathroom. That was the only place there was room. But we had good humor."

For New Jersey commuters headed into Manhattan, Monday's trek took much longer. The wait at the Lincoln Tunnel during Monday morning's rush-hour stretched to 90 minutes, says New Jersey Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder.

And of the 63 New Jersey Transit trains that usually head into New York's Penn Station during rush hour, only 13 were running Monday. But with commuter rail lines such as the PATH train not running, New Jersey Transit carried 170,000 commuters Monday, vs. the 136,000 it normally serves in the weekday rush, New Jersey Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said.

"There are going to be overcrowding issues,'' Snyder said. "It's not going to be full service as they knew it prior to the storm. We're making further adjustments to make it more efficient.''

Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says he's investigating hundreds of reports of price gouging of Sandy victims.

State law prohibits spikes in prices for essential goods, including food, water, gas, generators, batteries and flashlights. The law also prohibits sharp increases in prices by retailers, supermarkets, hardware stores, bodegas, delis and taxis.
Schneiderman is asking New Yorkers to report any incidents of price gouging by telephone at 800-771-7755.

The Small Business Administration opened Business Recovery Center in Manahawkin, N.J., and Brooklyn, N.Y., which provides one-on-one help to business owners seeking disaster assistance for losses.

Contributing: Charisse Jones in New York, Donna Leinwand Leger, Washington, D.C.; Carolyn Pesce and Gary Strauss, McLean, Va.; Associated Press.