Hurricane Sandy [and the NYC Marathon]

To contact us Click HERE

[image via nymag]

Where to start? Our neighborhood was barely touched. We lost some trees in the park, but we never even lost power. There wasn't much rain, it was really just the wind and the storm surges. But we don't live close to the water and our home was not flooded. But it was bad, and it still is so bad. And so many people lost everything. You've seen the pictures, right? 
For us, in a way it was like a long, weird vacation week. We were both home from work (neither of our offices in Manhattan had power) and had a lot of down time, watching movies and cooking. To be honest, [for us] the day of the storm was almost fun! We watched Harry Potter and made braised pork shoulder and drank hot apple cider and rye. But it was tense, and Monday night we just wanted to go to bed so we could wake up on Tuesday and see what actually happened. It was hard to tell from the news just how severe the damage would be. 
From the start I couldn't believe that Mayor Bloomberg was saying that the NYC Marathon would go on. Didn't he know homes in Staten Island (where the race begins) were flooded? How did he expect people to get to the race if the airports were closed, if the subway and mass transit was down? He seemed to think everything would be better on Sunday (and it is Sunday and yes things are a little better), but people in Staten Island still don't have power. I kept imagining getting to Staten Island on Sunday, with water and bagels to eat, just a few miles away from where homes had been destroyed. I imagined running through Brooklyn, being handed water in a cup I would then throw on the ground, when some people still didn't have running water.And then of course the backlash against the marathon grew, people were angry, offended, it was too soon. The marathon is supposed to feel like a celebration, a triumph! But for some, there was nothing to celebrate and the Mayor's statement that it was good economically for the city felt cold and greedy. And in the end, who could say? The marathon was cancelled Friday night and some people cheered and others complained and I for one just hope to be able to try again next year. And as for our City? Well there is still so much work to do. It will take so much time, and we can only hope and pray that we will rebuild and be stronger. If you can, donate, but if not, continue to keep us in your prayers in the coming days and weeks and months.