jack10562

People lost lives, homes, no power, gas, water, some areas can't flush toilets, flooding, resources needed from out of state, disaster declaration, looting...yeah...bad idea!

While the loss to business may be significant as the Mayor states. There is no reason not to postpone it for a few weeks. Let the race be rescheduled for when the businesses can actually sell something. Now is not the time to take attention away from the devastating damage that was caused by the storm. Every ounce of pressure and attention must be given to restore the services that impact to the lives and wellbeing of the residents of the Tri-State area.

Here is a copy of a letter I just sent to Governor Cuomo:
Dear Governor Cuomo,
I am appalled by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s decision to go forward with ING New York City Marathon just 6 days after the worst hurricane in over 100 years, which has decimated parts of New York State, New York City, and parts of the east coast of the United States. Bloomberg's claim that it will not impact rescue and recovery efforts one bit, is laughable at best. I am a New York City Police officer, and since the day that Hurricane Sandy hit New York I have worked twelve hours day. I have put aside my life and my families problems in order to maintain law and order in the City of New York, and was fully aware that situations like this would occur when I signed up to take the exam to become a police officer. I am one of the more fortunate ones, I only lost food in the refrigerator, some of my coworkers were not as fortunate. Several have lost their entire possessions, one, Artur Kasprzak, gave his life while off duty to save 7 lives. In addition, I have worked the Marathon in years past, and can tell you from firsthand experience it takes a lot of police officers to staff this event. In Manhattan, there are often anywhere from 8 to 12 police officers per block to keep the crowds back, and prevent them from crossing into the path of marathon runners. Just where does the city get all the officers to staff this event, and continue to provide enough officers to patrol the rest of the city? It orders a large number of officers, and supervisors to come in and work their day off. Most years this is not a problem, but due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and resulting problems, police officers are now handling additional duties such as traffic in intersections with no traffic lights, additional patrols in areas with no power, and providing security to gas stations to prevent the outbreak of violence as stations run out of gas with the earliest possible deliveries to be on Saturday. Tensions are running high in some parts of the city, as some people no longer have electricity, food, gas, and even running water in some cases. Bodies are still being recovered as I write this. Mass Transit has not been fully restored, mandatory carpooling to enter Manhattan has been instituted to lessen the effects of bridges and tunnels that remain closed. Now we are going to close more roads, and take more police officers off the street to protect a marathon? People are fighting over gasoline in parts of the city, does the Mayor think that some of these same people who are stressed over getting the basic necessities are going to stop their fighting and applaud the marathon as it closes more streets, stores, and places a greater burden on them so that the city can make some money from the Marathon. Some people will point out that just ten days after 9/11 Major League Baseball was playing games at Shea and Yankee Stadiums which became a source of hope. While the effects of 9/11 were widespread, and in some cases still felt today, the physical damage was confined to the World Trade Center. People could go to a place where they felt safe, their homes, have something to eat, go to the store and buy items they needed and travel pretty much as they pleased. Today in some areas of the State, and New York City, these same people no longer have homes, are wondering where there next meal will come from, and be able to take a hot shower in a place they feel secure in. I am not saying to cancel the Marathon, but perhaps this is not the right time to hold this event, and it should be rescheduled into the future. How can you justify the large number of road closures, police officers reassigned, and basic items such as bottled water, high calorie snacks, and other supplies such as blankets when some many of our fellow New Yorkers are lacking these basic items? Members of the New York National Guard, and other states National Guards are working to bring vital supplies to New York, to help stabilize and eventually recover from what the worst natural disasters to ever impact the State of New York. Many New Yorkers are working with their insurance companies and FEMA to begin the recovery process, and now Mayor Bloomberg’s actions are telling the people of New York, that money from tourists running in a marathon is more important to the city (and State) than they are. Please, use your power as governor to implore Mayor Bloomberg to reschedule the marathon. The impact from the marathon is just too much at this fragile time.
Sincerely,
Kurt Von Dietsch

Now that I have power in my house I an in the process of writing an e-mail to Governor Cuomo to voice my opinion that having the marathon will absolutely affect rescue and recovery efforts in the area

Poll added to this thread.

I think it's absolutely INSANE that they are still planning to hold this resource-hogging event, in the middle of the largest natural disaster to hit the NYC area, ever.
Tens of thousands of people are without power, food and water, AND EVEN HOMES, and public resources that could very well assist with those issues will be diverted, for a race...?
Under normal circumstances there are many good reasons to sponsor this race.
Postpone it. Cancel it. Now.

I think it's absolutely INSANE that they are still planning to hold this resource-hogging event, in the middle of the largest natural disaster to hit the NYC area, ever.
Tens of thousands of people are without power, food and water, AND EVEN HOMES, and public resources that could very well assist with those issues will be diverted, for a race...?
Under normal circumstances there are many good reasons to sponsor this race.
Postpone it. Cancel it. Now.

I think it's absolutely INSANE that they are still planning to hold this resource-hogging event, in the middle of the largest natural disaster to hit the NYC area, ever.
Tens of thousands of people are without power, food and water, AND EVEN HOMES, and public resources that could very well assist with those issues will be diverted, for a race...?
Under normal circumstances there are many good reasons to sponsor this race.
Postpone it. Cancel it. Now.

The ship's main use will be for housing.


http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121101/NEWS11/121109985/0/NEWS

Here's an interesting model run from yesterday, this one shows the storm center swirling around NYC several times! Would make for an interesting day...
Yes, It can still happen!
http://goo.gl/7szNZ

I'd guess a lot has to do with where this storm hits. Even with a predicted southern NJ landfall, heavy wind and rain effects will be felt for several hundred miles around the center.
Once tropical storm conditions (sustained winds >39MPH) are imminent, as observed by the National Weather Service, local districts need to make a hard decision if it's going to be too dangerous for students and staff to be out and about traveling to and from school due to wind and possible flooding.
NY City Transit is already planning on shutting their systems down to protect the riding public, their staff and equipment should tropical storm conditions and flooding become apparent.
And I'll echo Madison: Stay safe everyone!

Interesting question so I did a little research...
A few storms have hit us especially hard including Floyd, Irene, the unnamed storm of 1938, Donna, and the Nor'Easter in 1992. The tracks of Irene and Floyd were very different from Sandy; they both moved up the coast where Sandy appears to be taking a track more like the 1938 storm (which was about category 5) for a direct hit on the DelMarVa Peninsula. Definitely not good news for them but we're still well within the tropical storm wind cone and will also receive heavy rain and wind.

(Irene is the other track along the coast with Floyd and Donna, the tag got cut off.)

Intensity wise, Irene hit the metro area as a hurricane before weakening as it moved inland. See the track here: http://www.nhc.noaa....loop_5NLW.shtml
Irene was a big storm too. The satellite image shows Irene to be almost one third of the size of the U.S. east coast. The distance from Augusta, Maine to Miami, Florida is 1662.55 miles. Hurricane Irene's tropical storm force winds extended 255 miles from the center making Irene 510 miles in diameter, almost one-third the size of the U.S. Hurricane-force winds extend 70 miles from the center, or 140 miles in diameter.

Sandy is also really big, and it’s getting bigger. Tropical storm force winds now reach 450 miles out from the center, so at its forward speed of 9 mph, places could experience tropical storm conditions almost 48 hours prior to the arrival of the center. That's a LOT of rain and wind for 2-3 days.
Floyd hit the Carolinas as a strong type 2 hurricane and eventually reached us as a tropical storm. The issue with Floyd was it's size, it was HUGE - much bigger than Andrew, the hurricane that decimated south Florida. Near its eye, Floyd's winds were 130 miles per hour, earning it a Category 3 rating from meteorologists and it was almost twice the size of typical Atlantic hurricanes, Floyd was some 580 miles across and packed tropical storm-force winds (40 to 73 mph) or greater across that entire span.

The big thing that I picked up from all this research; there are so many variables it is hard to really "compare" storms. Water temperature, wind speed, other frontal activity, location, speed, size, lunar cycle, etc. all make it very hard to say one is more or less devastating than another.
Hurricane Sandy is a very large storm and no matter where exactly it hits we're going to feel its punch.
Stay safe!
More on Floyd for those with nothing else to do today - http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1999floyd.html

She arrived today in the Village!
All are welcome to come tomorrow or Saturday during the block party and Haunted Hayride to see her. She will be parked at Beekman and Lawrence both evenings. We wish to show the public their new fire engine.
The photo above was taken on Monday right before she left Wisconsin.
On behalf of Columbia Hose Co. #3 and the truck committee, I wish to publicly thank the Sleepy Hollow Board of Trustees and the residents of the Village for their support in the acquisition of the truck. We hope that they are all as proud of her as I am. I also want to specifically thank Chief John Korzelius and Chief Driver Jack Tornello for all of their efforts.
We hope to have here in service in about a month. If you would like to know anything about her, feel free to contact me.
-Captain Carlos Romero
Columbia Hose Co. #3
Engine 87

The track is going to change every 6 hours with every update from the forecasters and models. Then every meterologist will add their interpretation to impress their viewers so this thread will be as long as the Stamford merger thread if we post every update.
I figure we will either get rain or we won't. :-)

I will take a good look for one.
Greg S.- Millwood

RIP, Charlie "Chuckyy"
Condolences to his extended family and friends.
He has Answered his Final Alarm.

You hit the nail on the head, Joe.
One person acting out of control caused this tragic accident, there is no excuse for driving anywhere like that.
What is even more shocking is he apparently failed to accept responsibility for causing the accident in the first place.
He got off easy.

You hit the nail on the head, Joe.
One person acting out of control caused this tragic accident, there is no excuse for driving anywhere like that.
What is even more shocking is he apparently failed to accept responsibility for causing the accident in the first place.
He got off easy.

While the sad part of this story is one life has been ended, one life destroyed and countless others changed forever a positive can still come of this tragedy. We should strive to make this story a teachable moment. Impress on those who feel that those lights create a force-field that by having an accident enroute they not only never make it to the original call but strip that call of resources while someone has to rescue them and their innocent victims.

Dear Fellow NYS Volunteer Firefighters & EMS Personnel,
Below is information I am trying to pass on to as many fire departments as possible about FASNY's upcoming Train the Recruiter program. It would be great if you could sign up to attend a session (if you have not already done so) and help spread the word to get participants. I hope to see you at a session this fall!
Train the Recruiter is a FREE 90 minute seminar being held statewide this fall, where FASNY will provide training via our SAFER Grant Initiative, which can enhance fire departments' recruitment and retention efforts. This involves the college tuition reimbursement plan "FASNY Help," and RecruitNY. It also will let the departments know what is needed from them to make these plans work. We will provide a variety of recruitment/retention materials at no cost to the fire departments, aligned with the "Is there a FIRE in you?" campaign.
While the course is open to any firefighter, we are seeking to get a Chief or Asst. Chief and their designated Recruitment Coordinator/Membership Chairman to attend. The seminars offered in your county can be found on FASNY's Website, by going to www.fasny.com and clicking on "Sign up for Train The Recruiter Sessions" to register online for the location and date most convenient to you.
I hope to see you there!
Liz Cahill
Assistant Volunteer Programs Coordinator, Hudson Valley Region
ecahill@fasny.net
Train The Recruiter_Burns Invite_Coordinators_8-31-12.pdf

Hello Members of the media (I know you read this)....why not do some investigative journalism into the very serious, life threatening issue of fire department and EMS departments in Westchester County vis-a-vis, oftentimes ridiculously long response times, inadequately trained responders, duplication of resources, lack of transparency in regard to finances and frankly many other issues within lots of departments. This is serious stuff!
Disclaimer- , I must very clearly state....this is not an attack on volunteer Firefighters, EMS workers or their departments! There are many dedicated and knowledgeable volunteer members of emergency services in this region. However, the SYSTEM is BROKEN!
Positive change very rarely comes from inside of an organization, but rather through blunt force trauma from the outside. Well media, how about a little blunt force trauma in regard to this issue? Personally, my own department has been going through some blunt force trauma from certain segments of the media lately, and I'm ok with that- there's nothing to hide, no organization is perfect, transparency and acceptance of change are good things....Why are volunteer organizations who equally hold the fate of people's lives and property (and taxes) in their hands getting a pass from the media?
In closing, I will pre-emptively state that I will not be engaging in a back and forth bicker on this topic, and yes, I do anticipate attempts at deflecting from the issue at hand by attacking myself personally as well as my own department. So, please don't take my non-responsiveness as acquiesence, agreement, or defeat. I'm just too busy to bother with responding to all of it. This post is really just for the media- maybe someday someone in the media in this area will wake up and realize how honest reporting in regard to this crisis would save lives, property and dollars. I'm not optimistic though, because I guess it's just easier to attack salaries, benefits, and pensions, and ignore an almost completely broken system right next door.
stay safe and qtip brothers and sisters!

Thanks for sparing me searching for my reading glasses!
Click on your user-name from the top of the forum home page and select "My Profile", then choose "Edit My Profile"
Under General account Settings you then select "Change my photo"
A pop-out screen appears which allows you to browse to and select a suitable image file, then click "done"
If your current browser security settings blocks or otherwise doesn't support this, try using a different browser.

Thanks for sparing me searching for my reading glasses!
Click on your user-name from the top of the forum home page and select "My Profile", then choose "Edit My Profile"
Under General account Settings you then select "Change my photo"
A pop-out screen appears which allows you to browse to and select a suitable image file, then click "done"
If your current browser security settings blocks or otherwise doesn't support this, try using a different browser.

Thanks all , had a great day with family and a pork roast with broccli robi !

SHfirefighter probably in the spring since the fall inspection season is underway, we are looking at early to mid May.