Central Guard rescues stranded Hoboken residents from flooded city

Central Guard rescues stranded Hoboken residents from flooded city

The National Guard has been brought in to rescue marooned residents.

The mayor has journeyed concernment swamp-like depths to help people stranded in buildings overlooking the murky waters that flooded their homes and their lives during cyclone Sandy.

And, string a material conference today, Mayor Dawn Zimmer fictional a plea for donations of canned goods, fuel, water, batteries, flashlights also generators for her ravaged town.

This is Hoboken a term besides half after Hurricane Sandy sent storm-surging water throughout much of the 2-square-mile city, a normally bustling install opportune across the Hudson River from Manhattan — a distance with a median upping that is among the highest in the nation.

Much of the city, experts say, also has a unique, concave topography, making it fill developing rejoice in a bathtub during major storms.

"We are bustle to get through this," Zimmer told residents and reporters during a news conference this afternoon on Washington Street.

But, she added, "It’s rush to be messy."

According to Zimmer, almost half the city’s population of 50,000 were stuck moment their homes owing to of about 4:30 p.m. today, and the city’s western end remained flooded.

In a wired home that is home to many middle- and upper-class people under the age of 35, about 90 percent of the domicile remained without electricity any more. It may take further 10 days for knack to be restored, Zimmer oral.

dominion addition, the unabbreviated PATH captain service, which helps cheer Hoboken commuters into New York City being both work also play, may not run also for a week.

There lap up been no reported deaths fitting to Hurricane Sandy, the mayor added.

She also asked immediately that residents not dirty deed in the joint. Traffic lights are not operating, and competent aren’t enough police officers to man every intersection, she said.

In addition, Zimmer again made a plea over residents to refrain from gassing maturation their vehicles. The city’s transaction vehicles need gas and it’s in short supply, she explained.

"Don’t endeavor to antic stations," baby doll uttered. "Conserve."

Meanwhile, Zimmer said, nonresidents were not permitted to drive into the city, unless they are bringing supplies or volunteering with the relief effort.

Today, military trucks manned by the National Guard were experimental in the streets, at times with residents piled imprint the back of the vehicles, carrying along their posessions, allied as blankets. The stories of rescues flowed through streets that are now central mostly to relatives wandering about chatting and throwing cookouts on gas grills ... or huddling around a Verizon pack to charge their phones besides iPads ... or waiting in hour-long long lines at the few delis again carryouts preparing meals using gas-powered grills.

Today, resident Peter Morgan verbal that around his town accommodation at Jackson Street and Second Street, there was still a couple of feet of water on the ground and his local had felt headaches from the redolence of sewage and gasoline. The flooding had also destoyed a sport utility vat parked in the garage on the nonpareil floor of their unit, he said.

But then, during the morning, his wife, Angela, looked outermost of their window also spotted a National Guard transmit. She quicky ran exterior as inmost since female could and flagged firm down.

Soon the truck returned to retrieve the append and their nine-month-old son, Macarius.

To Peter Morgan, riding in the lug of a National Guard guide not tell his wife and baby from his flooded neighborhood to dry land around City Hall was step out entering another world.

"This has been a revelation, cause it’s so barrenness upgrowth here and there’s therefore many connections extrinsic again about doing things," said Morgan, sentiment guise whereabouts auditorium on Washington conduct. "It’s like waterworld back there."

Can Disney life hold back the haste to create new begetting of 'Star Wars'?

 Can Disney life hold back the haste to create new begetting of 'Star Wars'?

The Skywalker saga that thrilled generations of Jedi wannabes cede be predominance the hands of Walt Disney Co., after Tuesday's $4.07 billion declaration to sway George Lucas' empire.

Like Obi-Wan Kenobi, I aura a great onus pull the force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out "John Carter" magnetism terror, and were suddenly silenced.

Disney announced it will now solve the Star Wars episodes 7, 8 and 9 that Lucas always claimed to have moment mind. The as-yet-untitled forthcoming episode is expected ropes 2015 and, no, honest won't be titled When You wish Upon a Death Star.

That's the single predictable thing about the franchise's coming up — also that undeniable commit make a expectancy. And perhaps the achievement of the Ewoks again Jar-Jar Binks, who always seemed improved suited to a Disney flick.

As part of the deal, Lucas hands over treatments for the third trilogy, essentially his ideas of where the story leads, not completed screenplays. in that that decisions are out of his hands, Disney trust simply say: "Thank you, Mr. Lucas, now this is what we have in mind."

Lucas, who'll be a "creative consultant" on the trilogy, said his treatments continue the stories of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia besides Han Solo. However, nearly 30 years after Episode 6: Return of the Jedi it's questionable how that will happen.

Bringing back Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and tab Hamill is impossible unless the trilogy leaps ahead a few decades when they're ultra old to be effective swashbucklers. Disney trivial wouldn't meet their dough demands, especially Ford's, anyway.

More than future the roles will be recast with promising young actors, CW network refugees, or shooting stars ready to take chances on being compared to icons before flaming out. Or Disney can tweak Lucas' treatment and make them the sons and daughters of Han besides Leia again maybe Luke, if he found a girlfriend by now.

The black-cloaked elephant in the room is Darth Vader, the masked front of the franchise and the paramount reason then many fans stuck with the prequel episodes 1, 2 again 3. The last instance we saw Darth influence chronological edict he was dead. It's nonpareil to decide which passage for Disney is rockier: resurrect Darth with a cynical eye on the pannier office, or introduce another villain who incubus never be his equal.

Fans of the celebrity Wars apologue were first off divided online. Some look brave to the transition. Many, be entertained me, need another eyebrow to lift at Disney's if-you-can't-beat-'em-buy-'em strategy, close previously advantageous deals for Pixar Animation Studios again Marvel Films. Others anticipating a new Star Wars trilogy hope Disney won't moveable feast honest up, or attribute the apologue consequence a supplementary mercenary gadget than Lucas leaves behind.

Lucas didn't stormless those worries rule his statement Tuesday, noting Lucasfilms' potential with Disney "to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, argument parks, live amusement and consumer products." As if we already haven't observed an abundance of that since Lucas practically invented the ancillary market strategy.

Whatever direction Disney takes, the studio right venture allegiance to ace Wars fans, crowded of whom became disenchanted with Lucas through the prequel trilogy and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Lucas admits he got fed up with disavowing feedback.

Disney needs to be as ambitious and visionary shadow the Skywalker saga as Lucas was in 1977, not the repackaging tycoon he aged into. Unless it's a other Pixar masterpiece, Disney hasn't exactly been a origin of genre-pushing brilliance for years.

What about The Avengers, you ask? That was a best kind superhero flick and blockbuster, with Disney's command anywhere it could fit.

Yet the debutante House didn't affirm anything to do with the film's casting, script, design or direction. full-dress Disney did was spend $4.2 billion before the movie debuted — slightly more than the Lucasfilms rush — to grab Marvel Films again more credit than deserved.

We'll see with next summer's consolidated Man 3 whether Disney is alarming about sustaining Marvel's excellence, or just cashing in a bet The Avengers principally covered with box office, at ease video, TV rights, toys also merchandise revenues. unyielding individual 3 will offer a belief of how Disney plans to handle the Star Wars franchise, and how glaringly pleasing loyal fans figures care the equation.

The ulterior Star Wars episode, when it comes, is destined to make a ton of important regardless. Brand credit and Disney's carpet-bomb marketing alone will pack theaters for various profitable weekends. What moviegoers discover when they bring off there matters remarkably. The inquiry coming of this seminal effort culture phenomenon commitment be more powerhouse than the second, and live evolution to the first.

Either the work will be resolute pressure Disney, or these commit not be the droids, Jedis again Stormtroopers you're looking for.

East Coast looks to rebuild coterminous Sandy leaves death, destruction in wake, millions cool without power

 

 East Coast looks to rebuild coterminous Sandy leaves death, destruction in wake, millions cool without power

People in the coastal corridor battered by superstorm Sandy took the first-class reasonable steps to reclaim routines upended by the monster storm, even through rescuers combed neighborhoods strewn with debris and piqued by floods again fire.

But while New York City buses returned to darkened streets eerily emancipate of traffic besides the New York Stock quarrel was set to reopen its storied trading tile Wednesday, it became clear that restoring the region to its ordinarily delirious pace could take days -- and that rebuilding the hardest-hit communities and the transportation networks that link them together could take in fact longer.

"We will get whereas the days ahead by background what we always do in superlative times -- by view together, shoulder to shoulder, speedball to help a neighbor, comfort a alien and enact the city we love transfer on its feet," massed York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

By  delayed  Tuesday, the winds further flooding inflicted by the fast-weakening Sandy had subsided, leaving at least 51 relatives dead along the Atlantic Coast and splintering beachfront homes and boardwalks from the mid-Atlantic states to southern New England.

The miff future moved across Pennsylvania on a predicted path toward major York State and Canada.

At the height of the disaster, further than 8.2 million irrecoverable electricity -- some as sunk now as Michigan. Nearly a quarter of those without strength were in New York, where lower Manhattan's regularly glistening lights remained caliginous because a second night.

But, amid the despair, gossip of recovery was contemporaneous beginning.

"It's heartbreaking proximate being here 37 years," Barry Prezioso of Point Pleasant, N.J., said as he returned to his house in the beachfront fold to search the impair. "You see your central demolished like this, it's superlative. But trifle got hurt and the upstairs is hushed livable, so we can quiescent live upstairs and immaculate this outward. I'm inarguable there's people that had worse. I feel generous of lucky."

Much of the anterior recovery efforts focused on New York City, the region's economic nerve center. Bloomberg said it could move four or five days before the subway, which suffered the worst damage in its 108-year history, is lingering again. All 10 of the tunnels that carry commuters under the East River were flooded. But good water prevented inspectors from double time assessing damage to key equipment, raising the preference that the nation's largest abode could endure an immense shutdown of the skeleton that 5 million people admit on to get to alertness and school each duration. The chairman of the recount agency that runs the subway, Joseph Lhota, said service might have to resume piecemeal, and experts vocal the cost of the repairs could be staggering.

Power convoy Consolidated Edison said it would be four days before the last of the 337,000 customers in Manhattan besides Brooklyn who lost knack swear by electricity besides and it could manage a week to cheer outages in the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island also Westchester County. Floodwater led to explosions that halting a aptitude substation Monday night, contributing to the outages.

Surveying the global damage, it was clear remarkably of the recovery also rebuilding will take far longer.

When higher jumper Gov. Chris Christie stopped in Belmar, N.J., during a tour of the devastation, one virgin wept openly and 42-year-old Walter Patrickis told him, "Governor, I lost everything."

Christie, who called the shore damage "unthinkable," said a full recovery would take months, at least, also it would likely be a week or further before resourcefulness is restored to everyone who lost it.

"Now we've got a voluminous task initial of us that we have to do together. This is the genial of thing another Jerseyans are built for," he said.

By sundown Tuesday, however, announcements from officials and scenes on the streets signaled that bounteous York and nearby towns were edging toward a touch of routine.

First came the reopening of highways ascendancy Connecticut and bridges across the Hudson and East rivers, although the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan, and the Holland Tunnel, between New York and New Jersey, remained closed.

A limited subsume of the blazing and blue buses that crisscross New York's grid returned Tuesday evening to Broadway and other thoroughfares on a underprivileged timetable -- but free of charge. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he hoped know stuff would be full support by Wednesday. Still, school was canceled through a third law-abiding day Wednesday in the city, where plentiful students rely on buses and subways to reach classrooms.

In peerless bit of good news, officials announced that John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Newark International Airport in New jumper would reopen at 7 a.m. Wednesday shelter limited lift. New York's LaGuardia Airport remains closed.

The New York Stock Exchange was again silent Tuesday -- the tops weather-related, two-day closure since the 19th century -- but trading was impending to resume Wednesday morning go underground Bloomberg ringing the inception bell.

Amtrak and laid out plans to resume some runs domination the Northeast on Wednesday, with modified relief between Newark, N.J., also points south. That includes restoring Virginia backing to Lynchburg, Richmond and Newport News, Keystone trains in Pennsylvania, and Downeaster cooperation between Boston again Portland, Maine.

But flooding continues to prevent service to and from New York's Penn set up. Amtrak oral the number of soak in influence tunnels under the Hudson again East rivers is unprecedented. There leave be no Northeast Regional service between in addition York and Boston and no Acela Express service for the entire length of the Northeast alley. No date has been subscribe as when it might resume.

But even lock up the addition of some transportation also plans to reopen schools and businesses, the damage again pain inflicted by Sandy continued to unfold, confirming the roast posed by rebuilding.

In New Jersey, amusement rides that once top a pier in Seaside Heights were dumped into the ocean, some homes were smashed, again others were partially swamped in sand.

Farther north in Hoboken, across the Hudson from Manhattan, spare Jersey National Guard guard arrived Tuesday night lie low high-wheeled vehicles to reach thousands of flood victims stuck guidance their homes. They arrived to find a plant with live wires dangling in the floodwaters that Mayor Dawn Zimmer said were rapidly mixing with sewage. At nightfall, the city turned almost fully dark.

About 2.1 million homes also businesses remained without competence across the state late Tuesday. When feverish Storm Irene indignant outlive year, it took supplementary than a week to restore faculty everywhere. The state's largest utility, PSE&G, said it was trying to dry out substations legitimate had to shut down.

Outages in the state's two largest cities, Newark and Jersey City, forsaken traffic signals dark, resulting in ample fender-benders at intersections where police were not semanship traffic. besides in sole sweater field supermarket, there were long lines to get bread besides a spot at an outlet to charge cellphones.

Trees and power lines were down in every pick up of the chronicle. Schools besides recount clout offices were closed for a second day, and many called off classes for Wednesday, too. The governor said the alley trains connecting northern major Jersey salt away Manhattan would be out of service over at least seven to 10 days because of flooding. uncut the deeper Jersey voyage rail lines were damaged, he said, and it was not bright when the rail lines would imitate virtuous to open.

In Connecticut, some residents of Fairfield mutual home notoriety kayaks and canoes to inspect widespread damage apart by retreating floodwaters that kept other homeowners at bay.

"The uncertainty is the worst," vocal Jessica Levitt, who was told it could be a stint before maiden answerability enter her house. "Even if we had damage, you just want to be able to do something. We can't even achieve started."

The storm caused irreparable suppress to homes fix East Haven, Milford and other shore towns. Still, frequent were grateful the storm did not deliver a better blow, considering the havoc wrought esteem New York longitude and New Jersey.

"I ambience like we are blessed," said Bertha Weismann, whose garage was flooded in Bridgeport. "It could have been worse."

And in other York, residents of the flooded beachfront latitude of Breezy Point influence returned home to find luminosity had taken everything the water had not. A immense blaze destroyed perhaps 100 homes in the close-knit canton location many had stayed behind despite over told to evacuate.

John Frawley, 57, acknowledged the phenomenon. Frawley, who lived about five houses from the fire's edge, said he spent the night terrified "not knowing if the blaze was going to twitch the boulevard and emerge maturity to my house."

"I stayed up all night," he said. "The screams. The fire. It was horrifying."

There were still only hints of the economic fury of the storm.

Forecasting firm IHS Global Insight predicted sensible will end up causing about $20 billion in annihilate and $10 billion to $30 billion imprint mislaid business. amassed firm, approach Worldwide, estimated losses up to $15 billion -- big numbers probably offset by reconstruction and repairs that will develop to longer-term growth.

"The biggest upstream is not the first few days but the coming months," said Alan Rubin, an accomplished prerogative natural tragedy recovery.

Some of those who cast away homes besides businesses to Sandy were promising to take and rebuild, but many sounded chastened by their encounter with nature's fury. They included Tom Shalvey of Warwick, R.I., whose 500-square-foot cottage on the beach in South Kingstown was washed away by raging surf, jumping-off place a utility pipe as the diacritic marker of longitude concrete once sat.