[wetibbe]

The South Street Seaport is opening for business this morning 12/14/2012. It is a tourist/shopping/mall/museum area on the South East side of Manhattan, near Wall Street. Temporary heat is being blown in. The elevators still are not in operation but stairs are open.

The Intrepid, a vintage aircraft carrier, on the West Side of Manhattan, in the Hudson River, will open soon. It has many vintage aircraft on deck and it is a very big tourist attraction. Apparently the ancillary support buildings on shore sustained damage to electrical equipment.

A friend of my Sons, living on the Shrewsbury River, Jersey shore, had his condo flooded with 5 feet of water. Lost everything in the basement and first floor. Contractors have stripped the flooring and drywall. Carted away all rugs, utilities, furniture. He hasn't received a penny yet from the insurance and had to write checks to the contractor. He also lost his boat.

A fishing Buddy lost his boat too. Neither of those two have even seen an insurance adjustor as yet.

LIPA Long Island Power Authority officials are resigning. There are still hundreds of homes without power. Many homeless still.

The news reported that when the out of state utility company's came some were not told where to go or what to do. Some slept in their trucks. FEMA is just now providing trailers.

My nieces power was off. An out of state'r came and looked. He said there was a broken wire "up there" and tried to leave. She wouldn't let him. He said Con Edison reg's require rubber protection over the shoulders and we only require rubber gloves. So he sent her back in the house and said: "NO witnesses". He climbed up and fixed it. Her power was back on in an hour.

Other out of stater's from the South were non-union. They were told they couldn't work because they were not union. So a few went back home. Eventually it was straightened out but so far the culprits haven't been made public.