Sandy was a huge event in terms of disruption, so much so that most of the damage probably has not yet been reported. Meanwhile, eight million people are without power, including our colleague, Janine Dixon, in Lower Manhattan. Cell phone service is out, electricity and heat are off, all the stores--including diners and delis--are closed and other than a few entrepreneurial coffee carts, you have to go north of 30th Street to get something to eat.
Plenty of people are out on the street doing just that. As of this afternoon, Janine reports, the streets are clogged with cars and "cabs are impossible to get" (unless you are very lucky). Making it all worse, the traffic lights are out. Rumor is that trains and subways--and power--will come back the day after tomorrow."
It will take huge sums of money--some of it from Washington, DC--just to fix the subways and trains. It will take at least through election day to get things back to normal in commerce and communications.
Expect a big bill to Uncle Sam in time for the next session of Congress.
