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| Reeling From the Storm and Facing a New Danger: the Cold | Reeling From the Storm and Facing a New Danger: the Cold |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| With many residents left homeless after the devastation from last week’s storm, New York-area officials began focusing on Sunday on another weather-related factor that might make the problems even worse: colder weather that is moving into the region. | With many residents left homeless after the devastation from last week’s storm, New York-area officials began focusing on Sunday on another weather-related factor that might make the problems even worse: colder weather that is moving into the region. |
| In New York, 30,000 to 40,000 people, many of them residents of public housing, will have to find homes, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at a news conference with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sunday. Mr. Bloomberg compared it to the situation after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. | |
| “I don’t know that anybody has ever taken this number of people and found housing for them overnight,” the mayor said. | “I don’t know that anybody has ever taken this number of people and found housing for them overnight,” the mayor said. |
| Many residents in New Jersey, on Long Island and in Connecticut face a similar problem. | Many residents in New Jersey, on Long Island and in Connecticut face a similar problem. |
| “This is going to be a massive, massive housing problem,” Mr. Cuomo said. | “This is going to be a massive, massive housing problem,” Mr. Cuomo said. |
| The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Sunday that it would begin providing transitional housing to those who could not return to their homes. As of Sunday morning, 164,000 residents of Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York had applied for assistance and the agency had approved more than $137 million in financial assistance. | |
| Temperatures throughout the region fell early Sunday into the 30s, and the National Weather Service issued a freeze watch for parts of New Jersey, including the coast, where many residents remained without heat. Officials have urged them to head to shelters. | |
| Mr. Bloomberg called the cold the “most pressing” challenge in the recovery. The city has opened heating shelters and is passing out blankets to New Yorkers without electricity. | Mr. Bloomberg called the cold the “most pressing” challenge in the recovery. The city has opened heating shelters and is passing out blankets to New Yorkers without electricity. |
| “You can die from being cold,” Mr. Bloomberg said Sunday. “You can die from fires started from candles or stoves. Please go to the local disaster site. If you don’t know where to go, stop a cop on the side of the road and ask.” | “You can die from being cold,” Mr. Bloomberg said Sunday. “You can die from fires started from candles or stoves. Please go to the local disaster site. If you don’t know where to go, stop a cop on the side of the road and ask.” |
| Adding to the concerns, forecasters say that a northeaster could move in by midweek, hitting the already battered coastal areas with heavy winds and strong waves. Freezing temperatures are also expected. | |
| Though the lights continued to flicker on, including in some hard-hit regions like the Rockaways, as of Sunday, more than 700,000 utility customers remained without power in New York State, including 404,000 on Long Island and 154,000 in New York City. | |
| Nearly a million customers in New Jersey and 70,000 in Connecticut were without power. But restoring electric service is only the first step. When the storm surge flooded homes along the coast, the ocean water destroyed boilers and water heaters. | |
| Yet amid the despair, there has been an outpouring of good will. On Staten Island, in the Rockaways and in other regions pummeled by Hurricane Sandy, thousands of people, including runners in Manhattan who had expected to compete in the New York City Marathon, which was canceled late last week, have pitched in to haul away fallen trees and distribute food and clothing. | Yet amid the despair, there has been an outpouring of good will. On Staten Island, in the Rockaways and in other regions pummeled by Hurricane Sandy, thousands of people, including runners in Manhattan who had expected to compete in the New York City Marathon, which was canceled late last week, have pitched in to haul away fallen trees and distribute food and clothing. |
| The narrow streets of Midland Beach, one of the hardest hit areas on Staten Island, were buzzing with activity. Volunteers carried hoes, rakes, brooms and shovels as they went door to door offering their labor. Others circled the blocks in pickup trucks full of food, blankets, clothes and cleaning supplies. Impromptu distribution centers, piled high with food and secondhand clothes, sprung up on every other corner. | The narrow streets of Midland Beach, one of the hardest hit areas on Staten Island, were buzzing with activity. Volunteers carried hoes, rakes, brooms and shovels as they went door to door offering their labor. Others circled the blocks in pickup trucks full of food, blankets, clothes and cleaning supplies. Impromptu distribution centers, piled high with food and secondhand clothes, sprung up on every other corner. |
| On Sunday morning, runners dressed in orange New York Marathon gear, but without a marathon to run, overtook the Staten Island Ferry and headed to the storm-ravaged borough looking to help. They packed blankets, food, water, and flashlights in shoulder bags. Some planned to run to battered areas once the ferry docked. | |
| “There are people suffering on Staten Island, and we’ve got to so something about it,” said Neil Cohen, 42, from Riverdale in the Bronx. | |
| Yet, it was not enough to solve some of the immense problems facing the region. There are continuing difficulties in delivering fuel. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie has declared a fuel emergency and imposed gasoline rationing in 12 counties. On Sunday, gas lines seemed slightly shorter in some places, but many stations were still closed. Authorities have set up three fuel depots in New Jersey so doctors and nurses can get up to 15 gallons of gas to go to work. | |
| There are also concerns about people taking more than their fair share. Havier Nazario, 36, a principal at a Newark public school who was standing in line for gas at station outside the airport in Newark, said he saw a man buy $101 worth of gas in a 25-gallon can. | |
| "I don’t know what he’s trying to power, but I think folks should pretty much just take what they need for their vehicle, otherwise the ration doesn’t have its effect,” he said. | |
| Mr. Cuomo said that tankers and barges were on the way to help ease shortages. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has announced that Port Elizabeth, N.J., reopened on Sunday to receive its first shipment of cargo since it was closed by the storm. All other Port Authority seaports remained closed. | |
| “We do believe it is a short-term problem,” Mr. Cuomo said, adding that shortages could continue for several days. | “We do believe it is a short-term problem,” Mr. Cuomo said, adding that shortages could continue for several days. |
| As for the subways, all of the numbered lines were running to some degree, said Joseph J. Lhota, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, who spoke with Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Bloomberg at a joint news conference. | As for the subways, all of the numbered lines were running to some degree, said Joseph J. Lhota, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, who spoke with Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Bloomberg at a joint news conference. |
| The No. 1 train has been extended south to 14th Street, and transit officials said they hope that it will reach Rector Street by Monday. (The South Ferry station, although the water has been pumped out, remains unusable.) | The No. 1 train has been extended south to 14th Street, and transit officials said they hope that it will reach Rector Street by Monday. (The South Ferry station, although the water has been pumped out, remains unusable.) |
| Mr. Lhota said that trains would appear at stations less often than on a normal weekday. | |
| "It’s an old system,” Mr. Lhota said in televised remarks. “It needs tender loving care and it just had a major accident." Mr. Bloomberg said he would take the subway to work on Monday. | |
| The cancellation of the New York City Marathon did not stop hundreds of runners from showing up at Central Park on Sunday morning, many of them celebrating as if the event had not been canceled at all. | The cancellation of the New York City Marathon did not stop hundreds of runners from showing up at Central Park on Sunday morning, many of them celebrating as if the event had not been canceled at all. |
| Portable bathrooms, tents and even the famed finish line were still set up and provided runners near and far for a photo opportunity on what would have been Marathon Sunday. | Portable bathrooms, tents and even the famed finish line were still set up and provided runners near and far for a photo opportunity on what would have been Marathon Sunday. |
| “We came from Lima, Peru, to run,” Gonzalo Larrain, president and founder of Peru Runners, said as he and three of his travel companions posed in front of the statue of Fred Lebow, the race’s founder. “We understand why they canceled, but we thought we should come out today. We had no idea there would be so many people here.” | “We came from Lima, Peru, to run,” Gonzalo Larrain, president and founder of Peru Runners, said as he and three of his travel companions posed in front of the statue of Fred Lebow, the race’s founder. “We understand why they canceled, but we thought we should come out today. We had no idea there would be so many people here.” |
| Security guards asked people to clear a path for the hundreds of runners trotting by, many in orange shirts, waving flags of their respective countries and cheering each other on. Some asked for donations for the Red Cross as they jogged by. There was a barrage of languages and an assembly of athletes from grade school children to adults of all ages. Some cried at the finish line. | Security guards asked people to clear a path for the hundreds of runners trotting by, many in orange shirts, waving flags of their respective countries and cheering each other on. Some asked for donations for the Red Cross as they jogged by. There was a barrage of languages and an assembly of athletes from grade school children to adults of all ages. Some cried at the finish line. |
| The bleachers set up at the finish line were crowded with hundreds of fans, who clanged cowbells and yelled encouragement to the runners. Most toted their own water bottles, and some used pedometers to mark how many laps around the park they needed to complete to hit the 26.2 mile marathon mark. | The bleachers set up at the finish line were crowded with hundreds of fans, who clanged cowbells and yelled encouragement to the runners. Most toted their own water bottles, and some used pedometers to mark how many laps around the park they needed to complete to hit the 26.2 mile marathon mark. |
| Greg Osborn, 62, of Melbourne, Australia, showed up in his custom-made white and green shirt bearing his name. His wife, Yvonne, cheered him on. | Greg Osborn, 62, of Melbourne, Australia, showed up in his custom-made white and green shirt bearing his name. His wife, Yvonne, cheered him on. |
| “It took a long time to get here,” she said. “Then we found out it was canceled. But standing out here with the sun and all these people? It’s beautiful.” | “It took a long time to get here,” she said. “Then we found out it was canceled. But standing out here with the sun and all these people? It’s beautiful.” |
Michael M. Grynbaum, Mary | Michael M. Grynbaum, Mary Pilon, Eric Lipton, Steve Eder, Vivian Yee and Thomas Kaplan contributed reporting. |
| This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: November 4, 2012 | Correction: November 4, 2012 |
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the number of customers without power in Connecticut. It is 70,000, not 700,000. | Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the number of customers without power in Connecticut. It is 70,000, not 700,000. |