New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
was severely affected by
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
on October 29–30, 2012, particularly
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, its suburbs, and
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
. Sandy's impacts included the flooding of the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October ...
system, of many suburban communities, and of all road tunnels entering
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
except the
Lincoln Tunnel
The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned Ne ...
. The
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...
closed for two consecutive days. Numerous homes and businesses were destroyed by fire, including over 100 homes in
Breezy Point, Queens
Breezy Point is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the western end of the Rockaway peninsula, between Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. The community is run by ...
. Large parts of the city and surrounding areas lost electricity for several days. Several thousand people in
midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...
were evacuated for six days due to a crane collapse at Extell's
One57
One57, formerly known as Carnegie 57, is a 75-story, supertall skyscraper at 157 West 57th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in the Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The building has 92 condominium units on top of ...
.
Bellevue Hospital Center
Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
and a few other large hospitals were closed and evacuated. Flooding at
140 West Street
The Verizon Building (also known as 100 Barclay, the Barclay–Vesey Building, and the New York Telephone Company Building) is an office and residential building at 140 West Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The 32-story building was d ...
and another exchange disrupted voice and data communication in
lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
.
At least 43 people died in New York City as a result of the storm, and 53 in the state. Thousands of homes and an estimated 250,000 vehicles were destroyed during the storm, and the economic losses in New York City were estimated to be roughly $19 billion with an estimated $32.8 billion required for restoration across the state.
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexic ...
on October 22. Early on October 25, Hurricane Sandy moved across eastern Cuba as a major hurricane and emerged into the western Atlantic Ocean. The
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 3 ...
(NHC) expected that Sandy would become
extratropical
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...
at some point before hitting the New Jersey coast, but there was uncertainty in the timing. To avoid potential confusion, the agency did not issue hurricane and tropical cyclone warnings; instead, the
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...
(NWS) office in New York City issued high wind warnings, reflecting the expectation of wind gusts over . As early as October 27, the NHC forecast a storm surge inundation, which they later increased to .
On October 28, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
declared a state of emergency for every county in the state. He also asked for a pre-disaster declaration to better access federal assistance.Nassau County Executive
Ed Mangano
Edward P. Mangano (born March 24, 1962) is an American politician from the state of New York. A Republican, he was the Nassau County Executive from January 2010 to December 2017, and a former legislator in Nassau County, New York. He was elect ...
Sunrise Highway
New York State Route 27 (NY 27) is a long state highway that runs east–west from Interstate 278 (I-278) in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to Montauk Point State Park on Long Island, New York. Its two most prominent com ...
, as well as the North Shore's areas north of Route 25A and in elevations 15 feet above sea level or less. Shelters were opened at
Levittown
Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and their ...
Memorial High School,
Locust Valley
Locust Valley is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,406 at the 2010 census.
History
The rolling ...
High School,
Nassau Community College
Nassau Community College (NCC) is a public community college in Uniondale, New York, using the Garden City, New York ZIP Code. It was founded in 1959 and is part of the State University of New York.
History
Nassau Community College was crea ...
and
SUNY Old Westbury
The State University of New York College at Old Westbury (SUNY at Old Westbury) is a public college in Old Westbury, New York, with portions in the neighboring town of Jericho, New York. It enrolls just over 5,000 students.
History
The State Uni ...
. In Suffolk County, officials ordered mandatory evacuations for residents of
Fire Island
Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York.
Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lon ...
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
Hampton Bays High School
Hampton Bays High School is a public high school located in Hampton Bays, a hamlet in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on ...
,
Sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher edu ...
,
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...
,
Molloy College
Molloy University is a private Roman Catholic university in Rockville Centre, New York. It provides more than 50 academic undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs for over 5,000 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students.
His ...
, Nassau Community College and
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system' ...
.
On October 28, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
signed an emergency declaration for the state of New York. The
Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...
and the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...
suspended service beginning 7 p.m. October 27 through October 29 and possibly October 30.
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
closed all of its outlets in the city and Long Island on October 28 at 4 p.m. to let employees get home before the transit system shut down. The stores remained closed on October 29. The Tappan Zee Bridge was closed October 29 at 4 p.m. EDT due to wind conditions.
Mayor
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...
told reporters on October 26 that the city had begun taking precautions but said at that time there was no call for mandatory evacuations and no plans to suspend the city's mass transit or cancel school. But on October 28, Governor Cuomo ordered the MTA, including the subway, closed and in a press conference immediately after Cuomo's announcement, Mayor Bloomberg ordered public schools closed on October 29. He ordered mandatory evacuations for Zone A which includes the southern tip of Manhattan, the
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
-
Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island proper at Ocean Parkway to the ...
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, the entire
Rockaways
The Rockaway Peninsula, commonly referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway, is a peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, New York. Relatively isolated from Manhattan and other more urban parts of th ...
peninsula, much of
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...
Throggs Neck
Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and east, Westchester Creek on ...
area of the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. On October 28, officials activated the city's coastal emergency plan, with subway closings and the evacuation of residents in areas hit during Hurricane Irene in August 2011. More than 76 evacuation shelters were open around the city.
The MTA announced that all subway, bus and commuter rail service would be suspended, beginning at 7 p.m. EDT on October 28 and expected to continue suspension through at least October 30. All PATH train service and stations were shut down at 12:01 a.m. October 29. 200
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
troops were deployed in the city. All bus carriers at the
Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...
closed at 3 a.m. October 29. U.S. stock trading was suspended for October 29 and 30. It was the first two-day weather closure since the Great Blizzard of 1888. All state courts were closed October 29, except for arraignments and emergency applications.
NYU Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and ...
cancelled all surgeries and medical procedures, except for emergency procedures.
On October 27,
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
postponed their planned Android event in New York City due to the storm. The
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry ...
and East River Ferry services were suspended at least through October 29. Most bridges and tunnels closed. Major carriers cancelled all flights into and out of JFK,
LaGuardia
LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardi ...
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
theater owners canceled all October 28 evening and October 29 performances.Alternate-side parking and parking meter regulations were suspended on October 29.
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
,
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
and
Battery Park
The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to ...
were closed on October 29. The
Holland Tunnel
The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects the New York City neighborhood of Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan to the east with Jersey City in New Jersey to the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Author ...
and the
Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel
The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, officially the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and commonly referred to as the Battery Tunnel or Battery Park Tunnel, is a tolled tunnel in New York City that connects Red Hook in Brooklyn with the Battery in Manhatta ...
closed at 2 p.m. EDT on October 29. The Tappan Zee Bridge was closed later on that day.
One of the units at Indian Point nuclear power plant (Unit #3) was shut down around 10:45 p.m. October 29, because of external electrical grid issues according to plant operator
Entergy
Entergy Corporation is a Fortune 500 integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations in the Deep South of the United States. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and gene ...
.
Impact
As an extratropical cyclone, Sandy made
landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
near
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
on October 29, about south of New York City. It was a large cyclone, with gale-force winds about in diameter. Sandy's northwest track toward the coast drove a wall of water into southeastern New York from
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in ...
, as well as from the
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
. Along the coast of
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
and across the New York metropolitan area, the storm's large size produced record high tides and a significant
storm surge
A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...
, which is the rise in water above the normally expected high
tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables ...
. The timing of the surge coincided with the normal high tide, as well as a full moon, which added to the increase in water.Kings Point at the western end of the
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
recorded a storm surge of above normal tide levels. At the Battery on the southern tip of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, a storm surge of was recorded, corresponding to above the average low tide; this was the highest water level on record, surpassing the previous record set by the December 1992 nor'easter. About 17% of New York City flooded during the storm, equating to . This exceeded the
100-year flood
A 100-year flood is a flood event that has a 1 in 100 chance (1% probability) of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
The 100-year flood is also referred to as the 1% flood, since its annual exceedance probability is 1%.Holmes, R.R., Jr. ...
as predicted by
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
(FEMA). Areas along the ocean suffered from in addition to the high tides, which eroded more than 3 million yd3 (2.3 million m3 of beaches in New York City. Oceanfront locations with nourished beach, dunes, or bulkheads had less flooding.
Sandy's large circulation produced high winds across southern New York. At Great Gull Island in the Long Island Sound, sustained winds reached while Sandy was still a tropical cyclone. Wind gusts reached at
Eatons Neck
Eatons Neck is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 1,406 at the 2010 census.
There is a United States Coast G ...
along the northern coast of Long Island. Hurricane-force gusts occurred throughout the New York metropolitan area and along Long Island. The storm also dropped light rainfall across the state. Precipitation in New York reached in Sherman, in the extreme western portion of the state.
Across New York, Sandy killed 48 people directly related to its impacts, including floodwaters and winds. The storm caused 43 deaths in New York City, mostly in Staten Island. There were another five deaths caused by
carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide ( chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simpl ...
poisoning, after people used generators inside their homes. Power outages affected nearly 2 million people in New York City, while more than 1 million people lost cellphone service. Statewide, Sandy destroyed about 305,000 homes, mostly related to the high storm surge. In New York City alone, the floodwaters entered the homes of more than 443,000 people and more than 23,400 businesses. About 75,000 people in poor health were affected by the floodwaters, while another 54,000 people in poor health were in areas affected by power outages. On November 26, Governor Cuomo estimated statewide damage and losses at $32 billion. Mayor Bloomberg announced earlier in the day that the storm caused $19 billion in losses in New York City, which was included in the estimate Cuomo gave. The statewide damage was roughly half of the nationwide estimate of $68.7 billion, with much of the remaining damage occurring in neighboring New Jersey.
The
Old Orchard Shoal Light
Old Orchard Shoal Light was a sparkplug lighthouse in lower New York Bay marking a large shoal area. It was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012.
History
Old Orchard Shoal Light was completed and lit on April 25, 1893.Annual report o ...
in New York Harbor was destroyed by the hurricane."Old Orchard Shoal Light Is No More", Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee, blog post November 9, 2012. USCG 'Local Notice to Mariners" week 44/12, LLNR 35395 states "Structure Destroyed"
Electricity
As of the morning of November 1,
Con Ed
Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 b ...
had restored two power networks, but there were still more than 600,000 customers without power throughout the five boroughs. Con Ed predicted most all of Manhattan would be fully restored by November 3. By the afternoon of the same day, Con Ed said it expected to "restore the vast majority of customers who lost power by the weekend of November 10 and 11. The remaining customer restorations could take an additional week more."
As of the morning of November 2, more than 1.3 million customers were without power, down from 2.2 million. As of 5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) on that date Con Edison said about 226,000 customers lacked service in Manhattan, 84,000 in Queens, 35,000 in Brooklyn, 54,000 in Staten Island 31,000 in the Bronx and 140,000 in Westchester. On Long Island, LIPA said it still had about 532,000 customers without power, down from more than 900,000. In the evening of November 2, LIPA said they expected to cut the number of customer outages by 150,000 by November 4.
As of 4 a.m. November 3, Con Ed reported about:
* 94,769 customer outages in Manhattan
* 81,372 customer outages in Queens
* 37,504 customer outages in Staten Island
* 31,448 customer outages in Brooklyn
* 26,252 customer outages in the Bronx
During the evening of November 3, Con Ed announced all Manhattan power networks were back online. Approximately 153,000 Con Ed customers were without power as of 8 p.m. November 3:
* 9,211 customer outages in Manhattan
* 74,067 customer outages in Queens
* 27,842 customer outages in Staten Island
* 24,707 customer outages in Brooklyn
* 19,501 customer outages in the Bronx
As of around noon November 5, Con Ed reported those without electricity were:
* 3,825 customer outages in Manhattan
* 38,397 customer outages in Queens
* 17,465 customer outages in Staten Island
* 22,887 customer outages in Brooklyn
* 8,282 customer outages in the Bronx
, there were still 8,200 people without power.
Structures
The storm damaged, destroyed, or severely flooded around 100,000 homes on Long Island. , more than 2,000 homes were deemed uninhabitable.
Bloomberg stated on November 3 that 55,000 buildings in the city's Zone A were ordered to evacuate and would be inspected for damage.
Transportation
The MTA incurred about $5 billion in damage from Sandy, which became the worst disaster to affect the transit agency in its 108-year history. There was an additional $2.5 billion in transportation damage in the state. Several subway stations were severely damaged, and eight tunnels were submerged. Train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn was disrupted for several weeks after the storm.
The storm surge inundated portions of the runways and tarmacs at both
LaGuardia
LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardi ...
NY Waterway
NY Waterway (or New York Waterway) is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley. The company utilizes public-private partnership with agencies such as the Port ...
ferries between
Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...
, and Manhattan resumed service.
The Staten Island Ferry resumed full service November 2 and
Staten Island Railway
The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a rapid transit line in the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, ...
the next day.
On November 1, fuel ships started arriving in reopened
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in ...
.
On November 2, Governor Cuomo signed an executive order waiving the state's requirements that
fuel tanker
A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, or tanker truck (American English) or tanker (British English) is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquids or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars, which are also design ...
s register and pay a tax before unloading.
Ground
The
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan in New York City. The bridge is named after George Washington, the first president of the United S ...
,
Throgs Neck Bridge
The Throgs Neck Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City, carrying six lanes of Interstate 295 (I-295) over the East River where it meets the Long Island Sound. The bridge connects the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx with the Bay Ter ...
Whitestone Bridge
Whitestone may refer to:
Places
* Whitestone, Alaska, an unincorporated community
* Whitestone, Devon, a village in the United Kingdom
* Whitestone, Ontario, a township in Canada and a community within the township
* Whitestone, Queens, a neig ...
closed at 7 p.m. EDT October 29. All road tunnels into Manhattan, except the Lincoln Tunnel, were flooded and closed, as were subway tunnels under the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...
and the PATH subway system. Limited bus service resumed Tuesday evening, Oct 30. Limited MTA subway service was scheduled to resume on November 1 with two East River tunnels (59th Street and 63rd Street) in operation and shuttle bus service to Manhattan from Brooklyn termini. The
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...
remained closed due to storm damage until November 8, 2012. The LIRR then re-opened with partial service to most of its branches, excluding Long Beach. Nassau Inter-County Express and
Suffolk County Transit
Suffolk County Transit is the provider of bus services in Suffolk County, New York on Long Island and is an agency of the Suffolk County government. It was founded in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private contr ...
suspended and/or greatly limited service for the storm. In response to the flooding of tunnels and other infrastructure, the
United States Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
sent its National Unwatering Team.
, MTA bus service began operating on a regular schedule. The subway system was tested with plans to resume limited service to 14 of the 23 services on November 1. PATH services remained suspended; the Long Island Rail Road resumed limited, hourly service; and
Metro-North
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority_of_the__is_a_type_of_Nonprofit_organization">nonprofit_corporation_char ...
restored hourly service on its
Harlem Line
The Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line, originally chartered as the New York and Harlem Railroad, is an commuter rail line running north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Sou ...
between North White Plains and Grand Central Terminal. All bridges were open.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
provided modified service starting on November 1, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal reopened with no
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and ...
service or commuter buses to New Jersey.
On the morning of November 1, the first train, an A train, pulled out of
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.
Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to
Current train stations
* Baltimore Penn Station
* Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...
three days after tunnels were flooded. Subway service in
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
except for the
IRT Lexington Avenue Line
The IRT Lexington Avenue Line (also known as the IRT East Side Line and the IRT Lexington–Fourth Avenue Line) is one of the lines of the A Division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in Eas ...
and to Brooklyn was disconnected. The G train (which is a crosstown route between Queens and Brooklyn), as well as the
Rockaway Park Shuttle
The Rockaway Park Shuttle is a New York City Subway shuttle train that operates in Queens. It connects with the train at Broad Channel station and is the latest iteration of the Rockaway Shuttle services that have been running on the Rockaw ...
and the part-time , , and trains, were also suspended. Governor Cuomo waived fares on MTA trains and buses through November 5.
The Holland Tunnel opened to buses only on November 2. HOV restrictions on bridges and Lincoln Tunnel ended on that day. By November 3, 80 percent of subway service was restored. On November 6, the Queens Midtown Tunnel reopened one lane for buses heading into and out of Manhattan during
rush hour
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: o ...
. The Holland Tunnel reopened November 7 at 5 a.m. EST., while the Queens-Midtown Tunnel reopened on November 9 at 6 a.m. EST. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel opened November 12 to limited rush-hour bus service.
Airports and airlines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...
cancelled all flights out of LaGuardia Airport through October 30 at 8 p.m. EDT. The three major airports serving New York City, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark, were closed as of 8 p.m. on October 29. More than 8,000 flights were canceled by 4 p.m. EDT for the day of October 30. LaGuardia and Newark had a total of 2,400 cancelled flights. As of early morning October 31, nearly 3,000 flights were canceled, but JFK and Newark airports began handling flights after 7 a.m. LaGuardia Airport reopened November 1 at 7:00 a.m.
Events
New York's Village Halloween Parade
The Village Halloween Parade is an annual holiday parade on the night of every Halloween, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. The parade, initiated in 1974 by Greenwich Village puppeteer and mask maker Ralph Lee, is the world ...
, held annually on October 31, was cancelled due to blackout conditions in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. A similar parade in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York was also cancelled for that same reason.
After many complaints that running the New York City Marathon through affected areas would seem insensitive and would put further pressure on police and other service workers who would be better deployed in the recovery efforts, Mayor Bloomberg announced late afternoon November 2 that the race had been cancelled. The event was to take place on Sunday, November 4. Marathon officials said that it would not be rescheduled.
The opening game at the Barclays Center between the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...
's
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...
and
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
originally scheduled to take place on November 1 was rescheduled for November 26.
The soccer game between the
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...
2012 Major League Soccer
The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 34th with a national first-division league, and the 17th season of Major League Soccer.
The regular season began on March ...
playoffs, scheduled for November 3, was moved to November 7, due to a power outage at Red Bull Arena in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
.
Staten Island
The most significant water levels in the state from Sandy occurred in Staten Island. Along the northern tip along the
Kill Van Kull
__NOTOC__
The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York and Bayonne, New Jersey in the United States. It is approximately long and wide and connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks th ...
, Sandy produced a storm surge of above normal tide levels, which corresponded to water levels above the average low tide. This surpassed the previous record by , set by Irene a year earlier. The highest-observed water line in the state was above ground, measured on a doorframe of a house in Staten Island's Oakwood neighborhood.
Staten Island experienced sustained winds of 40 to 60 mph, with gusts of up to 80 mph.
At least 21 people died on Staten Island from the storm surge. Floodwaters washed away entire blocks of houses in Midland Beach, New Dorp, and Oakwood Beach.
On October 30, the tanker was driven ashore at Staten Island.
Manhattan
Parts of
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
were inundated by floodwaters, possibly as much as deep, based on water marks measured near the
South Street Seaport
The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District, in Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district ...
. At
One World Trade Center
One World Trade Center (also known as One World Trade, One WTC, and formerly Freedom Tower) is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Mer ...
in the
Financial District
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...
, water levels were above ground. Floodwaters reached the corner of
Canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...
inundated parts of the East Village.
The floods entered hundreds of buildings across Manhattan. The
South Ferry/Whitehall Street station
The South Ferry/Whitehall Street station is a New York City Subway station complex in the Financial District neighborhood of Manhattan, under Battery Park. The complex is shared by the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the BMT Broadw ...
in Battery Park was largely destroyed, after the storm surge submerged the station with of floodwaters. The station was less than four years old, as the previous station was rebuilt following the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
of 2001.
Heavy winds caused a construction crane atop One57 to collapse, causing the area to be evacuated on October 29. The crane was secured to the building on November 3 and West 57th Street reopened to traffic that evening.
Space Shuttle ''Enterprise'', on board the
flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
, was damaged. The inflatable pavilion containing the shuttle appears to have first deflated and then been torn by the high winds.
Everywhere in
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
south of 39th Street lost power. However, in spite of all the flooding, rainfall in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
was only .
Brooklyn
In Brooklyn, the most significant inundation was , with large parts of Red Hook underwater.
Damaged structures included community centers in South Brooklyn. The offices of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, as well as a senior home run by the organization, were affected.Donation Helps Center Damaged By Sandy Get Back On Its Feet. ''NY1''. Jan 24, 2013. Ain, Stewart. Holocaust Survivors Affected By Sandy Get Aid From Germans And Claims Conference. ''The Jewish Week''. Jan 15, 2013. /ref>
Queens
Water levels in Queens reached deep in Maspeth. Along the
Rockaways
The Rockaway Peninsula, commonly referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway, is a peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, New York. Relatively isolated from Manhattan and other more urban parts of th ...
on the southern coast of Long Island, two stations recorded water levels of deep.
On October 30, over 190 firefighters fought a six alarm fire that destroyed 111 structures and damaged another 20 in Breezy Point, Queens, as a result of the storm. The area had been under evacuation orders, but some residents rode out the storm. One firefighter and two residents were injured. The rescuers were in chest-deep water and had to use a boat to reach survivors. A
transformer
A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
explosion is suspected to have caused the fire. On October 31, Breezy Point residents pledged to rebuild their community.
Remainder of Long Island
On the eastern tip of Long Island, the storm surge reached above normal water levels in Montauk. The entirety of
Fire Island
Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York.
Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lon ...
was inundated by the floodwaters, with a high-water mark of . Along the island, about 200 homes were washed away or destroyed. Much of the protective dunes along the beach were swept away, and most coastal areas were inundated a few blocks inland. Coastal damage was heaviest in
Mastic
Mastic may refer to:
Adhesives and pastes
*Mastic (plant resin)
*Mastic asphalt, or asphalt, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid
* Mastic cold porcelain, or salt ceramic, is a traditional salt-based modeling clay.
*Mastic, high-grade con ...
Peconic Bay
The Peconic Bay is the parent name for two bays between the North Fork and South Fork of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is separated from Gardiners Bay by Shelter Island.
Peconic Bay is divided by Robins Island into the Great ...
, water levels were about deep. The high tides breached through Westhampton Island east of
Moriches Inlet
Moriches Inlet ( ) is an inlet connecting Moriches Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on Moriches Neck.The Indian Place-Names on Long Island and Islands Adjacent, with Their Prob ...
. Severe beach erosion occurred in
Montauk Point State Park
Montauk Point State Park is a state park located in the hamlet of Montauk, at the eastern tip of Long Island in the Town of East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York. Montauk Point is the easternmost extremity of the South Fork of Long Island, ...
Throggs Neck
Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and east, Westchester Creek on ...
neighborhood of the Bronx, water levels reached deep.
Elsewhere
Sandy's large circulation and storm surge inundated parts of the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...
valley more than upstream, in conjunction with light rainfall across the state. In
Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...
, water levels reached deep. Homes and businesses along the river were damaged. A portion of
Interstate 787
Interstate 787 (I-787) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of New York. I-787 is the main highway for those traveling into and out of downtown Albany. The southern terminus is, per New York traffic data, at the toll plaza ...
near Albany was inundated. Wind gusts reached in Stone Ridge. The high winds caused power outage across eastern New York, affecting 63,000 people in Dutchess and
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
counties. The northeasterly winds also produced high waves along Lake George and Peck Lake, which damaged docks along their southern shores. The high winds caused a fatal traffic accident when a driver in
Kerhonkson
Kerhonkson is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 1,684 at the 2010 census.
The Kerhonkson CDP is an urban concentration that straddles the border of the town of Rochester and ...
was struck by flying debris.
In western New York, the former hurricane produced gale-force winds, with a gust of measured at
Irondequoit Bay
Irondequoit Bay is a large body of water located in northeastern Monroe County, New York. The bay, roughly wide and in length, is fed by Irondequoit Creek to the south and flows into Lake Ontario at its northern end. On average, the surface of I ...
. Rainfall across the region measured , which flooded area creeks. The combination of winds and rainfall knocked down trees and power lines, leaving tens of thousands of people without power across Western New York.
Evacuations and rescues during storm
The cost of damage to the city hospital system, including emergency measures, evacuations, and staff overtime, was estimated around $1 billion. Power outages and storm impacts forced the closure of six hospitals and 26 residential care facilities in the city, which reduced the citywide hospital capacity by 8%. Capacity remained 4% below normal by four weeks after the storm, with the reduced capacity temporarily suspending elective procedures. The Healthcare Evacuation Center coordinated the evacuation of more than 6,400 patients. Ten hospitals remained open despite flooding or power outages, with five of them using emergency generators. The facilities that stayed open repurposed areas to accommodate the influx of patients. For at least four days after Sandy struck, many nursing home workers lived on site.
Ahead of the storm, the
New York Downtown Hospital
NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital is a nonprofit, acute care, teaching hospital in New York City and is the only hospital in Lower Manhattan south of Greenwich Village. It is part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and one ...
,
VA New York Harbor Healthcare System
The VA New York Harbor Healthcare System is a set of hospitals run by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in the New York City area. It comprises three medical centers, two community outpatient clinics, and five veterans centers. The ...
, and South Beach Psychiatric Center closed preemptively ahead of the storm. Three other hospitals began evacuations during the storm –
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and m ...
,
Bellevue Hospital Center
Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
, and
Coney Island Hospital
The hospital's Behavioral Health Clinic
Coney Island Hospital is a public teaching hospital located in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is owned by NYC Health + Hospitals, a public benefit corporation of the city ...
. After the first floor was submerged and communications were cut, Coney Island Hospital staff cared for more than 220 patients using flashlights and battery-powered devices, until it was safe enough to evacuate. About 60 nearby residents fled to the hospital during the peak of the storm.
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and m ...
was evacuated October 29 after the backup generators at the hospital failed due to flooding. Over 200 patients were safely transferred to other hospitals.
Bellevue Hospital Center
Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
(about 500 patients),
Coney Island Hospital
The hospital's Behavioral Health Clinic
Coney Island Hospital is a public teaching hospital located in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is owned by NYC Health + Hospitals, a public benefit corporation of the city ...
, and
Palisades Medical Center
Palisades Medical Center (PMC) is a 186-bed hospital located in North Bergen, New Jersey, United States, that serves a population of 400,000 in Hudson County and in Southern Bergen County. The non-profit medical center is part of the Hackensack M ...
are additional New York City area hospitals which have been either partially or fully evacuated.Superstorm Sandy Tests Hospital Preparedness ABC News, By KATIE MOISSE and SYDNEY LUPKIN, October 30, 2012.
The Emergency Medical Services of New York City faced a series of challenges and setbacks during the storm relating to the flooding, closure, and evacuation of hospitals and
FDNY
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
-EMS Stations across the city. Downtown Hospital was closed in preparation for the storm, but several hospitals were forced to close during the storm, including Bellevue Hospital, NYU Hospital, Manhattan VA Hospital, Metropolitan Hospital, Coney Island Hospital, and St. Johns Hospital. A fire broke out on the fourth floor of Coney Island Hospital, which proved difficult for Fire and EMS resources access due to flooding, high winds, and downed wires. Four out of five FDNY-EMS Stations in Manhattan were evacuated during the storm as flooding began to surround stations in low-lying areas, including EMS Station 4 (South Street, location of Division 1 Headquarters which was moved to
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and r ...
during the storm), Station 7 (Chelsea), Station 8 (Bellevue), and Station 10 (Spanish Harlem/Metropolitan Hospital). Station 16, located at
Harlem Hospital
Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded in 1887.
The ...
, did not have to evacuate.
On October 29, National Guard troops arrived in
Island Park, New York
Island Park is a village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 4,655 at the 2010 census.
History
Island Park was developed by the Island Park-Long Beach Company as a resort community in ...
, as anecdotal accounts and earlier reports of a substation explosion were officially denied by a LIPA representative.
On October 30, a helicopter rescue crew airlifted five adults and a child from the roof of a Staten Island house which was nearly submerged by flooding waters.
On October 31, National Guard troops and local police were evacuating the last of 700 patients from Bellevue to other hospitals and local shelters.
On November 6, some of the state's residents that had been evacuated for Sandy were evacuated a second time due to a nor'easter that was expected to bring high winds, rain and possible snow to areas of New York.
Aftermath
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...
Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebel ...
declared a public health emergency on October 31 for New York. In response, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
(FEMA) sent 30 teams of workers into damaged areas of the New York region.
During a news conference on November 1, Mayor Bloomberg announced that most parks would reopen on November 3; that Coney Island, the Rockaways, and parts of Staten Island would get temporary centers for the distribution of meals and bottles of water at a time; that
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...
would bring cellphone-charging and cell service-enabled pods to certain areas of New York City; and that 400 members of the National Guard were to go door-to-door to deliver meals and supplies to elderly and home-bound residents. A relief fund was created for residents of Staten Island.
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, opera ...
donated $500,000 to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, and $50,000 each to the Red Cross of Northeastern New York and the Red Cross of Northern New Jersey. They also sent out vehicles with mobile charging stations and free WiFi access points, as well as opened all its WiFi spots in the city.
United States Secretary of Homeland Security
The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of th ...
Janet Napolitano
Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...
toured Staten Island on November 2. On that same day, the state of New York created a $100 million fund to help people hit hardest.
On November 3, the
National September 11 Memorial & Museum
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bom ...
was being pumped free of floodwater and reopened on the 6th. Five emergency mobile gas stations were deployed by the military on the same day, offering 10 free gallons per person.
Thousands of runners who came to the city to run the
New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...
met in Central Park on November 4; due to the marathon's being called off, many went to Staten Island to help storm victims.
On November 5, meteorologists began tracking a coastal
nor'easter
A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...
, that threatened cleanup and recovery efforts in the state on November 7 and 8. NYU Langone Medical Center, evacuated during the storm, began reopening on the same day, and about 750 workers resumed construction on
Ground Zero
In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the grou ...
. Governor Cuomo signed an
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...
saying that displaced New Yorkers could vote in the 2012 United States elections at any polling place in the state.
On November 7, Governor Cuomo fired Steven Kuhr, the head of the New York Office of Emergency Management, after Cuomo discovered that Kuhr had sent Suffolk County workers to clear a tree in his Long Island driveway as other victims needed help. A day later, Cuomo said that the estimated storm damage in New York state was $33 billion. New York City and the counties of Nassau and Suffolk imposed " odd-even" gasoline rationing, as New Jersey had, to ease congestion and frustration at filling stations. The system began on November 9 in the wake of a shortage. Cuomo also temporarily waived certain taxes and pollution restrictions on fuel deliveries.
The South Ferry/Whitehall Street station, largely destroyed by the storm, was reopened on June 27, 2017, four years and eight months after Hurricane Sandy. The redesign included floodproofing, such as retractable floodgates. In the interim, service was rerouted to Rector Street.
Venue closures
New York City schools remained closed through Friday, November 2 with classes resuming Monday for most students; but as many as 40,000 stayed home until November 7. Fifty-seven schools were still flooded as of that date. Many colleges and universities and K-12 schools in the tri-state area also cancelled classes.
The
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
was closed October 29, a day after its grand reopening from a year-long renovation project. Both the statue and
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...
remained closed through 2012; the statue reopened July 4, 2013, while Ellis Island remained closed until 2014.
The
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) is a state agency within the New York State Executive Department Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law § 3.03. "The office of parks, recreation a ...
closed all state parks on Long Island until further notice, due to downed trees, dangling branches, beach erosion, and damaged
boardwalk
A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...
s.
On November 1, CBS News reported the 76 shelters opened initially were being consolidated down to 15.
On November 6, Bloomberg announced the closing of parks, playgrounds and beaches again for 24 hours starting at noon November 7, as the nor'easter neared. Also on November 6, John Jay High School in Brooklyn, being used as a shelter for Sandy victims, was shut down after about a dozen storm refugees came down with a
stomach virus
Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydrat ...
. Bloomberg said the school would be closed November 7 instead of opening for classes as scheduled, so it could be cleaned and then reopened.
Looting
Looter
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
s and burglars were arrested in Coney Island, the Rockaways, and other parts of New York City and Long Island which had been evacuated or damaged by the storm. Some posed as Con Ed workers to fool their victims; some other, would-be-looters posed as rescue workers. On November 2, it was reported that "on Long Island, looting has become such a problem on the south shore in the wake of superstorm Sandy that state police are on patrol." In addition to the looting of homes and stores, armed robberies, criminal siphoning of gasoline out of vehicle gas tanks, and thefts of generators were reported. Some New Yorkers ignored advice to evacuate in advance of the nor'easter of November 7, in favor of protecting their property. Thefts were averted by residents, some armed, who surprised those who had broken into their homes; by the National Guard; and by neighborhood watch groups.
On November 1, a
St. Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...
motorist was arrested on charges of menacing and criminal possession of a weapon after he tried to cut in line at a
Mobil
Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999.
...
station on the corner of Astoria Boulevard and 43rd Street in Queens and pointed a pistol at another motorist who complained. Also, in Brooklyn, people argued at a Getty gas station. It was further reported that gasoline, in heavy demand for both vehicles and home generators, had become scarce and frustration with fuel supplies topped "the list of issues causing tensions to boil over in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, the states hardest hit by power outages in the wake of superstorm Sandy." As of November 6, police reported 41 arrests in New York City stemming from fights at gas lines. This excluded the arrest of one teenager in East Setauket, who pulled a knife on a BP employee when told they were out of high-octane gas.
In the five days since Sandy first hit New York City, the NYPD reported a slight decline in the number of major felonies compared to the same period during the previous year. There was a 30% drop in robberies and felony assaults, as well as a single homicide compared to 7 homicides in 2011. Reported burglaries, however, had a small uptick from 267 in 2011 to 271 in Sandy's wake.
Political response
The hurricane damaged many homes beyond habitability. Governor Cuomo worked closely with President Barack Obama and with Governor
Chris Christie
Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018.
Christie, who was born in Ne ...
of New Jersey, which was even more hard-hit, to come to their aid. Cuomo allowed New York voters, via a specific provision aimed at accommodating those displaced, to cast provisional ballots for the 2012 election anywhere in New York state. He also appointed a commission to examine the responses of New York utilities to damage caused by the storm, and to help lower the energy costs of residents affected by the damage. The Cuomo administration used $140 million of the funds originally allocated to this commission in order to pay for the broadcast of national TV ads encouraging businesses to return to New York after the disaster. Many have been critical of the effort, including former New York governor
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008.
Spitzer was b ...
, who called the ads "fluff" and "a waste of taxpayer money".
Governor Christie, a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, was criticized by fellow Republicans for his public praise of President Obama, a Democrat, during and after his post-Sandy visit to New Jersey. Although Christie endorsed Republican candidate
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
in the
2012 United States presidential election
The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re-el ...
, critics complained that Christie's relationship with Obama following Sandy hurt Romney at the polls. Several years later, during Christie's own campaign for president, Republican opponents continued to raise the issue of his post-Sandy relationship with Obama. The incident was at least partly responsible for Christie's failure to win the Republican nomination for president.
Long-term mitigation
Various flood barriers within the New York City area have been proposed in order to prevent another flood surge from being as destructive as Hurricane Sandy's. One proposed barrier, the
New York Harbor Storm-Surge Barrier
The New York Harbor Storm-Surge Barrier was a proposed barrier and floodgate system to protect the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary from storm surges. The proposed system would consist of one barrier located across the mouth of Lower New York ...
would be located offshore and consist of multiple systems of barriers at the mouths of major waterways. Another plan calls for a "Big U", a system of flood barriers around the southern third of Manhattan.
In March 2019, mayor
Bill de Blasio
Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Yor ...
announced a Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Plan, which would construct flood barriers around Lower Manhattan and possibly extend the shoreline at a cost of $10 billion. At the time, four of the project's phases had funding and were set to start construction between 2020 and 2021.
Effects of Hurricane Ida in the Northeastern United States
On September 1–2, 2021, Hurricane Ida affected much of the Northeastern United States as an extratropical cyclone, causing catastrophic river and flash flooding. Widespread flooding affected many areas, shutting down numerous roads, halting pub ...
- a costly tropical cyclone in 2021 that caused flooding across the New York City area
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
Natural disasters in New York City
History of the New York City Subway
Hurricanes in New York (state), Sandy
Effects of hurricanes in the United States, Sandy