thankfully, sandy was much kinder to east midtown than it was to the chelsea area. this apartment building in chelsea lost it’s entire facade. can you imagine, you’re cuddled up under the covers with a good book and maybe a really good looking man, when all of the sudden the entire outside world can see you as you fly out of bed and scramble around in a mad rush to find your robe? oy.
here on east 52nd street, there was not much to report and we are all extremely grateful. here is an update on the view from my window looking up first avenue:
an enormous tree branch fell in front of my friend tracey’s building, but more interesting was the way her building staff saved their awning:
the folks across the street from me would have benefited from the ingenuity of the staff over at tracey’s.
the mission to thailand which is directly across the street didn’t think to take their flags in before the hurricane. several people in my building sat in the lobby for a good part of the night and witnessed the flags get shredded by the wind.
although i missed the water actually come over the barrier right onto the fdr drive, here is what the roadway looked like this morning:
the city felt so strange today – as if everything was off somehow. most businesses remained closed since public transportation is still shut down and few people went to work. the streets were jam packed with people, which is unusual for mid-day on a tuesday, and all of the restaurants which opened for business were quite crowded. i suppose people needed to get out after 24 hours confined indoors. skies remain thick with gray clouds.
around 2:00 this afternoon the cars on first ave began honking their horns. it sounded like they were all honking so i took a look out the window:
it was the army and folks were beeping to show their appreciation. nice.
i end this post by thanking god for keeping my entire family and all of my friends safe. i would also like to ask everyone who reads this to say a prayer for the people who were killed or injured, for the 111 people who lost their homes in the fire in breezy point, those who lost their businesses or homes in the floods and also for all the heroes who provided service to people in need during the storm.
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“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Benjamin Franklin 
Ralph Waldo Emerson
