thekateblack

A resident whose coffeepot was untouched by the flood in her home brought it out to the 666 Burger truck to plug in.

Rockaway held elections, even without power, without heat, without anything comfortable at all.

By Tuesday, 666 Burger had rounded up enough unleaded gasoline to run the generator again. Franz decided to take the truck out to cook for people who came to the polling place at B 104th in Rockaway. More than a week after the storm, many people were telling us how this is one of the only hot meals they’ve had since Sandy hit. People far from the larger staging areas don’t usually reap the benefits of the food trucks that park there until dusk. It’s a lot of effort to climb the sand dunes which have claimed the streets, and warnings are plentiful to be in your homes at nightfall. People are scared to be out after dark.

The woman in the 2nd photo is a polling place volunteer. She worked in the cold from 5:00am to 7:00pm yesterday to help neighbors cast their votes. She told me that she was going home to her cold, storm damaged apartment and then getting up early to go to work at the VA Hospital.

The man holding a little girl (3rd photo) is a voter who evacuated and has been staying with loved ones on Roosevelt Island. He knew Governor Cuomo had allowed for affidavit ballots for people displaced by Sandy, but had been misinformed that such voters could only vote in the presidential, not local, elections. He and his family came back to Rockaway to cast their ballots.

idiosyncratic-routine:

Commute home last night included a bus trip through blackout gridlock so slow that people asked to get off and walk. Bus driver refused to open the door between stops, man began screaming about being held hostage. Busses dumped everyone at 23rd St due to safety risks to the south, so we walked home through road flares and National Guard vehicles. Still better than the shit show of waiting in lines for shuttles to Brooklyn; that scene looks like Resident Evil 2: everyone trying to escape Raccoon City before the gates close on the virus contamination zone. *shudder*