Storm victims face housing crisis as cold snap hits

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• Storm victims face housing crisis as cold snap hits
• In New York's Rockaways, battered residents dig out and wait
• New York area rail commuters face long haul come Monday
• Disappointed NYC marathoners run in aid of Sandy victims
• NYU,Coney Island to take outpatients, Bellevue closed
• On Brooklyn's waterfront, Red Hook learns to cope without power
• New Jerseyans flock to bars after Sandy keeps them indoors
• New York's art community struggles to salvage flood-damaged works
• More NY oil terminals online, gasoline lines persist post Sandy
• New York area rail commuters face long haul come Monday
• Some 143,000 New Yorkers get different post-storm voting sites: mayor
• Early voting extended at Florida site hit with bomb scare
• Child mauled to death by African wild dogs at Pittsburgh zoo
• More NY oil terminals online, gasoline lines persist post Sandy
• U.S. soldier accused of Afghan rampage faces evidence hearing
• Tale of two New Jersey towns now linked by Sandy
• Insight: Sandy shows hospitals unprepared when disaster hits home
• Analysis: Crude-by-rail carves out long-term North American niche
• Mail-in ballots: the hanging chads of 2012?
• FEMA still provides free housing in Joplin, 18 months after tornado
• Police helicopter crashes in Atlanta, kills two officers
• New York City crime down by a third in wake of superstorm
• Dominican police arrest three in killing of ex-Yankees pitcher
• Utilities feel heat as 1.9 million still dark after Sandy
• Sandy may not hurt insurers too much: Barron's
• Red Cross regrets not responding to storm victims sooner
• Massive housing relief needed after Sandy as cold sets in

Storm victims face housing crisis as cold snap hits Posted: 04 Nov 2012 06:23 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A housing crisis loomed in New York City as victims of superstorm Sandy struggled without heat in near-freezing temperatures on Sunday and nearly 1 million people in neighboring New Jersey shivered in the dark without power. Fuel shortages and power outages lingered nearly a week after one of the worst storms in U.S. history flooded homes in coastal neighborhoods. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said 30,000 to 40,000 people in New York City alone would need shelter. "We don't have a lot of empty housing in this city. It's a problem to find housing. ...

In New York's Rockaways, battered residents dig out and wait Posted: 04 Nov 2012 06:38 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - It took ironworker Jim Coyne more than a year to replace the hot water heaters and furnaces damaged when Hurricane Irene dumped two feet of water in the basement of his beach-block home in the Rockaways, New York last year. Last week, within days of his replacing his damaged equipment, the massive storm Sandy brought more floods, sounding like thunder on Coyne's porch and tearing apart his fence with an audible crack. "The water just kept coming in big waves that covered everything," he said. ...

New York area rail commuters face long haul come Monday Posted: 04 Nov 2012 05:18 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Almost 200,000 suburban New York City commuters, most in New Jersey, face another work week without easy rail connections because of storm damage so severe that experts say it will take months before full service can be restored. Hurricane Sandy severed train connections for an estimated 435,000 daily commuters in the New York City suburbs. By Monday morning, full or partial service will have been restored for about 260,000. Experts with experience repairing rail after other natural disasters say commuters on some of the most damaged lines are likely to face a long wait. ...

Disappointed NYC marathoners run in aid of Sandy victims Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:33 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of runners in New York City are refusing to let a canceled marathon spoil their Sunday plans and are channeling months of preparation into informal runs intended to benefit victims of superstorm Sandy. Amid criticism from victims of Monday's storm that the race would divert resources from efforts to help flood-ravaged parts of the city, Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday canceled the marathon. The event, scheduled for Sunday, had been expected to draw more than 40,000 runners to the city. ...

NYU,Coney Island to take outpatients, Bellevue closed Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:19 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York University's Langone Medical Center and Coney Island Hospital plan to start offering some outpatient services on Monday but Bellevue hospital is expected to remain shut for about two weeks after superstorm Sandy closed the hospital. New York University's Langone Medical Center said on Sunday that its emergency department remains closed and it had no update as to when it will be able take in over-night patients again or when its emergency room would be back up and running. ...

On Brooklyn's waterfront, Red Hook learns to cope without power Posted: 04 Nov 2012 05:11 PM PST BROOKLYN, New York (Reuters) - At the 99 Cent Dreams store in Red Hook, a working-class neighborhood on New York Harbor, Ramon Rodriguez spent part of his Sunday hunting for fresh supplies as the disruptions from superstorm Sandy continued for a second week. The 70-year-old is one of hundreds in the neighborhood's public housing apartments without heat and power after Sandy's floodwaters swamped the area. "I feel like I've spent my whole Social Security check on batteries and candles," Rodriguez said. "The power's been out all week. ...

New Jerseyans flock to bars after Sandy keeps them indoors Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:57 PM PST NEPTUNE CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - One Jersey Shore woman said she felt claustrophobic at home, a man said he suffered cabin fever while said they were sure they were going "stir crazy." Many people shut in by superstorm Sandy broke the monotony Sunday by taking to a cozy barstool with a drink in hand. Since Monday night at 8:15 p.m., when the storm knocked out power, Paulette Balla had been forced to sit at home in Asbury Park in the darkness wearing "a hoodie, a sweatshirt, a pair of gloves" and swaddled in two blankets to stay warm, she said. ...

New York's art community struggles to salvage flood-damaged works Posted: 04 Nov 2012 04:17 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - For those gathered at New York's Museum of Modern Art on Sunday for a session on salvaging art damaged in the flood waters of superstorm Sandy, it was as much a support-group meeting as learning about drying techniques and mold control. As New York City emerges from a week without power and no public transportation and tens of thousands of people find themselves homeless, artists and gallerists in the art hub of West Chelsea in Manhattan are facing ruined galleries, flooded storage facilities and water-logged artwork. ...

More NY oil terminals online, gasoline lines persist post Sandy Posted: 04 Nov 2012 04:51 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Harbor energy network was returning to normal on Sunday with mainline power restored nearly a week after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the eastern seaboard. Yet damage to infrastructure near Linden, New Jersey, a major northeast fuel hub, kept a major refinery and some terminals shut, lending longer life to gasoline shortages that have persisted in the region. Another looming concern was that heating oil supplies were dwindling with temperatures expected to dip to freezing in New York by Monday. ...

New York area rail commuters face long haul come Monday Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:01 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Almost 200,000 suburban New York City commuters, most in New Jersey, face another work week without easy rail connections because of storm damage so severe that experts say it will take months before full service can be restored. Hurricane Sandy severed train connections for an estimated 435,000 daily commuters in the New York City suburbs. By Monday morning, full or partial service will have been restored for about 260,000. Experts with experience repairing rail after other natural disasters say commuters on some of the most damaged lines are likely in for a long wait. ...

Some 143,000 New Yorkers get different post-storm voting sites: mayor Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:47 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some 143,000 New York City voters will be reassigned to different polling sites for Tuesday's U.S. presidential election in the wake of superstorm Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday. The Board of Elections informed him of the plan, Bloomberg told a press conference on the recovery from Sandy. "Over the next day it's going to be critical that the Board of Elections communicate this to their poll workers," he said. ...

Early voting extended at Florida site hit with bomb scare Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:30 PM PST MIAMI (Reuters) - Early voting was extended on Sunday at a central Florida polling site that was disrupted a day earlier by a bomb scare, and voters were allowed to cast absentee ballots in person in several other counties that had been plagued by long lines. Saturday was the last day for early voting in Florida, where polls showed Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney running neck-and-neck. But Orange County Elections Supervisor Bill Cowles reopened the polls at one site, a library in the Orlando suburb of Winter Park, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. ...

Child mauled to death by African wild dogs at Pittsburgh zoo Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:06 PM PST (Reuters) - A small boy was mauled to death after falling into an African wild dog enclosure at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Sunday. The newspaper said the child was about 3 years old and was on an outing with his mother when he fell over a railing and off a mesh barrier into the area where 11 of the animals - known as African painted dogs - were on display. ...

More NY oil terminals online, gasoline lines persist post Sandy Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:22 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Harbor energy network was returning to normal on Sunday with mainline power restored nearly a week after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the eastern seaboard. Yet damage to infrastructure near Linden, New Jersey, a major northeast fuel hub, kept a major refinery and some terminals shut, lending longer life to gasoline shortages that have persisted in the region. Another looming concern was that heating oil supplies were dwindling with temperatures expected to dip to freezing in New York by Monday. ...

U.S. soldier accused of Afghan rampage faces evidence hearing Posted: 04 Nov 2012 08:02 AM PST SEATTLE (Reuters) - A U.S. Army soldier accused of gunning down 16 Afghan villagers in a drunken rampage will face the military version of a preliminary hearing on Monday to determine if there is sufficient evidence to send him to a court martial. U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan who could face the death penalty if convicted, is accused of walking off his base under cover of darkness and opening fire on civilians in their homes in at least two villages in March. ...

Tale of two New Jersey towns now linked by Sandy Posted: 04 Nov 2012 06:42 AM PST ASBURY PARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Asbury Park and Bay Head are two towns on opposite ends of the Jersey Shore's socio-economic spectrum - one with many poor people, the other with professionals in lucrative Wall Street careers. Superstorm Sandy has swept away many of the differences between the two. Asbury Park is a faded dowager seaside resort, still struggling to recover from the race riots in the summer of 1970, white flight, a weakened tax base and, more recently, the great recession. Some storefronts facing the ocean were boarded up as Sandy closed in on the town. ...

Insight: Sandy shows hospitals unprepared when disaster hits home Posted: 04 Nov 2012 06:30 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kim Bondy was in New Orleans seven years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, and scores of patients died in flooded hospitals cut off from power. She never thought that she might face that danger herself. But on Monday night, as superstorm Sandy submerged parts of New York City, Bondy was one of 215 patients evacuated from New York University's Langone Medical Center after basement flooding from the East River cut off its electricity. ...

Analysis: Crude-by-rail carves out long-term North American niche Posted: 04 Nov 2012 06:02 AM PST VANCOUVER (Reuters) - In this era of pipelines spanning thousands of miles, the idea of shipping crude across North America in railway cars might seem a quaint throwback to the oil pioneering days of the West. Yet it's a booming business for North America's railroads, and should remain an important niche market for years to come. Shipments of crude by rail in the United States have surged from around 11,000 barrels per day in 2007 to an estimated 340,000 bpd in 2012, according to data from the Association of American Railroads. ...

Mail-in ballots: the hanging chads of 2012? Posted: 04 Nov 2012 04:11 AM PST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sloppy signatures on mail-in ballots might prove to be the hanging chads of the 2012 election. As Republicans and Democrats raise alarms about potential voter fraud and voter suppression, mail-in ballots have boomed as an uncontroversial form of convenient, inexpensive voting. In the critical swing states of Ohio and Florida, more than a fifth of voters chose the mail-in option 2010. In Colorado, another battleground, the number was nearly two-thirds. But there may be controversy to come. ...

FEMA still provides free housing in Joplin, 18 months after tornado Posted: 04 Nov 2012 04:07 AM PST JOPLIN, Missouri (Reuters) - An affordable place to live in the wake of disasters such as superstorm Sandy can become a long-term benefit, as some survivors of the massive 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri, can attest. More than 17 months after the tornado that killed 161 people and destroyed more than 8,000 buildings, the Federal Emergency Management Agency still provides 142 furnished mobile homes free of charge to residents who have no permanent place to live. As thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Sandy scramble for rental property and hotel rooms in the U.S. ...

Police helicopter crashes in Atlanta, kills two officers Posted: 03 Nov 2012 10:28 PM PDT ATLANTA (Reuters) - An Atlanta police helicopter crashed on Saturday night, killing two police officers, a police spokesman said. "One of our helicopters went down and two officers were killed," police spokesman Carlos Campos said. There was no immediate word on how many people were aboard the aircraft when it crashed, nor on what may have been the cause. (Reporting by David Beasley; Writing By Cynthia Johnston and Doina Chiacu)

New York City crime down by a third in wake of superstorm Posted: 03 Nov 2012 07:08 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City crime dropped by a third in the days after superstorm Sandy, but there was a slight increase in burglaries after at least 15 people were charged with looting empty businesses and homes blacked out since the disaster. Between Monday - when the storm hit, killing 41 people in the city - and Friday, murder dropped by 86 percent, rape fell 44 percent, robbery decreased by 30 percent, assault by 31 percent, larceny by 48 percent and car thefts by 24 percent. Burglaries rose by 3 percent. ...

Dominican police arrest three in killing of ex-Yankees pitcher Posted: 03 Nov 2012 07:50 PM PDT SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (Reuters) - Police in the Dominican Republic said on Saturday they have arrested three suspects in the killing of former New York Yankees pitcher Pascual Perez during a robbery at his home last week, while two others remained at large. General Maximo Aybar, the chief of the police force's criminal investigations division, said one of the three suspects had confessed to killing Perez, who was found beaten to death last Thursday at his home near Santo Domingo. ...

Utilities feel heat as 1.9 million still dark after Sandy Posted: 04 Nov 2012 05:56 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - About 1.9 million homes and businesses remained in the dark on Sunday as pressure mounted on power companies to restore electricity to areas hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy nearly a week ago. In New York, utilities came under increasing calls to restore heat and light to some 650,000 customers. More than half of those were served by the Long Island Power Authority, which was singled out for criticism by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In New Jersey, about a quarter of the state remained without power. After a peak of 8. ...

Sandy may not hurt insurers too much: Barron's Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:42 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Losses from hurricane Sandy may not hurt insurers such as Chubb Corp as much as investors might fear, according to a report in the November 5 edition of Barron's. Barron's said that Cliff Gallant, Property and casualty insurance analyst at Keefe Bruyette & Woods, has an $88 price target on Chubb, which closed at $74.48 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. "The fourth quarter will be ugly. That's a given," the story quoted Gallant as saying. "But these aren't devastating losses. The companies probably won't have to dip into their balance sheets to pay claims. ...

Red Cross regrets not responding to storm victims sooner Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:11 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The American Red Cross said on Sunday it regrets not responding sooner to areas on the U.S. East Coast hardest hit by superstorm Sandy and is working aggressively to distribute food, water and other supplies to victims across New York and New Jersey. The privately funded organization blamed flooding and other infrastructure problems for its slow response to the storm, which has killed more than 110 people and caused billions in property damage. The delay in relief response from the Red Cross has been widely criticized by politicians. ...

Massive housing relief needed after Sandy as cold sets in Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:14 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - With freezing temperatures forecast, tens of thousands of people hit by superstorm Sandy need temporary housing, New York officials said on Sunday, but it was not immediately clear where they could all be sheltered. The number of homes and businesses without power has fallen to 1.9 million from a peak of 8.5 million since Sandy slammed the U.S. East Coast on Monday, authorities said early Sunday. But nearly 1 million people in New Jersey and almost 730,000 in New York state are still without power, authorities said. ...

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