Post by Sanders KaufmanPost by ChoomySo maybe you can tell us why the people are asking for food, and
aren't getting it from Obama.
They *are* getting food - and a lot of other stuff, too.
You better check some news sources other than MSNBC who only gives you
Obama's talking points.
By Jennifer Abbey
Cynthia McFadden
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Nov 1, 2012 8:00pm
‘We Need Food, We Need Clothing’: Staten Island Residents Plead for Help
3 Days After Sandy
gty si sandy kb 121101 wblog We Need Food, We Need Clothing: Staten
Island Residents Plead for Help 3 Days After Sandy
(John Moore/Getty Images)
The residents of Staten Island are pleading for help from elected
officials, begging for gasoline, food and clothing three days after
Sandy slammed the New York City borough.
“We’re going to die! We’re going to freeze! We got 90-year-old people!”
Donna Solli told visiting officials. “You don’t understand. You gotta
get your trucks down here on the corner now. It’s been three days!”
Staten Island was one of the hardest-hit communities in New York City.
More than 80,000 residents are still without power. Many are homeless,
and at least 19 people died on Staten Island because of the storm.
One of the devastated neighborhoods was overwhelmed by a violent surge
of water. Residents described a super-sized wave as high as 20 feet,
with water rushing into the streets like rapids.
Staten Island resident Mike Abuzzio’s home is completely gone, with only
his floor boards remaining. He, his wife and their two young daughters
have been staying with relatives.
“My youngest daughter yesterday said, ‘Daddy, I want to go,’” Abuzzio
told ABC News. “I told her, ‘It’s going to be awhile, hon.’ She doesn’t
understand. She’s 6.”
In the rubble that was once his home, Abuzzio found one clean, intact
plate of Christmas china. He said that plate will be special at
Christmastime and will be used specifically for his mother’s cookies.
For 48 hours after the storm, search teams were hunting for two Staten
Island brothers, just 2- and 4-years-old. They were swept out of their
mother’s arms when waves caused by storm surges crashed into the
family’s SUV. Their small bodies were found today at the end of a
dead-end street. Their parents were at the scene where the bodies were
discovered.
Staten Island officials sounded increasingly desperate today, asking
when supplies will arrive. They blasted the Red Cross for not being
there when it counted.
“This is America, not a third world nation. We need food, we need
clothing,” Staten Island Borough President Jim Molinaro said today. “My
advice to the people of Staten Island is: Don’t donate the American Red
Cross. Put their money elsewhere.”
The Red Cross and the National Guard arrived in the area late Tuesday
and are distributing food, water and gas – and city officials say things
are much better.
Molinaro urged New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Wednesday to cancel
Sunday’s New York City Marathon. The race’s staging area is on Staten
Island and Molinaro said it would be “crazy, asinine,” to have the race
after what has happened.
“My God. What we have here is terrible, a disaster,” Molinaro said
Wednesday. “If they want to race, let them race with themselves. This is
no time for a parade. A marathon is a parade. Now is the time to put
your shoulder to the wheel. If they want to prepare for something, let
them prepare for the election, not a marathon.”
“Do you realize how many police officers you need for a marathon?” he
asked. “There are people looting stores on Midland Avenue. There is
looting taking place in the homes on the South Shore that were
destroyed. That is where we need the police.”
sandy recovery
Staten Island Borough President: Don’t Give Money to the Red Cross
By Colin Campbell 11/01 11:46am
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At a press conference this morning on Staten Island, a host of local
officials, including Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand,
gathered to highlight the needs of the hard-hit borough in the aftermath
of Hurricane Sandy. And, although many pols spoke, no one was more
impassioned than Borough President James Molinaro, who called the Red
Cross an “absolute disgrace” and even urged the public to cease giving
them contributions.
“Because the devastation in Staten Island, the lack of a response,” Mr.
Molinaro said to explain his comment to NBC after the press conference.
“You know, I went to a shelter Monday night after the storm. People were
coming in with no socks, with no shoes. They were in desperate need.
Their housing was destroyed. They were crying. Where was the Red Cross?
Isn’t that their function? They collect millions of dollars. Whenever
there’s a drive in Staten Island, we give openly and honestly. Where are
they? Where are they? I was at the South Shore yesterday, people were
buried in their homes. There the dogs are trying to find bodies. The
people there, the neighbors who had no electricity, were making soup.
Making soup. It’s very emotional because the lack of a response. The
lack of a response. They’re supposed to be here….They should be on the
front lines fighting, and helping the people.”
Update: (9:40 a.m. 11/2/12): Mr. Molinaro said after his outburst, the
Red Cross arrived with the needed soup.
Several other local officials agreed with Mr. Molinaro’s rage over
Staten Island’s situation, although they did not call out the Red Cross
specifically.
“It is as the borough president, Jim Molinaro, said, it’s disgusting, it
really is,” State Senator Andy Lanza said, criticizing the city for
giving the go-ahead to the New York City Marathon this weekend and the
focus on pumping the water out of the East River tunnels. “We’re talking
about getting water of the tunnel. Let’s get the water out of the tunnel
tomorrow, let’s get the people out of the water today. There’ve been
thousands of people who have been displaced. There are people who are
cold, who are hungry, who are without a place to go, and looking for
warmth. There are people still trapped. Yet we’re talking about
marathons and tunnels. I walked on the rooftop of a house yesterday, I
stepped on it because the debris that surrounded it was level with the
rooftop. That’s what happened here on Staten Island.”
Congressman Michael Grimm concurred.
“I think this is an example of what infuriates people here on Staten
Island,” he said. “Like Senator Lanza just said, we have people, people
still in water. Families displaced, families wondering where their
grandparents are. Are they at a shelter? Are they at a hospital? Or are
they gone? That’s what we should be focusing on. I think it would be
very misguided to have this marathon. I think that the people of Staten
Island will see this, unfortunately…as another shot against them, that
the City Hall is more worried about getting everything running again for
Manhattan and making everything look like it’s back to normal. We’re not
back to normal and we’re not going to be back to normal for a long time.”
Follow Colin Campbell on Twitter or via RSS. ***@observer.com
See also
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Really Wants You to Know He's Running for Manhattan Borough President
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Democrats Bring Michael Grimm's Scandals On Board The Staten Island
Ferry Peralta Forms Committee for Possible Queens Borough President Run
topics: borough presidnent, hurricane, james molinaro, jim molinaro, red
cross, sandy, sandy recovery, staten island, storm
Staten Island Borough President: Don’t Give Money to the Red Cross
Cory Booker Lets Sandy Victims Hang Out at His House
Bloomberg: Gas Shortage Will Continue for ‘Some Time’
James Molinaro: Yelling at the Red Cross Worked
Governor: Utilities Could Lose License if Electricity Isn’t Quickly
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