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| Sandy's fury leaves Queens residents cold, dark and uncertain | Sandy's fury leaves Queens residents cold, dark and uncertain |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Inside the foyer of a 12-storey building in the devastated beach community of the Rockaways, a handful of residents gather around a bar of power points from an emergency generator, mostly charging their phones. A transistor radio provides news updates on the coming storm and the dropping temperatures outside. Boxes of food and water line the floor, donated by volunteers. | Inside the foyer of a 12-storey building in the devastated beach community of the Rockaways, a handful of residents gather around a bar of power points from an emergency generator, mostly charging their phones. A transistor radio provides news updates on the coming storm and the dropping temperatures outside. Boxes of food and water line the floor, donated by volunteers. |
| They have food to eat, water to drink. The lucky ones have running water to wash in, although those who are sheltering here from the Dayton building opposite do not. They have to walk down pitch-dark staircases to the swimming pool to fill buckets to flush their toilets. | They have food to eat, water to drink. The lucky ones have running water to wash in, although those who are sheltering here from the Dayton building opposite do not. They have to walk down pitch-dark staircases to the swimming pool to fill buckets to flush their toilets. |
| They're doing OK so far, they say, thanks to the kindness of strangers. What they don't have, however, is power or any idea of when it will be restored. | They're doing OK so far, they say, thanks to the kindness of strangers. What they don't have, however, is power or any idea of when it will be restored. |
| A full week after this small coastal area in the Queens borough of New York City was battered by superstorm Sandy, tens of thousands are facing plummeting temperatures with no electricity or heat and a big nor'easter storm that is due to hit overnight on Wednesday . | A full week after this small coastal area in the Queens borough of New York City was battered by superstorm Sandy, tens of thousands are facing plummeting temperatures with no electricity or heat and a big nor'easter storm that is due to hit overnight on Wednesday . |
| Rumours circulating on the peninsula vary depending who you talk to. Those in charge of the volunteer networks that have sprung up here say it could be anywhere from a month to a month and a half before power is restored, others hope and pray it could be sooner. | Rumours circulating on the peninsula vary depending who you talk to. Those in charge of the volunteer networks that have sprung up here say it could be anywhere from a month to a month and a half before power is restored, others hope and pray it could be sooner. |
| A call to the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), yields little other than a recorded message in which no date is given for power restoration in the Rockaways, where a substation was destroyed by hurricane Sandy. | A call to the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), yields little other than a recorded message in which no date is given for power restoration in the Rockaways, where a substation was destroyed by hurricane Sandy. |
| Brynda Palma-Dowery, a receptionist at a PR firm, who lives on the forth floor of the building on Shorefront Parkway and is keeping herself warm by turning the oven and burners on, said that she was one of the "blessed". | Brynda Palma-Dowery, a receptionist at a PR firm, who lives on the forth floor of the building on Shorefront Parkway and is keeping herself warm by turning the oven and burners on, said that she was one of the "blessed". |
| But she is worried about the coming storm, the cold and how long everyone is going to last without heat and light. | But she is worried about the coming storm, the cold and how long everyone is going to last without heat and light. |
| "We've got this little nor'easter coming," she said. "We want to know when LIPA is coming. If we could get electricity we could get back to normal." | "We've got this little nor'easter coming," she said. "We want to know when LIPA is coming. If we could get electricity we could get back to normal." |
| One of her neighbours, who did not want to be named, said: "We were one of the hardest hit and yet we're the last to get services. We don't know anything." | One of her neighbours, who did not want to be named, said: "We were one of the hardest hit and yet we're the last to get services. We don't know anything." |
| There are worries too, about what is already happening when darkness falls in the community and whether things will get worse. | There are worries too, about what is already happening when darkness falls in the community and whether things will get worse. |
| Palma-Dowery said she heard on the news of looting and gangs with guns further down the peninsula, in the Far Rockaway. Her neighbours made a complaint to the local police after a neighbour in a nearby building was robbed by someone posing as a LIPA representative, she said. | Palma-Dowery said she heard on the news of looting and gangs with guns further down the peninsula, in the Far Rockaway. Her neighbours made a complaint to the local police after a neighbour in a nearby building was robbed by someone posing as a LIPA representative, she said. |
| "I feel safe, but I have heard that further down, things aren't so good." | "I feel safe, but I have heard that further down, things aren't so good." |
| A few miles further east, outside St Francis De Sales church, people from the community are co-ordinating volunteers to help with everything from handing out donations of food and clothes to pumping and cleaning basements to organising medical supplies for those residents who have run out of vital prescriptions. | A few miles further east, outside St Francis De Sales church, people from the community are co-ordinating volunteers to help with everything from handing out donations of food and clothes to pumping and cleaning basements to organising medical supplies for those residents who have run out of vital prescriptions. |
| Alison Thompson, from an organisation called the Third Wave Volunteers, has a red cross sewn onto a white hat on her head. She is co-ordinating medical supplies and treatment here, but is not from the Red Cross. | Alison Thompson, from an organisation called the Third Wave Volunteers, has a red cross sewn onto a white hat on her head. She is co-ordinating medical supplies and treatment here, but is not from the Red Cross. |
| Thompson, who came here after working in Haiti, says that what is needed most is volunteers – and light. The hall behind her, currently full of massive piles of clothing, food and water, is going to be turned into a "warming center", she said. | Thompson, who came here after working in Haiti, says that what is needed most is volunteers – and light. The hall behind her, currently full of massive piles of clothing, food and water, is going to be turned into a "warming center", she said. |
| "The electricity is not going on for at least a month and a half – that's what people are saying," said Thompson. "And that's here in this cold. Right now we're trying to prepare for the storm and we're trying to get blankets to people. We need volunteers and we need empty trucks. We need to get this stuff out of here so that it can be turned into a warming center." | "The electricity is not going on for at least a month and a half – that's what people are saying," said Thompson. "And that's here in this cold. Right now we're trying to prepare for the storm and we're trying to get blankets to people. We need volunteers and we need empty trucks. We need to get this stuff out of here so that it can be turned into a warming center." |
| She, too, is worried about the chaos that might ensue if the power is not restored, or light is not set up soon. | She, too, is worried about the chaos that might ensue if the power is not restored, or light is not set up soon. |
| Gesticulating behind her, to the west, she says: "These neighbourhoods down that way, that is where to watch. There are gangs down there and people are scared. Woman and children are at risk. They need generators and they need lights. There is one big floodlight here, brought in by the mayor's office. They need that every five or six blocks." | Gesticulating behind her, to the west, she says: "These neighbourhoods down that way, that is where to watch. There are gangs down there and people are scared. Woman and children are at risk. They need generators and they need lights. There is one big floodlight here, brought in by the mayor's office. They need that every five or six blocks." |
| "At night it's very dangerous. You have 17 miles of pitch dark. Below 84th Street, there are gangs patrolling the streets at night. They have guns. It festers and it festers. They have to get into that area before it gets into an impossible situation." | "At night it's very dangerous. You have 17 miles of pitch dark. Below 84th Street, there are gangs patrolling the streets at night. They have guns. It festers and it festers. They have to get into that area before it gets into an impossible situation." |
| On Monday, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg talked of the need to get down to the "micro level" of help for people in communities hit by the storm. "There's no doubt that the lack of heat and light is jeopardising the health and safety of people in affected areas." | On Monday, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg talked of the need to get down to the "micro level" of help for people in communities hit by the storm. "There's no doubt that the lack of heat and light is jeopardising the health and safety of people in affected areas." |
| Asked whether the agencies, such as the Red Cross or Fema, were doing enough to help, Thompson said: "This disaster is too big for government aid groups. There were people here yesterday and they were overwhelmed." | Asked whether the agencies, such as the Red Cross or Fema, were doing enough to help, Thompson said: "This disaster is too big for government aid groups. There were people here yesterday and they were overwhelmed." |
| At one point, a group of people wearing Red Cross jackets turn up. They are nurses and mental health professionals, but they cannot talk to the Guardian, they said, because they have not yet assessed the situation and the need here. | At one point, a group of people wearing Red Cross jackets turn up. They are nurses and mental health professionals, but they cannot talk to the Guardian, they said, because they have not yet assessed the situation and the need here. |
| They stand together and talk to the volunteers. There is concern that there are patients form a residential home who need medical attention. | They stand together and talk to the volunteers. There is concern that there are patients form a residential home who need medical attention. |
| David Andersen, 47, a retired US marine from Queens, who has been helping residents for the past few days, said: "Literally everywhere you go people need help." | David Andersen, 47, a retired US marine from Queens, who has been helping residents for the past few days, said: "Literally everywhere you go people need help." |
| He points behind him to the piles of debris piled up alongside the mountains of sand on the dirt roads outside houses. "It's the basic necessities people take for granted. They realise how important they are. I see all the agencies trying their best. It's so limited that people feel that they aren't here and that's tough. | He points behind him to the piles of debris piled up alongside the mountains of sand on the dirt roads outside houses. "It's the basic necessities people take for granted. They realise how important they are. I see all the agencies trying their best. It's so limited that people feel that they aren't here and that's tough. |
| "That's what Iraq looks like," he added. "People here aren't supposed to experience this". | "That's what Iraq looks like," he added. "People here aren't supposed to experience this". |
| Other voluntary groups are less charitable about government and other agencies. | Other voluntary groups are less charitable about government and other agencies. |
| Along Rockaway Beach Boulevard, which is littered with debris, smashed up furniture and the mounds of sand that were left behind when the storm surge passed, there are little islands where people are gathered, places that serve as refuges either for those who refused to leave their homes during hurricane Sandy or those who returned to try and repair the damage to their flooded and shattered homes. | Along Rockaway Beach Boulevard, which is littered with debris, smashed up furniture and the mounds of sand that were left behind when the storm surge passed, there are little islands where people are gathered, places that serve as refuges either for those who refused to leave their homes during hurricane Sandy or those who returned to try and repair the damage to their flooded and shattered homes. |
| One such place is a former store called Yana, which now stands for You Are Never Alone, according to a handwritten sign above it. | One such place is a former store called Yana, which now stands for You Are Never Alone, according to a handwritten sign above it. |
| A huge solar panel next to the store, on a truck donated by Greenpeace, is powering generators for essentials, such as phone charging and, for one boy, his much needed nebuliser medication needed for his asthma. The store is one of nine volunteer centers dotted around the Rockaways run by the anti-capitalist Occupy movement. | A huge solar panel next to the store, on a truck donated by Greenpeace, is powering generators for essentials, such as phone charging and, for one boy, his much needed nebuliser medication needed for his asthma. The store is one of nine volunteer centers dotted around the Rockaways run by the anti-capitalist Occupy movement. |
| Diego Ibanez, who is part of Occupy Sandy relief, said: "It's ridiculous how long Fema is taking, how long the Red Cross is taking. We are just a small network on Facebook and Twitter and we have helped the people here." | Diego Ibanez, who is part of Occupy Sandy relief, said: "It's ridiculous how long Fema is taking, how long the Red Cross is taking. We are just a small network on Facebook and Twitter and we have helped the people here." |
| He said that phase one has been relatively successful thanks to organisations like Occupy. | He said that phase one has been relatively successful thanks to organisations like Occupy. |
| "Phase one was getting everyone food and water," said Ibanez. "We're not Fema or the Red Cross but we're giving people hugs and boosting morale. Phase two is helping people clean their houses and clean their yards. | "Phase one was getting everyone food and water," said Ibanez. "We're not Fema or the Red Cross but we're giving people hugs and boosting morale. Phase two is helping people clean their houses and clean their yards. |
| "They went through the storm. They are not scared. But people now need electricity. The talk is of it being into December. We are going to put the pressure on the electricity company." | "They went through the storm. They are not scared. But people now need electricity. The talk is of it being into December. We are going to put the pressure on the electricity company." |
| Back at St Francis Church, Thompson and Jaime Jordan, who set up a Facebook page Rockaway Emergency Plan, talk to a woman from Bloomberg's department about how to get through the next few days. | Back at St Francis Church, Thompson and Jaime Jordan, who set up a Facebook page Rockaway Emergency Plan, talk to a woman from Bloomberg's department about how to get through the next few days. |
| "The situation is there are a number of people here who are unwilling to leave their homes" said Jordan. | "The situation is there are a number of people here who are unwilling to leave their homes" said Jordan. |
| "That is unreal," came the response. | "That is unreal," came the response. |
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