Hurricane Sandy Thread

I'm actually glad Bloomberg had the city workers come in. This is the kinda of emergency that the city should be 100% staffed and ready for. Yeah it was hard on them, I'm not denying that but as a city worker the city's needs come before your own.

“Sandy’s Aftermath: How Much Federal Aid Can the City Expect?” http://ow.ly/f7YzM

Doug Turetsky

Chief of Staff/Communications Director

NYC Independent Budget Office

110 William Street, New York, NY 10038

@newguy88 you're missing the key point here:

Bloomberg asked employees to come in but had no real expectation that they would show up. How was it hard on them? They didn't show up for work. He didn't actually expect them to show up and probably will get compensated by the feds because he asked them to show AND THEY DIDN'T.

Had Bloomberg said to the employees to stay home then for certain the city would not be reimbursed by the Feds for those employees that were asked to stay home.

newguy88 said:

I'm actually glad Bloomberg had the city workers come in. This is the kinda of emergency that the city should be 100% staffed and ready for. Yeah it was hard on them, I'm not denying that but as a city worker the city's needs come before your own.

Wait, seriously? You needed education coaches for (closed) public schools sitting in offices? You needed attorneys for commissions and groups sitting in offices when the people they spend their days working for/with are home safely? You needed secretaries for office buildings to not answer phones since no one was calling? I'm not talking about cops, fire fighters, EMTs, sanitation....I'm talking about the Taxi Commissioner, the DOE Network Leaders, the office manager for the Commission for the Arts... Those people came into work.

Courts? Closed. Classrooms? Closed. But the workers who support such important places? Sitting in offices after a downright dangerous commute. Yup...makes sense....

xlizellx: Well said. That's exactly what I was thinking, but you said it better than me.

I took a job with the city. It's a job. The city pays me to do that job, not a general "city employee" job. Like any job, it has pros and cons. I took no vow or signed no contract that I would be out in a hurricane to serve the city, when I have no training or experience to do so.

xlizellx said:

Wait, seriously? You needed education coaches for (closed) public schools sitting in offices? You needed attorneys for commissions and groups sitting in offices when the people they spend their days working for/with are home safely? You needed secretaries for office buildings to not answer phones since no one was calling? I'm not talking about cops, fire fighters, EMTs, sanitation....I'm talking about the Taxi Commissioner, the DOE Network Leaders, the office manager for the Commission for the Arts... Those people came into work.

Courts? Closed. Classrooms? Closed. But the workers who support such important places? Sitting in offices after a downright dangerous commute. Yup...makes sense....

I respectfully disagree.

Is there anyone who can confirm for me if the US mail service is working (as well as it ever did) again to areas in South Brooklyn who were hit by Sandy?

Hey @newguy88 , you should apply for a big wig position at the MTA...sounds like you would fit right in

Dozens of MTA workers, stranded in Coney Avenue terminal, faced death as Hurricane Sandy waters rushed in Workers describe scenes of pure chaos — and incredible bravery — after Coney Island Creek overflowed and caused chest-high flooding

"The water's getting high. We have to start getting out of here," the supervisor said.

Landro, 51, said he was stunned to hear the response.

"Stay there," the higher-up instructed. "Hold your post and secure your area."...

They were rescued by two other transit workers navigating the waters in a raft...

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-workers-trapped-flood-sandy-article-1.1200933?pgno=1#ixzz2C9A4c5Zo

No, its not like things could have been dangerous



Called to Work During Superstorm Sandy, Tribeca Parking Attendant Drowned - “I said, what on earth are you doing here? And he said, I was called in to come.”

http://www.thenation.com/article/171228/called-work-during-super-storm-sandy-tribeca-parking-attendant-drowned

Or the government actually knew what they were/are doing



OccupySandy feeds FEMA workers: Government incompetence at its peek http://rt.com/usa/news/fema-workers-occupy-sandy-720/

business as usual, now go to work civil servants!

xlizellx said:

Wait, seriously? You needed education coaches for (closed) public schools sitting in offices? You needed attorneys for commissions and groups sitting in offices when the people they spend their days working for/with are home safely? You needed secretaries for office buildings to not answer phones since no one was calling? I'm not talking about cops, fire fighters, EMTs, sanitation....I'm talking about the Taxi Commissioner, the DOE Network Leaders, the office manager for the Commission for the Arts... Those people came into work.

Courts? Closed. Classrooms? Closed. But the workers who support such important places? Sitting in offices after a downright dangerous commute. Yup...makes sense....

The city has been fighting unions over whether city workers who did not show up during the 2010 blizzard can be docked pay or personal time.

The city won.

As the article points out, this may set precedence for the city winning a similar case brought against it by employees who did not show up (I.E. arrive at a check-in center) during Sandy.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/no_how_blow_to_workers_9ba9rKSfRhHiNn1npLjNcN