After Sandy: what’s working and what’s not

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy to the New York/New Jersey area, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have been talking a lot about "the new normal" as in freak weather patterns being said "new normal."

As the area tries to shake the dust of Sandy from its eyes, here is what the new normal is shaping up to be:

— Atlantic City, which was under a travel ban, has emerged largely unscathed with its boardwalk mostly intact. Governor Christie says the casinos can reopen, but the casinos themselves have no ETA for opening yet as roads in and out for employees and cleanup are still not all in working order.

— Manhattan is effectively split into two sections: above 34^th street and below 34^th street.  The subway system cannot function in Manhattan areas below 34^th street until Con Edison returns power to the area, which may happen over the weekend.

— The Port of New York has been opened so that tankers can bring gas into the city, a major issue as consumers and businesses are running out of gas and supplies are starting to run low.  The opening of the Port means that cruise lines should be able to dock at their postponed dates early next week.  Norwegian Cruise Line’s CEO Kevin Sheehan today posted an open letter on the company website apologizing for delays and offering cruisers a refund for cancelling travel on the Norwegian Gem which is set to sail from NY today in an abbreviated journey.

— Amtrak’s Acela trains in the Northeast corridor resume today, although on a modified schedule.

— Airlines like American, JetBlue and US Airways are adding flights and say that stand-by tickets for stranded travelers are available.  All area airports are functional although maintenance issues at LaGuardia (see our separate story in today’s news) are slowing traffic in and out of that airport.  An additional issue slowing flight recovery to normal levels is the ability to quarter flight crews as local hotels are full of stranded passengers. As the subways and buses are not fully operational, the only unfettered way to Manhattan from JFK and LaGuardia is by car or taxi.  Lines are long and the highways are chock-a-block to and from the airport.

— Hotels in the area are still fully booked due to lower Manhattan power outages and other hotel evacuations as well as stranded passengers.