Nothing is “back to normal.” Hurricane Sandy has affected some Empire State faculty, professionals and staff too! On November 8, 2012, Marnie Evans, Director of Academic Review at Metropolitan Center, NYC shared with us what she has experienced:
There was a difficult time with no water, power, heat, elevator or Internet. Luckily my land line worked, so I had a telephone, and I have friends who never lost any services and after two days I went there for a visit and a meal, so my inconvenience was not what many faced. Our services at home came back on Friday night. The office was not open until Tuesday, so I’m glad to be back at the office with some semblance of normal days. After two days I went to a friend’s apartment for a shower, a visit and a HOT meal, but then was home to track the phone and sleep. Cold, but connected with family and friends.
My 82 year old father lives in Far Rockaway NY. His building complex was affected. When I went to pick him up the day after the storm, his neighborhood looked as though a sand bomb had exploded for a 10 mile radius. Nothing worked, he lives on the 6th floor of a 12 story building. I had to walk up 6 flights of stairs in the dark to get to him. My dad is a Korean War Vet and he walked down the 6 flights of stairs, slowly, but he made it. I wasn’t sure that my car was going to make it out of the area, no traffic lights, water and sand EVERYWHERE and looting became the norm. We made it out of the Rockaways and he spend 2 1/2 LONG weeks with me. I live in a very small Brooklyn, NY apartment. 660 feet in all. I felt like a kid again (I’m 53) I had to do my homework in my bedroom with the door closed. Only this time around he was listening to his music really loud, his hearing isn’t all there, and I had to come out a few times to tell him to keep the music down! Needless to say I didn’t get as much work done as I had wanted. I’m now about 2 weeks behind in my studies. I hope my teachers are understanding that I’m this far behind this far into the semester.