Village of Ridgewood Hurricane Sandy Updates – Nov 3, 2012 3PM
The Village of Ridgewood has completed nearly all tree removal work that DOES NOT involve PSE&G wires and that affects public streets. Just like you, the village is waiting for PSE&G to do their work. Governor Christie released today PSE&G’s restoration plan. PSE&G is estimating total restoration for the Village of Ridgewood by midnight tonight, November 3. This is PSE&G’s estimate – NOT Ridgewood’s estimate. We believe PSE&G is overly optimistic, and that residents should expect many more days before restoration is complete.
Election Day: Due to loss of power at a number of our regular polling sites, the Bergen County Board of Elections has approved the following changes to polling sites:
Normal Voting Location ——– Voting Location For This Election
BF Middle School ——–Hawes School
Glen School ——– Fire Department Headquarters – E. Glen Ave.
Hawes School ——– Hawes School
GW Middle School ——–GW Middle School
Library ——– Fire Department Headquarters – E. Glen Ave.
Orchard School ——– Orchard School
Ridgewood High School ——– Somerville School
Somerville School ——– Somerville School
Travell School ——– Hawes School
Willard School ——– GW Middle School
24 hour Warming Center: Mt. Carmel Parish, 1 Passaic Street, Ridgewood, has agreed to remain open 24 hours as a warming center for residents who have no power and need a warm place to stay. Please enter on the Passaic Street side. Cots and a limited number of blankets are available. Residents are asked to bring their own blankets and pillows. Mt. Carmel will not be serving meals.
Recycling Center: The recycling center will be open on Saturday from 8 AM to 3 PM, and Sunday from 7 AM to 2 PM. In addition to accepting recycling and tree branches, they will be accepting household garbage.
Tree Branches: Tree branches ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE STREET. If you have placed branches in the street, they MUST be removed. Please bring branches to the recycling center.
The conditions outdoors remain dangerous due to downed trees and power lines. Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Stay away from downed power lines. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything in contact with the wire.
For more information, continue to visit oem.ridgewoodnj.net and the Village of Ridgewood and Ridgewood Police Department Facebook pages for updates.
UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
3 p.m.:
11.02.12
Dear RPS Parents and Guardians,
I hope everyone is doing well. I am heartened by today’s news that power has been restored to George Washington Middle School, joining the three schools that never lost power: Hawes, Somerville and Orchard.
It is my hope that more schools will come on line over this weekend. But as you can imagine, PSEG is overwhelmed by the devastation from this storm and so I do not know if we will have school starting on Monday, November 5th. I will keep you informed with an update over the weekend.
With the uncertainty of our schools being ready for next Tuesday’s General Election, we are currently working with the Village on alternative polling location sites. As soon as the polling site plan has been finalized we will spread the word.
For those who continue to be without power, Somerville School will be open both this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. to charge your cell phones and other electronic devices.
Information about other services available to residents can be found on the Village of Ridgewood website at www.ridgewoodnj.net. Residents may also sign up there for the Ridgewood reverse 911 system. This is extremely important and easy; simply click on the E-Notices link in the right column and fill in the contact information.
Also available through the village website is a link to a special web page for post-hurricane information from the Ridgewood Office of Emergency Management. There you will find important resources such as a listing of local warming shelters, a special needs registry, shelter information and tips for food and generator safety.
One resource that is needed at this time is blood. The blood supply is low and those in medical need can use our help. If you are in a position to help and can travel, I encourage you to please donate blood at your earliest convenience.
A tremendous amount of clean-up has already occurred and will continue throughout the Village, thanks to the hard work of the Village Operations workers and the leadership of the Village administration and elected officials. But there are still many treacherous areas with downed wires and trees leaning on wires. Please be careful as you resume your regular activities. And please remember: No branches are to be put in the road. The Village is making every attempt to pick up garbage, recycling and leaves in a timely manner and they will get to you.
Lastly, as I watch the news I am concerned about some deterioration of civility caused by stress and the loss of services after Hurricane Sandy. Mediating disputes should not be something the police and emergency services should be dealing with at this point in time. Communities grow stronger by how we treat each other in times of need and distress. It’s important that we continue to do what Ridgewood does best, and that is to watch over each other and help each other. Please be careful, monitor your children and watch over your neighbors.
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D
Superintendent
Ridgewood Public Schools
PSE&G 54.5% of Ridgewood Customers Still Without Power
PSE&G storm update – Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 11:00 a.m.
With Crews focused on Ridgewood : Currently the VILLAGE of RIDGEWOOD has 10,255 customers served by PSE&G of that 5,586 are with out power leaving 54.5% to be restored
(November 3, 2012 – Newark, NJ) – PSE&G has restored service to 65 percent of those who lost power in Hurricane Sandy. In the last 24 hours, we restored service to all major gas refineries and 75% of the schools in our service territory.
Also in the last 24 hours we energized all of our switching stations and restored 16 substations. While energizing switching and substations does not automatically turn the lights on, it is a major step forward and allows us to focus on our distribution systems that are closer to the customer.
Currently about 73 percent of all PSE&G customers have power while 607,000 customers are still without power. At its peak, the storm impacted 1.7 million of PSE&G’s 2.2 million electric customers.
The switching stations that were re-energized are the backbone of our system and they feed substations which we continue to work around the clock to restore. The 16 substations that we restored in the last 24 hours serve parts of Union Township, Kenilworth, Cranford, and Roselle Park, Bound Brook, Port Newark, Ironbound section of Newark, Hillside, Irvington, Elizabeth, North Plainfield, Bayonne, Jersey City, Linden and Carteret.
We currently have 2,794 mutual aid line workers and tree contractors from out-of-state helping us on the ground. An additional 319 new workers are due today and 300 more are being sent from Washington, DC. Another 102 out-of-state personnel who specialize in substations are here assisting our efforts.
PSE&G is focusing its efforts this weekend on those areas where we can restore power to the maximum number of customers. In addition to the municipalities listed below, we continue to address priority customers including hospitals, public safety facilities, schools and water systems throughout our service territory.
Here is a summary of this weekend’s restoration work schedule:
Bergen County — Of the 333,690 customers in Bergen County, 215,770 lost electricity. As of Saturday morning, 142,100 customers remained without power. — Crews will be focusing on Teaneck, Englewood, Ridgewood, Fort Lee, Paramus, Bergenfield, Palisades Park, New Milford, River Edge, Glen Rock, Tenafly, Hackensack, Lodi and Bogota this weekend.
Local Gas Stations begin to open
November 3rd, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Readers report to us that the Getty station on North Walnut Street and Franklin Avenue now has gas opening at 11 am and Exxon on Maple has gas but is only dispatching fuel to people with gas cans .
As already reported In an effort to prevent a fuel shortage and ease waiting times at gas stations, Governor Christie enacted odd-even gas rationing beginning at noon Saturday in Bergen, Passaic and 10 other northern New Jersey counties. Motorists with license plates ending with an odd number can purchase gas only on an odd calendar day, while those whose plates end in an even number can go to the pump on even days.
Long lines await patrons at area gas stations with some people telling the Ridgewood blog they waited over 3 hours . The Route 17 corridor between Linwood Ave and Garden State Plaza , had power restored yesterday afternoon but it was a little too late to mitigate gas lines . Other have told us horror stories of waiting in line on the Garden State Parkway and as early as 7am long lines formed throughout Paramus with the only bright spot being the sole gas station on Pascack Road across from the Rite Aid in Washington Twp ,where after several earlier altercations , people have settled down taking under and hour to get gas.
NJT: Updated Rail and Light Rail Service as of November 2, 2012
NJ TRANSIT sustained devastating damage to our rail infrastructure system-wide during Hurricane Sandy. Crews work around the clock to repair and restore sustained damage and only when service is deemed safe and secure will it resume.
RAIL SERVICE:
• Northeast Corridor Line: As of Friday, November 2 service has resumed between Trenton Transit Center and Penn Station New York. Service will operate on a modified schedule until further notice – schedule
PLEASE NOTE: THE SCHEDULE ABOVE APPLIES ONLY TO NEC TRAINS. ALL 7200 SERIES TRAINS ARE SUSPENDED. AT THIS TIME, NORTH JERSEY COAST LINE SERVICE REMAINS SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
• North Jersey Coast Line: Service remains suspended until further notice due to a power failure at NJ TRANSIT’s Rail Operations Control Center.
• Raritan Valley Line: Service remains suspended until further notice due to a power failure at NJ TRANSIT’s Rail Operations Control Center.
• Montclair-Boonton Line: Service remains suspended until further notice.
• Morris & Essex Line: Service remains suspended until further notice.
• Main/Port Jervis Line: Service remains suspended until further notice due to a power failure at NJ TRANSIT’s Rail Operations Control Center.
• Pascack Valley & Bergen Line: Service remains suspended until further notice.
• Atlantic City Rail Line: Service remains suspended until further notice.
LIGHT RAIL SERVICE:
• River Line: As of Thursday, November 1 service has resumed and is currently operating on a regular Weekend schedule.
• Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: On Saturday, November 3, test cars will operate on the tracks – please note: service remains suspended until further notice.
• Newark Light Rail: Service remains suspended until further notice.
o The Newark Light Rail experienced flood waters beneath Newark Penn Station. NJ TRANSIT crews work around the clock to pump out water from the system.
*Monthly Pass Extension: NJ TRANSIT has extended the validity period for October monthly passes until Friday, November 9 for our customer’s convenience.
Senator Kevin O’Toole
Phone: 973-237-1360
Web: https://otoole.senatenj.com
Email: [email protected]
November 02, 2012 Important Post-Hurricane Information
Dear Friends:
As we all begin the process of coming up from under a storm that none of us has ever seen in our lifetimes, I’d like to begin by expressing my deepest sympathies and condolences to our fellow New Jerseyans in the Southern part of our state. The devastation that they are experiencing just can not be put into words.
As the clean up process begins and power is starting to be restored to many of us here in District 40, it is important to note that over 2 million homes in New Jersey lost power as a result of Hurricane Sandy. I and my office are on conference calls with all of the utilities multiple times a day getting status updates as to their progress. As your local elected officials contact me with power outage information, we are forwarding that information along to the appropriate utilities.
Throughout this process I have been in contact with your Mayors and Council members and the amount of work they are putting in to coordinate any and all information, as it develops, has been nothing short of extraordinary. In this time of confusion, frustration and difficulty the coordination that has occurred, beginning with the Governor, my office, the county Freeholders, and local officials has been remarkable. Every level of government and all elected officials are solely focused on ensuring that every resident gets their power back and life begins to return to normal as quickly as possible.
There is a lot of information being disseminated on an almost hourly basis. Here are some important numbers and resources for your reference:
For non-immediate health matters or other assistance:
Call 211 or go online at www.nj211.org for help with non-emergency issues, including basic human needs, support for seniors or persons with disabilities, children, or mental health issues.
To file a claim with FEMA:
Call 800-621-FEMA (800-621-3362). Make sure you register with FEMA. For a printable form, click here.
Information on Federal Aid Programs for State of New Jersey Disaster Recovery
To report a downed electrical line:
Contact your local energy provider (info below). Be prepared to give the nearest cross street or the number of a nearby pole that has not been damaged and is away from any downed wires; the pole number can be found on the metal tag attached to the pole.
PSE&G: 800-436-7734
Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L): 800-662-3115
Atlantic City Electric: 800-642-3780
Orange Rockland Electric: 1-877-434-4100
To report a gas leak, contact your local gas provider:
New Jersey Natural Gas: 800-427-5325
PSE&G: 800-436-7734
Road and Driving Conditions:
https://511nj.org/
To file an insurance claim, if you can’t find the company or agent’s number:
Call the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance at 1-800-446-7467 or go to www.dobi.nj.gov.
To report complaints about insurance companies:
Call the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance at 1-800-446-7467, click here to file a complaint online.
A printable complaint form is here: https://www.state.nj.us/dobi/complain.pdf
To report complaints about electric or gas utilities:
Call the NJ Board of Public Utilities: (800) 624-0241 or (609) 341-9188.
To report possible consumer fraud or price gouging by contractors or others:
State law makes excessive price increases illegal during a state of emergency, and for 30 days following the end of the emergency. Call the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs at 862-209-0130 or 973-220-3474.
To provide volunteer assistance in the cleanup and restoration effort:
Call 1-800-JERSEY-7 (1-800-537-7397). Backup numbers: 609-775-5236 or 908-303-0471.
Volunteers may also send an email to [email protected]. This service is managed by the NJ Business Action Center and the Governor’s Office of Volunteerism, both divisions within the NJ Department of State.
To request volunteer assistance:
Call ’211′ or go online at www.nj211.org.
Extension of motor vehicle document deadlines:
To ease the burden on customers who did not have a chance to visit a motor vehicle office in October, MVC Chairman and Chief Administrator Raymond P. Martinez has issued Administrative Order 2012-03 authorizing a 30-day extension for all driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations and vehicle inspection stickers that expired on October 31.
State Aid:
Department of Health and Senior Services
New Jersey Department of Health – Directory of Local Health Departments in New Jersey
NJ DEP’s Hurricane Sandy Page – precautionary wastewater measures, how municipalities can apply for emergency land use permits, when to boil their water, and much more.
As more information becomes available, my office will provide you with that information. As is always the case, if you are having any difficulties, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 973-237-1360 or via email at [email protected].
Bloomberg Diverts Food, Generators from Devastated Staten Island to NYC Marathon
by Michael Patrick Leahy 1 Nov 2012
Fresh off his “climate disruption”-driven endorsement of President Obama, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has chosen to divert critical food supplies and power generators from desperate residents of Staten Island to Sunday’s New York City Marathon. Gothamist reports:
[T]hose urging the city to halt the run believe that the thousands of Marathon volunteers could direct their efforts towards post-Sandy relief and cleanup, “and they also argue that the event will divert thousands of police from important hurricane-related duties.” But despite petitions circulating, work started up again yesterday on the Marathon route.
A tipster, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us there were lots of workers in and out of the park today, who had “started before the storm and then came back starting yesterday.” Trailers are lined up from around 71st to 66th Streets on Central Park West, a food truck was set up today, and “generators have been sitting there at least a week.” The tents that were taken down prior to the storm have also been set back up, and there is a stage set up near 73rd Street.
Considering all the volunteer help and NYPD attention that’s already being diverted to the Marathon, the added sight of generators and food being channeled to the event is probably going to strike some New Yorkers as a little misplaced—we’re thinking of the ones who are currently lined up waiting for the National Guard to ration out MREs and bottles of water.
Staten Island residents are frantically calling for help, ABC News reported on Thursday:
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.
PSE&G storm update – Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 11:30 a.m.
November 1 2012
–Outage update: At this time approximately 950,000 PSE&G customers have had their power restored following Hurricane Sandy. About 781,000 customers are currently without power. The storm impacted 1.7 million of PSE&G’s 2.2 million electric customers.
— Our best forecast as of now is that we will have virtually all of our impacted customers restored to service within the next seven to 10 days. The majority of customers will be restored before then. There may still be isolated pockets of customers who have individual flooding or downed line issues that may take slightly longer.
— The storm surge flooded a large number of substations along the Passaic, Hackensack and Hudson rivers, and the Arthur Kill, disrupting service to customers in Hudson, Essex and Middlesex counties. The magnitude of the flooding in contiguous areas is unprecedented. PSE&G had to take these stations out of service, wait for the flood waters to recede to assess the damage, dry out the equipment, replace equipment when necessary and re-energize the system to restore service. We continue to make progress on the substations affected by flood waters from the tidal surge. This is a painstaking process to thoroughly clean the equipment so theta it can be safely re-energized.
— PSE&G has assembled a “virtual army” of over 1,730 technicians – 600 PSE&G workers and 1,050 workers from across the country — plus an additional 600 contractors to cut and remove trees. We continue to secure whatever resources become available to us from other utilities; additional crews from the Midwest are arriving this afternoon.
— Many of the outages were caused by falling trees and limbs, which bring down power lines. Downed wires should always be considered “live.” STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything that it might be in contact with. To report a downed wire and other visible equipment damage, call 1-800-436-PSEG and tell PSE&G the nearest cross street.
— To report a power outage, call PSE&G’s Customer Service line: 1-800-436-PSEG.
PSE&G is distributing free ice and water to customers without power at the following locations on a first come, first served basis between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm:
Elizabeth Customer Service Center, 550 N. Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202
West Orange Customer Service Center, 59 Main Street, West Orange, NJ 07052
Paramus Park Mall 700 Paramus Park Paramus, NJ 07652 Next To Macy’s behind the Crown Plaza
Burlington Customer Service Center (PSE&G lot across the street from CSC), 501 High Street, Burlington, NJ 08016
— Customers with wells are advised to have a supply of bottled drinking water on hand, and should fill the bathtub with water for sanitary purposes.
— Crews work around the clock to repair equipment and restore power. The utility’s call center also has been fully staffed on a 24-hour basis to handle calls from customers. Other employees are assisting with assessing storm damage, keeping the public away from any downed power lines and other functions that support restoration efforts.
— Electric crews work to restore power to the largest numbers of customers first, taking into account “priority” customers, such as hospitals, police stations, fire stations, water and sewer facilities, communications facilities (TV, radio, and telephone), and customers on life-sustaining medical equipment. At the same time, the utility restores power to homes and businesses, starting with the circuits serving the largest number of customers.
NJ TRANSIT Restores Majority of Bus and Access Link Routes in New Jersey
Customers advised to prepare for delays and detours on many routes.
After the devastating destruction left behind by Hurricane Sandy, NJ TRANSIT will resumed the majority of Bus and Access Link service starting Thursday, November 1.
Thursday’s restoration of service comes on the heels of the Governor Christie’s earlier announcement that River Line light rail service resumed operations Wednesday afternoon, making trips every 30 minutes between the Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden and Trenton Transit Center.
Bus Service:
Starting today, November 1, NJ TRANSIT will restore bus service on 68 bus routes in northern and central New Jersey and 18 bus routes in southern New Jersey, providing service over the entire routes with no detours or truncations.
Also today, NJ TRANSIT will restore partial service on 58 bus routes in northern and central New Jersey and 17 routes in southern New Jersey that will operate with detours or truncations due to ongoing impacts from Hurricane Sandy.
Northern and Central
The following routes will all operate over the entire route, with no detours and no truncations:
The following bus routes will resume service with detours or truncations due to ongoing impacts from Hurricane Sandy:
· No. 13 – Minor detour on 13N and 13C at Kingsland Rd at Washington St
· No. 25 – Maplewood to Newark Penn Station
· No. 30 – Minor detour in N. Arlington; Ridge Roadd, Sealy Street and Passaic Street
· No. 34 – Service to Penn Station only
· No. 40 – Minor detour in North Arlington on Ridge Road, Sealy Street, and Passaic Street
· No. 56 – Minor detour on Wood Avenue in Linden
· No. 58 – Minor detour on Michigan Avenue in Cranford
· No. 59 – Minor detour on Jersey Avenue in Elizabeth
· No. 65 – Minor detour on Mountain Avenue in Scotch Plains
· No. 66 – Minor detour on Mountain Avenue in Scotch Plains
· No. 67 – There will be no 67 Express trips. All local trips will start at Lakewood instead of Toms River. There will no service from Toms River to Lakewood.
· No. 68 – No service on Route 516. All service will start at Routes 18 and 9.
· No. 72 – Detour in Clifton
· No. 73 – Minor detour in Florham Park due to closure of Peach Tree Rd
· No. 74 – Detour in Passaic
· No. 76 – Minor detour in Belleville along Belleville Turnpike and Kearney Ave
· No. 83 – Major detour at Westside Industrial
· No. 85 – Access to Hoboken uncertain and service may end at Congress, Jersey City
· No. 87 – Short trips from Gates Avenue to Journal Square – no service to Hoboken
· No. 89 – Access to Hoboken questionable. Service can end at 19th St
· No. 90 – Minor detour on Washington Street in Bloomfield
· No. 112 – Minor detour on Jersey Ave in Elizabeth
· No. 115 – Regular service only, Elizabeth Ave service not operational
· No. 117 – Service will run parallel to Route 22 to compensate for Bus No. 114 ridership
· No. 121 – Trips terminate at 69th Street
· No. 123 – Major detour at Palisades Ave. Trip may end at Congress Street, Jersey City
· No. 126 – Willow/Clinton Service & Hamilton Park Eliminated – Customers can board at Washington Street and 14th Street in Hoboken for service into New York.
· No. 128 – Trips operating outside Park
· No. 130 – No service to Covered Bridge, morning peak service will start from Union Hill.
· No. 132 – No service to Jackson
· No. 133 – Service will start at Route 516 and Route9. No service on Ticetown Road and Crotell Road.
· No. 135 – Regular service from Main and Route 34. Detour on Route 34 to Lloyd Road.
· No. 137 – Express tripswill run as scheduled. 137 Local trips will start at Lakewood.
· No. 138 – Trips will start at Route 18 and Route 9. There will be no service to Spotswood.
· No. 139 – Regular service from Lakewood to New York on Route 9. There will be no service to Englishtown, Covered Bridge or Stone Harbor.
· No. 153 – No service to Linwood Park Loop – Service starts outside the park
· No. 158 – Major detour of north of Route 5 – Service traveling along Palisade Avenue
· No. 163 – Major detour in Upper Ridgewood
· No. 165 – Service starts at New Bridge Rail Station
· No. 166 – No service to Merrit Gardens- Service starts at Madison & Washington avenues
· No. 167 – No service north of Chestnut Bend or Harrington Park Service
· No. 168 – No service north of Bergen Mall.No Paramus Park Service
· No. 171 – Minor detour in Paterson
· No. 177 – No service north of Chestnut Bend, no service to Harrington Park
· No. 178 – Detour on Forest Avenue
· No. 188 – Major detour of north of Route 5
· No. 194 – No service toStockholm – Service begins at New Foundland
· No. 195 – No access to Allwood Park & Ride
· No. 196 – No service north of West Milford, No Skyline Drive
· No. 197 – No service north of West Milford, No Skyline Drive
· No. 199 – Operating with detours through Lyndhurst and Nutley
· No. 319 – Terminates at Toms River
· No. 703 – Haledon service discontinued. Service starts at Broadway Terminal
· No. 770 -Minor detour in Paterson
· No. 874 – Minor detour; E. Halsey Rd to Parsippany Rd
Southern New Jersey
The following bus routes will resume full service with no detours or truncations: Nos. 313, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 410, 412, 413, 414, 417, 418, 450, 451, 452, 453, 459, 455, 460 and 463.
The following bus routes will resume service with detours or truncations due to ongoing impacts from Hurricane Sandy:
· No. 315 – No service to Stone Harbor, Avalon and Sea Isle City due to the closure of Stone Harbor Bridge.
· No. 317 – No service beyond Fort Dix
· No. 319 – No service to Atlantic City
· No. 409 – No service from Burlington to Trenton
· No. 419 – No service on York Drive and Woodland Road in Beverly
· No. 455 – Minor detour on Kingstown Drive
· No. 457 – Minor detour on Church Road between Fellowship Road and Route 38 in Cherry Hill
· No. 502 – No service to/from Atlantic City
· No. 507 – No service to/from Atlantic City and Ocean City
· No. 508 – No service to/from Atlantic City
· No. 509 – Service between Pleasantville to Somers Point only
· No. 551 – No service from Avandale to Atlantic City
· No. 552 – No service to/from Atlantic City
· No. 553 – No service to/from Atlantic City
· No. 554 – No service to/from Atlantic City
· No. 559 – No service to/from Atlantic City
Bus service on routes not listed remains suspended until further notice. Power outages in local communities have resulted in the loss of traffic control devices critical to safe operation in some areas. Downed tree limbs and power lines continue to make many roads impassable. Personnel are in the field reviewing and assessing these conditions in order to ensure that service is restored as soonas it becomes safe to do so.
Due to significant damage to theState’s public transportation network, NJ TRANSIT rail service will remain suspended until further notice. Newark Light Rail and Hudson Bergen Light Rail service alsoremain suspended until further notice.
Rail Service:
· There is no estimated time for the resumption of service. Service will remain suspended until further notice.
· Crews continue to inspect the rail infrastructure to get a full assessment of damage:
· NJ TRANSIT’s Rail Operations Center—the central nervous system of the railroad—was engulfed in water, which damaged backup power supply systems, the emergency generator, and the computer system that controls the movement of trains and power supply.
· Local power outages have prevented NJ TRANSIT rail operations from being able to further test crossing gates and operating signals.
· Hundreds of downed trees have fallen across the rail system, which have caused damage to overhead wires and signal wires.
· There are rail washouts across the system, including on the North Jersey Coast Line, Atlantic City Rail Line as well as at Kearny Junction, the critical link which enables MidTOWN Direct service to access the Northeast Corridor.
· Several rail stations have sustained flood damage, including Hoboken Terminal.
· Morgan Drawbridge on the North Jersey Coast Line in South Amboy sustained damage from boats and a trailer that collided into the bridge.
Light Rail Service:
· River Line resumed full service starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, operating on a Sunday schedule, every 30 minutesr Rand Transportation Center in Camden and Trenton Transit Center.
· Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, Newark Light Rail service will remain suspended until further notice. There is currently no estimated time for resumption of service. Hudson-Bergen Light Rail experienced track washouts at Port Imperial and West Side Avenue stations, as well as trees in the overhead wire in Weehawken and flooding in Hoboken.
· Crews continue to inspect the light rail infrastructure to get a full assessment of damage.
· Newark Light Rail sustained flooding in Newark Penn Station, as well as major debris damage between Newark Penn and Branch Brook Park stations.
Access Link:
· Access Link service will resume today, November 1, in the following regions:
· Region 2, which includes Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.
· Region 3, which includes Atlantic, Cape May and Southern Ocean County.
Service Updates:
For the latest travel information, customers should listen to broadcast traffic reports, visit or access NJ TRANSIT’s Twitter feed at @NJ_TRANSIT. Additionally, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system (www.njtransit.com/mytransit), which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone, PDA or pager. Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555
UPDATE: Gov. Chris Christie postpones Halloween until Nov. 5 because of Sandy damage.
PSE&G update on how they’re handling restorations: “RESTORATION – 1. High-voltage transmission & subs, 2. Critical public services, 3. As many customers as possible, 4. Single homes & business”
CELL SERVICE UPDATE: Federal regulators say Hurricane Sandy knocked out a quarter of the cell towers in an area spreading across ten states, and the situation could get worse before it gets better. Many cell towers that are still working are doing so with the help of generators and could run out of fuel before commercial power is restored, the Federal Communications Commission says.
Due to the power outage at Village hall the Ridgewood Police Department website and Village website have been down since Monday. Updates will continue to be released on our Facebook page.
The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy left approximately 500 locations in the Village with trees and wires down. Through the effort of the village crews we have narrowed that down to 340 locations. Power outages are still widespread throughout the Village so please be patient during this cleanup and recovery effort.
Ridgewood Coffee is up and running stop in for coffee and recharge your cell phones : 90 East Ridgewood Ave, Ridgewood, NJ.
(201) 493-9200
Titos Burritos is open for deliveries (201)857- 4619 Tito’s Ridgewood Specials: 1) Buffalo Chicken Burrito 2) Magic Steak Burrito 3) Steamed Tilapia Burrito
Due to the power outage at Village hall the Police Department website and Village website have been down since the Monday. Updates will continue to be released on our Facebook page.
10.30.12: UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
12:15 P.M.: The Ridgewood Public Schools will REMAIN CLOSED on Tuesday, October 30th AND WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, due to the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy. We will continue to send information out from the Ridgewood Office of Emergency Management. You still can sign up to get these important messages from Village directly by going to the Village website at www.ridgewoodnj.net and look for E-notices on the right side of the page.
Please share the message below with friends and neighbors who may be without power:
Dear Parents/Guardians/Staff,
I hope everyone made it through the hurricane safely. The danger is still not over. The Ridgewood Public Schools will be closed on Tuesday, October 30th and Wednesday, October 31st. Based on the damage assessments we may have to close additional days. Please remember as you start to clean up… No branches in the streets. The Ridgewood Police Department and I urge you to stay indoors and keep all children indoors tonight, tomorrow and until your neighborhood is safe.
Clean up and power restoration will take time. Please be patient and know the Village of Ridgewood Emergency Services is working 24/7 to make sure our community is safe.
Be safe, check on your neighbors and friends.
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D
Superintendent
Ridgewood Public Schools
The Village is urging all residents to: Stay off the streets;
10.30.12 at 5:30 p.m.: MESSAGE FROM THE VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD, INCLUDING HALLOWEEN INFO: The Village of Ridgewood has experienced extensive damage due to Hurricane Sandy. The Village is urging all residents to: Stay off the streets; Do not place tree branches in the street (only leaves are to be placed in the street according to the leave collection schedule); Please remember that 911 is only to be
used for life threatening emergencies; and Keep children inside and that includes no outdoor Halloween activities on Tuesday or Wednesday. We recognize that this will cause some disappointment, but this is a very serious situation which will require a prolonged recovery effort.Due to the loss of power throughout the area served by Ridgewood Water, we are requesting that all residents conserve their use of water. Only use water that is absolutely necessary. Public safety is a major concern and your cooperation is very important. We will keep you advised of any further developments.In order to assist the residents of the Village without power, the Ridgewood BOE will have the Somerville School open tomorrow, Wednesday October 31st, open from 10 am to 3 pm to allow people to to charge their phones. Please enter through the gymnasium.
The Village of Ridgewood thanks you for your cooperation and understanding.
All New Jersey Transit Services Suspended Tuesday October 30th
All NJ TRANSIT Rail, Bus, Light Rail and Access Link service is suspended until further notice due to Hurricane Sandy. NJ TRANSIT implemented a gradual system-wide shutdown of all service starting at 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 28 and continuing through 2 a.m. on Monday morning, at which time the shutdown of all NJ TRANSIT service was completed.
Customers are advised of the following:
Rail Service
All NJ TRANSIT rail service is currently suspended until further notice.
Bus Service:
All NJ TRANSIT bus service is currently suspended until further notice.
Light Rail Service:
All Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, River Line and Newark Light Rail service is currently suspended until further notice.
Access Link Service:
Access Link service in all regions is currently suspended until further notice.
System-wide Cross-Honoring
System-wide cross-honoring of all rail, bus and light rail tickets will be in effect through Wednesday, October 31, until 6 a.m. This will allow customers holding NJ TRANSIT tickets to use alternate means of transportation to get to their final destination, such as PATH, PATCO and private bus carriers. Due to the duration of the storm and the potential impact to the NJ TRANSIT system, this timeframe could be extended if necessary.
Following the conclusion of the storm, NJ TRANSIT will assess the status of the system and test critical infrastructure before making any decisions regarding the potential resumption of service.
Service Updates
For the latest travel information, customers should listen to broadcast traffic reports, visit njtransit.com or access NJ TRANSIT’s Twitter feed at @NJ_TRANSIT. Additionally, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system (www.njtransit.com/mytransit), which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone, PDA or pager. Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555.
McCain: Obama Might Be Conducting ‘Massive Cover-Up’ With Libya Attack
October 29, 2012 1:18 PM
WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — Sen. John McCain claims the Obama administration might be conducting a “massive cover-up” with the deadly terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
On CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee said President Obama has been incompetent with the way he has been handling the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack.
“I don’t know if it’s either a cover-up or the worst kind of incompetence, which doesn’t qualify the president as commander in chief,” McCain said.
PORT AUTHORITY UPDATE ON CONDITIONS AT TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES
October 29, 2012
As landfall of Hurricane Sandy approaches, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reports the following update on conditions at its transportation facilities as of 7 a.m. today:
Airports
The Port Authority’s airports – John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, Stewart International and LaGuardia airports – are open. However, air carriers have ceased operations until further notice, and we are encouraging travelers not to travel to the airports.
Rail service on AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark has been suspended until further notice.
PATH
All PATH service was suspended as of midnight until further notice.
Ports
The Port Authority’s maritime facilities are closed until further notice.
Tunnels and Bridges
The Port Authority’s tunnels and bridges are open. However, Port Authority staff will closely monitor the wind and flooding conditions. Closures will be determined on a case-by-case basis, based on high winds, rainfall and roadway conditions. However, closures are anticipated later today. Motorists are urged reduce speeds when roadways are wet, and pay close attention to posted electronic messages for important information.
Port Authority Bus Terminal
All public and private bus service has been suspended until further notice.
Passengers are reminded to check https://www.panynj.gov/ for updated information about PATH, the airports, the tunnels and bridges, and all other Port Authority facilities. For further information about safety precautions, evacuation routes and best practices for New York State, visit https://www.governor.ny.gov/stormwatch. For New Jersey, visit www.ready.nj.gov.
