New York & Hurricane Sandy, what now?

Fuelling their Rage: Violence breaks out over Sandy Gas Shortages.

Forget the warm, fuzzy sense of neighbourliness that came after the disaster. That was sooooo Wednesday afternoon. Frustration is now boiling over as desperate locals queue up to six hours for petrol.

Across New York and New Jersey, up to 80 per cent of gas stations remain closed after the storm. The stations are closed not only because of a supply shortage, but because power is still out, and power is required to pump petrol.

Oh how I was hoping these kinds of reports didn’t eventuate. With public transport crippled by flooding, a lot of people have had to walk everywhere. Many, many people are without power, so not only are they looking for fuel to power their cars, they want it for their generators.

There are some problem solvers left in NY though, they thought, how can we get around effectively without adding to the current fuel shortage problem or cramming up the public transport services that are running? Well the NY Times has published an article on just that.

One Way Around the Traffic Muddle in Brooklyn: Riding a Bicycle.

Thomas Jarrels, 46, who biked home to Crown Heights from his job as a sous-chef at a Midtown law firm, said he was glad to have had an impetus to bike to work. He said he was a bike messenger in the 1980s and loved biking, but had never commuted by bike until the storm disabled the subway. Though it took slightly longer than the train, he said, he thought he would keep biking even after the subway started running again.

Note to all Doomsday Preppers – a bicycle is an essential piece of equipment in the aftermath of a disaster. It is not reliant on fuel supplies, can be manoeuvred around downed trees and damaged roads, and can get you where you need to go.

Maybe even better if it’s a fat-bike. A fat-bike is probably overkill, but it is a cool excuse to buy a Salsa Mukluk!