Tens of thousands homeless in NYC could freeze to death

reply to post by MCSQUARED1


I didn't mean to make their loss out to be anything less than a tragedy, just made a distinction that it is normal for the Caribbean to get hurricanes every year. NY isn't prepared for it like it is not prepared for.earth quakes or tornados. The loss of life is.also potentially greater by the concentration of people.

It is horrible that a single person died.

reply to post by magma


Maybe they could be housed in homes repossessed by the banks.. Its the least the banks could do considering the trillions they have skanked off peeps..

reply to post by manykapao


True that brother, No need for my comment but you know how it is, peace

To freeze to DEATH in NY you'd literally have to go out of your way to do it. I saw homeless people in AK and it can go -60 there. If NYC is an example of how some Americans handle a SHTF scenario, we're in bad shape folks.

reply to post by wingsfan

To freeze to DEATH in NY you'd literally have to go out of your way to do it.

That is a pretty silly comment.

How would you go about " going out of your way" ?

Do you have secret?

Originally posted by watchitburn
The solution is pretty simple.

They are called feet.
You put one in front of the other until you find a suitably warm place to stay. Anyone without the basic survival instinct to do that, well Darwin has a place for them.

They're not tribal nomads. You willing to walk away from possible tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars of items obtained over a lifetime, not to mention personal items of personal value, etc.

You going to carry your invalid grandmother for days on end to find this place? while the wife carries the 3 children and all the items a baby needs?

Darwin awards those who are patently stupid. Not those in dire circumstance.

Originally posted by Taupin Desciple

Originally posted by mr-lizard

I have my sympathies for these people, but I can't help feeling that most people couldn't give a crap about homeless people usually.

Yeah well, many homeless people deserve that treatment. I worked in the social services sector for a bit and many of those people got what they asked for. Not all of them mind you, but don't make the mistake of thinking that the majority of them fall into the category of "sometimes bad things happen to good people". That's not the reality of the situation.

Sorry, but I'm going to reserve my sympathies for those who deserve it. Like the one's affected by Sandy. They didn't ask for it.

I bet you if your government targeted the homeless with drones and armed forces, then people would care.. because they'd see the nasty govt. and rally around the poor victims.

Who in another time were scumbag homeless.

Oh war, you funny mind changer.

Originally posted by magma
reply to post by wingsfan

 

To freeze to DEATH in NY you'd literally have to go out of your way to do it.

That is a pretty silly comment.

How would you go about " going out of your way" ?

Do you have secret?

I didn't mean to come across as careless to their situation. We took cold weather training on a night it was -54 degrees. A few of us couldn't find our ground pads and slept through the night with the tundra robbing us of all body heat. It sucked, my backside was numb for a week, but nobody died. Look it is a terrible circumstance for Sandy victims, but the human body is rather tough. I would at least hope they abstain from the sensationalism and try to help the elderly and sick first.

Originally posted by westcoast
reply to post by magma

 

I've been finding it wierd how I have had to search for current info on what is going on. ATS is the best resource right now.

I would hope and assume that most people at risk have already left the city or found warm/safe refuge with either friends/family/neighbors/hotels or shelters. I can't imagine that thousands of people would simply sit in their dark/cold homes and freeze to death. I am sure there will be some...namely the elderly or handicapped or others without the capacity to move on their own accord. But largely, I would think that those affected from the cold would leave or get help much as they did from the storm.

...I hope.

edit on 4-11-2012 by westcoast because: (no reason given)

Most likely, and hopefully. Times like this reveal how much 'community' we have in modern society, or how distant we have become. Hurricane Katrina saw a large relief effort. Canadians did what we could to help and I’m sure we will again.

I had no idea it was this bad in NY! 40,000 are reported homeless and/or freezing.

www.scotsman.com...

reply to post by wingsfan

It sucked, my backside was numb for a week

Your survival training was only for one night. Try that for a few days and you would not only have a numb bum,

you would have a numb body, because you would be dead from exposure.

Consider the less fit of us, the children , the sick and elderly.

It was interesting to read the NY poster from above that claims all the non sense threads need to stop. Really? I am confused.

I'm stationed here in Staten Island right now.

The military has brought in supplies - water and the like but only to one or two locations. Gas is also available for free at these locations with a limit of some gallons. While other gas stations are still down due to electricity (unable to pump) or just tapped out, some of the major stops like Costco (A Sam's club-like wholesale store) is being restocked also by the military/government and you are able to purchase 10 gallons at a time. Waiting periods depend on the time of day. Not as bad as they were before, and the fighting has settled down at the gas stops, but it's typically taking a customer anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half to get their regiment of gasoline.

Water damage can be seen from neighborhood to neighborhood. Interestingly enough, "drinkable" water is available through the tap/faucet in nearly all areas now, although the purity is highly debatable due to the multiple areas where pollution itself has stopped up the in-take pumps. It is not available in bottle form in stores, just yet. Food is slowly returning. Meat is still hard to find, most are resorting to less-perishable sorts like hot dogs and sausages. Fast food places are using up their stores and making a high profit.

Worries mostly right now are on being land-locked or unable to travel off, or even back on, to the island due to the very limited supply of fuel. Electricity however, comes in first place. Many businesses are still closed, though most are trying diligently to reopen despite being undermanned. It is getting colder here. Temperatures around 40 degrees F in areas not subjected to wind. Wind is still gusting occasionally, though. Branches, leaves, debris are still to be seen everywhere and the garbage trucks are trying to catch up. Trash bags are piling up in front of nearly all homes, both normal garbage and recyclables.

The hospitals are packed. Injuries are coupled with illnesses due to the insufficient food/water (dehydration) as well as stemming from the lowering temperatures. This does not include normal causes for ER visits nor all of the cuts/bruises/broken bones situations. Waiting period to get into the E.R. can be as long as 3-6 hours, with a wait thereafter to see the doctor for another 1-3 hours. Pharmacies are all on backorder for numerous types of medication.

Despite the difficulties, people here on the "forgotten island" (so named due to lack of outside aid) are slowly recovering it seems.

As for the storm coming next week, right after things have seemingly stabilized a bit, well... it couldn't possibly be coming at a worse time.

Originally posted by antar
It was interesting to read the NY poster from above that claims all the non sense threads need to stop. Really? I am confused.

obviously he's mayor "bloomers", or a close associate
gotta get those tourist dollars flowing again, and horror stories about thousands of homeless will frighten them and rich investors away, as well as postpone the day when only the rich can live in NYC.

reply to post by SoulVisions


Thanks for that first hand account , it helps a lot.

In addition to my above comment:

reply to post by SoulVisions


It really is a mess isn't it?

It will take a long time to fix this.

I am staggered at some of the negatives comments associated with a natural disaster.
People have died and people are still posting that it is all being hyped and overblown.
Tell that to the families of those who have lost loved ones.
I really do believe that many of you in the USA has lost your sense of compassion and brotherly love for your own people. If the shtf you are in big trouble until you can learn to have compassion for your own.
It doesn't matter if a person is homeless by choice or if the bank foreclosed and kicked them out on their keyster.
They are people and your fellow Americans.
I know for certainty that we Aussies have and will stick together through disasters. The Victorian Bush fires and Queensland floods spring to mind.
Show some compassion and help if your able, that's all we can do as humans.

Originally posted by Allegorical
This so silly. I live in NYC, all of the "NY is "put tragedies here" " threads need to stop.

My oh my...Bloomberg would hire you in a NY minute...

Sweep this suffering by millions under the rug is your solution... What a narrow minded view of your own neighboring communities. Thank God, ATS is a place of caring and compassion....willing to look reality in the eye, and offer aid to *your* neighbors, if only posting links to places to try to get help.

I Pray that selfish fist clutching your heart...loosens it's hold...and your eyes look farther than your own front door.

Des

reply to post by SoulVisions


it good to hear things are improving for all of you. my mom always said,"this to shall pass" and it will and many people in the tri state area will be stronger and more experienced for it. i would caution though that storm expected is looking like wednesday or thurday of this week and not next week. let's just hope it's a fast mover and doesn't make things much worse.

FEMA won't be handing out trailers like after Katrina again thanks to the people of NO who thought they would sue for the sake of CASH. I don't think anyone would sell to FEMA after that no money to be made except fot lawyers