It was the storm that
made history and misery, left death and unprecedented destruction, crippled
mass transit and tested the city’s mettle from the Bronx in New Jersey to Breezy Point. Hurricane
Sandy pounded the city into submission Tuesday, with officials reporting at
least 32 New Yorkers killed during the storm’s lethal two-day attack and
estimating damages at a staggering $20 billion. The imperfect storm shut down
all city transit for a third straight day while inflicting the worse damage in
the 108-year history of the subway system. Schools were closed, and remained
shuttered again Wednesday. The New York Stock Exchange was rained out for a
second straight day - but opened for business as usual Wednesday. It was the
first time the exchange closed for two consecutive days due to weather since
1888. It came after a storm surge nearly 14-feet high submerged the Financial
District.How ferocious were the rising waters across the city? Even the New
York Aquarium was flooded.Things were no better in the skies, even after Sandy
and its 80 mph winds departed. More than 12,000 flights were canceled due to
the hurricane, and all three major local airports were closed yet again despite
only light rain and dissipating winds. The howling gales created some surreal
tableaus. On Staten Island, a 168-foot tanker was hurtled onto land - about a
mile away from where it was moored. A powerboat was tossed in the middle of the
Metro-North tracks in Ossining. A construction crane dangled precariously for a
second straight day above West 57th St. - becoming the city’s latest tourist
attraction. Gawkers snapped photos and stood with their heads tilted toward the
skyline. The storm’s most stunning blow landed in Breezy Point, the Queens
beachfront getaway where a massive fire gutted more than 100 homes despite the
heroic efforts of hundreds of firefighters. The smoke-eaters raced through
floodwaters that reached to their necks as the blaze raged like a forest fire
transported to the Rockaway Peninsula. Those homes that dodged the fire were
flooded by the massive waves off the Atlantic Ocean, with one local guessing
that 40% of the homes were destroyed in the enclave of 3,000 people.
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