Suzanne Rozdeba

This morning we noted that the lines at the polls were giving the gas lines a run for their money. That was then, this is now: at the Sirovich Senior Center around 2 p.m., there was no longer a line out the door. We’re firing up our liveblog now, so our reporters Suzanne Rozdeba, Sanna Chu, and Dana Varinsky can share their reporting in real-time. Tweet at @nytlev if you want to share your Election Day experiences.

Sasha von Oldershausen A volunteer gives supplies to a resident of Masaryk Towers.

Yesterday afternoon, a group of four volunteers, organized by Good Old Lower East Side, headed to the Masaryk Towers on the Lower East Side to check in with some of its elderly residents and to deliver aid. The apartment complex’s electricity had been fully restored, including the elevators, but it was still without heat and hot water.

Among the volunteers was Emily Long, a 26-year-old registered nurse from the Upper East Side, who was using her day off to help out.

Ms. Long delivered a handful of individually wrapped syringes to the eleventh-floor apartment of Daisy Rios. The 71-year-old, who suffers from diabetes, had been re-using syringes to administer her doses of insulin because she didn’t have enough to last through the week.

“I recently had open-heart surgery so I couldn’t go down the stairs,” Ms. Rios said.

Sasha von Oldershausen Volunteers make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
at Sixth Street Community Center.

Aside from her neighbors and the building’s board of directors, who checked in on the residents after the storm, Ms. Rios said she hadn’t received much outside help.

Mary Ostrowski, a 92-year old resident homebound on the twentieth floor, was using the flame burner of her gas stove to heat her apartment when volunteers delivered water and canned soup to her door.

“FEMA came here once before, that’s all,” she said.

In recent days, GOLES, which normally handles issues of tenants’ rights and housing preservation, has redirected all its efforts towards helping those East Village residents who were most affected by Hurricane Sandy. But first, the organization itself had to receive help.

Thursday night, Damaris Reyes, executive director of the community organization since 2005, made her way in pitch-blackness to its modest offices on Avenue B, her two children in tow. By candlelight, she managed to locate a working phone line, and used it to call a friend she knew in the Bronx who had a generator. She likened the power source’s arrival to winning the lottery.

Sasha von Oldershausen Volunteers wait outside of GOLES.

By Friday, over four hundred volunteers had come to contribute to what had overnight become a massive relief effort. Saturday, somewhere between one and two thousand volunteers showed up.

“It’s taken on a life of its own,” Ms. Reyes said.

In addition to drafting flyers by hand while there were no working copy machines, volunteers went door to door, building by building, to create a record of those East Village residents who are elderly, disabled, or homebound.

“When FEMA and the National Guard delivered stuff on Thursday, that was great,” Ms. Reyes said, adding, “If you can access it or you can come down you’re good, but if you can’t, there’s a problem.”

A public housing resident herself, Ms. Reyes said, “We’re used to being forgotten, so we couldn’t forget the forgettable.”

Annie Fairman Food distribution information posted by GOLES.

Jose Quiles, a resident of Campos Plaza, said volunteers also went door to door there, giving away bags of food and water. “We appreciated it,” he said. “Some people really needed that. Especially the elderly and the very young really needed the supplies.”

When Con Edison restored power to parts of the complex Sunday evening, many residents hadn’t left their apartments for days, said Mr. Quiles. “The hallways were dark. People were throwing garbage all over the place and the hallways were littered with junk,” he said. “But that’s been cleaned up. People were just afraid to come out.”

Mr. Quiles said many visitors were shocked by the conditions they encountered, including families huddling together to stay warm. “Even when the volunteers and cops were coming around, asking if anyone needs help, you could see in their eyes that they thought, ‘Woah, this is not right.’”

Suzanne Rozdeba Line stretching from Theater for the New City

Sanna Chu Gas line at Mobil on East Houston.

There were lines on the eastern end of Houston Street this Election Day morning – but not to vote. At the Mobil Station at the corner of Avenue C, 60 cars and 20 pedestrians lined up for gas; a motorist said he had waited 40 minutes to fill up his car. Across the street at Hamilton Fish Park, about 120 people waited for food, water, and blankets being distributed by the city. Those at the front of the line said they had been waiting for two hours.

But at the poll site a block over at P.S. 188, at 442 East Houston Street, only a few dozen people were seen in the auditorium, and not a line was in sight.

At the flooded Bard High School Early College at 525 East Houston Street, a police officer estimated that between 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., he had told about 90 voters that their site had been moved to P.S. 188. At the relocated site, there was confusion early in the morning, since the school’s doors were closed; David Iglesia, a polling clerk, said that around 7 a.m. he volunteered to open the door and guard it.

Line at Sirovich Center.

Turnout was heavier at Theater for the New City and other locations around the neighborhood. At 10:30 a.m., a line of about 85 people stretched down First Avenue and around onto East Ninth Street. There, voters reported waits of over an hour. Daniel Simon, an East Village resident, said he arrived at 9:32 a.m. and didn’t mark his ballot until 10:51 a.m. – in part because two of the three machines were broken when he first arrived (they were eventually fixed).

“One cop said to me, ‘These are like the gas lines,’” said Mr. Simon. Still, he added, “Most people on line were pretty chill except for one lady who was complaining, ‘Oh my God, the line is so long.’”

Harya Tarekegu, 25, an East Village resident and law school student, said she got to Theater for the New City around 9:30 a.m. and didn’t vote till around 11 a.m. She agreed things went smoothly, except for “one lady who said, ‘Can we cut all the chit chat?’”

“I thought it was a good turnout, especially with the storm last week and people still dealing with disaster,” she said.

Sanna ChuLine for supplies at Hamilton Fish.

Her friend and fellow East Village resident, Mahlet Seyoum, 24, said she expected long lines, since Governor Cuomo gave New Yorkers in disaster areas permission to vote by affidavit at any site. “There were a lot of people voting with the affidavits, but I think it’s great they came out to vote,” she said.

Karen Faber, an East Villager resident, said she arrived at the Village View poll site around 9 a.m. and waited for half an hour in a line of about 40 people. “When I got there, the line was already outside the door and going around the corner,” she said. “Inside it was pretty organized – everything was working.”

Susan Howard, a Lower East Side resident, said she waited about 45 minutes to vote at P.S. 20, the Anna Silver School.

At the JASA Evelyn and Louis Green Residence at 200 East Fifth Street, about 40 people were on line around noon today.

Earlier today, a voter at the Sirovich Senior Center, reported a wait of 55 minutes.

Have you voted today? How was it? Tip off your fellow voters in the comments.

Polling station at 331 East 12th Street.

Good morning, East Village, and happy election day.

Seems lines at poll sites (you can locate yours here) are rivaling gas lines: a tipster at the polling station at 331 East 12th Street said she waited 55 minutes to vote due to a “chaotic” system with “poorly though-out lines.” On Twitter, Steve Unwin writes, “The people running NYC’s 36th district polls in the east village are confused and poorly organized. People are leaving out of anger.” Becky Carella reported a 70 minute wait.

The MTA tweets dramatic photos of water being pumped out of the L train tunnel. [Flickr]

The transportation authority said it would run additional B62 buses as an alternative to the L and G trains. [MTA/Twitter]

As expected, lines were long during this morning’s commute. [NY Post]

“The Northeast is now bracing for a potentially dangerous northeaster expected to bring rain, punishing winds and high tides that could add to the misery of residents still reeling from Hurricane Sandy and set back the restoration of power.” [NY Times]

Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town has announced that power has been restored to all of its buildings except 6 and 8 Peter Cooper Road and 440 East 23rd Street, which are expected to receive electricity by this evening. [PCVST]

According to a letter to customers left in the East Village, Con Ed is still working to restore steam service by Nov. 11. [The Lo-Down]

The PATH train resumed limited service this morning. [PATH]

Some East Villagers aren’t seeking help despite being without heat in the cold temperatures. [WNYC]

Sutra is having a donation drive for the families of the Lower Eastside Girls Club. Supplies will be accepted from 1 p.m. to 4 a.m. at 16 First Avenue. [Sutra]

Nightlife spots like Eastern Bloc have reopened, but customers aren’t exactly beating down the door. [NY Times]

“As hurricane-driven waters surged into New York University research buildings in Kips Bay, on the East Side of Manhattan, investigators in New York and around the world jumped on the phone to offer assistance — executing a reverse Noah’s ark operation, to rescue lab animals and other assets from a flooding vessel.’ [NY Times]

The city has approved $85.4 million in emergency contracts to repair damage from Sandy. [NY Times]

Frozen food products were still in short supply yesterday. “Jeff Lawrence, 28, checked three stores for a gallon of milk on his walk from the Lower East Side to his apartment in the East Village, before locating one at Houston Village Farm at First Avenue and East 4th Street.” [DNA Info]

Big Gay Ice Cream reopened and gave away half of its sales to the damaged Ali Forney Center in Chelsea. [Gothamist]

The Beagle is donating $1 from every cocktail sold this week. [The Beagle/Twitter]

Finally, here’s a slideshow telling the stories of East Villagers and Lower East Siders like Pastor Rick Del Rio of Abounding Grace Ministries, Chris Scansaroli of Billy Hurricanes, and others who weathered the storm. [Weather Channel]

Daniel Maurer A driver steps out of his vehicle to survey the gas line at BP on Sunday.

Crime during the week of superstorm Sandy was down 27 percent compared to the same period last year, the police said. Still, the week was marred by disputes in gas lines, an uptick in burglaries, and – once again – reports of gunshots in Alphabet City.

With drivers queuing up for gas in the middle of traffic, tempers were quick to flare. Sunday at the BP on Second Avenue and East First Street, the wait for gas was 35 minutes, as 65 cars lined up for more than five blocks. Motorists stopped at red lights honked and yelled at those attempting to cut in front of them from side streets. According to the police, 41 of last week’s 123 storm-related arrests were related to disputes at gas lines.

In addition, there was a six percent uptick in burglaries. 379 burglaries – 54 of them storm-related – occurred from Oct. 29 to Nov. 4. Some of the break-ins targeted evacuated homes, the police said.

Overall last week, there were 86 percent fewer murders, 41 percent fewer rapes, 21 percent fewer robberies and 47 percent fewer grand larcenies. Auto thefts were also down 20 percent.

But Thursday night in the East Village, gunshots were again heard near Campos Plaza. Aida Salgado, a resident of the Lower East Side Apartments, told The Local she heard shots outside of her apartment on East Ninth Street, between Avenues B and C.

A resident of nearby Campos Plaza, who did not want to be named, said he also heard the gunfire. “Young people were yelling and [there were] shots,” he said. “There were detectives and undercover cops around for a long time. But after that, everything was quiet.”

Friday, Deputy Inspector John Cappelmann, the commanding officer of the Ninth Precinct, said there was “very little crime” in the East Village as squad cars patrolled the darkened streets. Still, the week was not without its challenges: on Avenue C and Eighth Street, Police Service Area 4’s station house was flooded, as showed in video submitted to The Local. Many of the precinct’s officers – 15 to 20 percent of whom hail from Staten Island, Deputy Inspector Cappelmann estimated – suffered “catastrophic losses” at home.

Meanwhile, there were bright spots such as the Connecticut resident, Eric Wisberg, who brought a generator down to the station house on East Fifth Street. On Friday, seven or eight neighbors were using it to charge their cell phones. “He probably helped 200 people,” Deputy Inspector Cappelmann said of the good Samaritan.

The police also cited retired officers who volunteered for relief duty via the department’s Retiree Mobilization Plan. Michael J. Dyer drove from his home in Omaha, where he practices law, to Queens, where he helped distribute hundreds of blankets, household goods, and hygiene products that he had purchased on his own dime.

Suzanne Rozdeba contributed reporting.

Sanna Chu Dining Hall at Bowery Mission

Before restaurants and food distribution centers mobilized in the wake of Sandy, shelters and religious institutions that have long fed the neighborhood’s needy were already in high gear.

Last week, more than 160 additional people bunkered down in the Bowery Mission’s emergency shelter areas. James Macklin, director of outreach, said the shelter’s 10 staffers took the uptick in stride, continuing to serve three hot meals a day to 80 permanent residents as well as the influx of visitors.

“I was cooking by torchlight,” said Delon Ali, a chef at Bowery Mission. “We served 700 to 1,000 plates per day here.”

Aside from its long-term residents, the 133-year-old organization provides emergency housing for overnight guests when the temperature drops below 40 degrees and during extreme weather. During cold nights, the Mission might see up to 100 people sleeping in its chapel and dining room.

Mr. Macklin said 160 might have been a record high, but in the 27 years he has worked at the shelter, he has never seen anyone turned away. “I haven’t seen it done and I don’t think we will ever do that,” he said.

During the storm last Monday, the Mission, along with much of downtown Manhattan, was plunged into darkness. It took to Twitter to call for a generator. The next day, three came: two were used to power the Mission on Bowery and one was used at its Transitional Center on Avenue D.

Sanna Chu James Macklin at Bowery Mission

The Mission gets regular donations from individuals and businesses including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Duane Reade, and others. After the storm, there was an even greater outpouring of support. “We have buses coming all the way from Elmira, N.Y., loaded from top to bottom and they’re coming back again to help us do what we do,” Mr. Macklin said. Even neighboring pizzeria Pulino’s sent over some grub.

The donations weren’t just for those at the shelter. The Mission also distributes food all over the city, from churches to Coney Island. It gave away hot meals and supplies on Avenue D today.

Charles Reaves, 43, who had been staying at the Mission for five months, wasn’t troubled much by the storm. “It got a little crowded in here at night but it was okay,” he said. “It was for a good reason. We got to provide food and shelter for a lot of people who otherwise had nowhere to go.”

For Matt Krivich, 38, the Mission’s director of operations, Sandy brought a sense of uncertainty but also of unity. “It brought all of us together a little bit more because we didn’t have distractions. We have a great staff and our residents all stepped up and helped maintain order and keep people safe.”

Over at the Catholic Worker, workers were able to continue using gas ovens to serve hot meals to over 40 residents split between St. Joseph house and Maryhouse. The weekday soup line – normally open to the public from 10 a.m. till 11.30 a.m., Monday through Friday – continued uninterrupted. “But we were cooking in the dark,” said Carmen Trotta, 47, a Catholic worker.

The Catholic Worker did not house any Sandy refugees, since its houses are usually at capacity.

Sanna Chu Relief Effort on Avenue D

With their overstocked freezer, the workers were able to keep food cold for a few days after the power went out, before doing a cook-off with leftover meat. Some salad had to be thrown out but there was no big loss, according to Mr. Trotta.

“It was a humbling experience to see how quickly our high-tech society can crumble,” said Mr. Trotta. With the lights out, the residents were forced to sleep longer. And with nowhere to go, the workers and residents drew closer together as a community.

While the Catholic Worker’s soup line was a little longer than usual, Graffiti Church had a different experience. The church’s normal Wednesday and Saturday meal services saw fewer people than usual, probably because many had moved out of the area to seek shelter.

In addition to organizing a clothing drive, the church has been helping local residents clean out their apartments and fight mold. “People in this area have never had to deal with this problem before,” said Reverend Taylor Field. To address it, the church, at 205 East Seventh Street, will hold a free mold prevention seminar tonight, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

David Teller Steaming L train tunnel at Varick, near Johnson,
Oct. 30.

While most subway lines are up and running again, L and G train service remains suspended, and the MTA still doesn’t have a timeline for restoration.

Flood waters have been cleared out of G train tunnels, but linger inside of L tunnels, said George Seaton, an MTA spokesperson.

Both lines experienced “significant” damage to train signals and it’s uncertain when, exactly, they’ll be fully operational again. “I have no sense of any timeline,” said Mr. Seaton, explaining that the situation was unprecedented.

During a press briefing Saturday, MTA chief Joe Lhota said he hoped L service would resume “one day next week,” according to the Observer.

With the L down, north Brooklyn residents faced delayed commutes into Manhattan. Across the board this morning, a reduced number of trains were running in 10 minute intervals, where they usually would be running in intervals of five minutes or less, said Mr. Seaton. Because routes were sometimes abbreviated (the A train, for instance, terminated at 168th Street rather than the usual 207th Street), trains took longer to turn around.

The result for one commuter – The Local’s photo editor, Lauren Carol Smith – was a 45-minute platform-to-platform commute on the M train that would’ve taken just 15 minutes on the L. Even at 11:30 a.m., she said, all of the train’s seats were taken, with about 40 people standing in each car.

Despite a petition calling for shuttle service, there was no plan to add buses from Brooklyn to Manhattan. “Shuttle buses tend to get bogged down in traffic, especially in that section of Brooklyn,” Mr. Seaton said, adding that the MTA was working to restore train service “as rapidly as possible.”

In the meantime, Mr. Seaton asked customers to stagger their trips during rush hour. He said he expected commutes to improve tomorrow: “As people get accustomed to the service, yes, we do believe things will be a bit better tomorrow.”

On Twitter, the MTA suggested customers use the East River Ferry, which departs from North Sixth Street and Kent Avenue. The ferry’s Greenpoint stop is still out of service.

Now that power is mostly back, we’ve been receiving more of your photos and videos from the storm, starting with the above. Brian Spitzer submitted this incredible footage of Avenue C and Eighth Street, adjacent the Police Service Area 4 station house, through our Virtual Assignment Desk.

Photos have also been coming into our Flickr Group: Matthew Kraus posted equally stunning shots of flooding on Avenue C and East 15th Street, where one motorist told The Local he escaped waters that were chest-high. Steven Matthews also documented the storm’s arrival and subsequent flooding. Michael Natale posted shots of the wreckage in East River Park, while Bahram Foroughi photographed fallen trees in the Lower East Side and off the East River. Timothy Krause drew our attention to the river’s oily sheen. Philip Kalantzis-Cope witnessed some of the food giveaways we mentioned. Vivienne Gucwa added shots of the recovering neighborhood in darkness and daylight. Meagan Kirkpatrick took some black-and-white stunners of the blackout. Coti Villanueva showed us the rain-slicked streets, as did Roey Ahram. Scott Lynch posted a photo of closures at the Union Square station yesterday, and Ria Chung has images of the neighborhood getting back to normal.

There are plenty more where those came from, so browse The Local’s Flickr pool and add material of your own.

And a big thanks to everyone who contributed coverage.

East Yoga/Facebook

A fire devastated East Yoga, a small, popular neighborhood yoga studio, on Sunday afternoon.

About 12 units and 60 firefighters rushed to 212 Avenue B after a call came in at 3:14 p.m., the fire department said. The fire was under control 30 minutes later, and there were no reported injuries. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.

The studio, which opened on Avenue B, near 13th Street, over six years ago, posted a note on its Website: “No one was in the studio and the surrounding businesses and people living in the building are all okay. So we are counting our blessings that the extent of the damage is limited to our physical space. While the damage is extensive, we are hopeful that we will be up and running again in a few weeks time.”

Students sent condolences and offers to help rebuild the studio via Facebook and Twitter. “I was there this morning for a great first post-hurricane-darkness class with Shevy,” wrote one. “This makes me very sad, please let us know how we can help!” And @KBorg Tweeted, “It breaks my heart that @eastyoga had a terrible fire today. That yoga studio forever changed who I am. So sad.”

The studio is currently looking for a space to hold classes while it rebuilds. “This has been a humbling experience. We have appreciated everyone who has reached out with their love and support,” it wrote. “We will need help as we recover and will be taking many of you up on your very generous offers – whether it is helping us clean up, donating to our renovation efforts or attending our interim classes to stay connected.”

Ria Chung

Good morning, East Village.

As we reported, there were still many East Villagers and Stuyvesant Town residents without power and heat last night. If you’re one of them, let us know in the comments or via Twitter, where we continue to share breaking news.

This morning, there were 5,000 Manhattanites and a total of 130,000 New York City residents without power. [NY Post]

The F train is running again. [MTA/Twitter]

The L train still isn’t running into Manhattan, so Williamsburg residents faced a long commute. [NY Times]

Students were bundling up as they returned to Lower East Side schools without heat. [NY Times]

Bard High School Early College on East Houston Street and Millennium High School on East 15th Street are among those that have been relocated today. [NYC]

Residents of Campos Plaza are without hot water or heat. “I no got [sic] water. No steam. I’m a sick person. I got problems,” says one resident. “My daughter she is not healthy. My husband is sick, too. This is terrible.” [WNYC]

The polling site at Bard H.S.E.C.- 97, at 525 East Houston Street, has been moved to PS 188 or 196, 442 East Houston Street. [NY Post]

Restaurateurs struggled to reopen after the storm. The manager of Village Pourhouse said he drove all over town looking for ingredients. [DNA Info]

NYU kept many buildings up and running during the blackout by going into “island mode” and relying on its cogeneration network. [NY Times]

Nick Gazen on DJing at Lit on Wednesday: “It was truly a Halloween like no other. Everyone who was there would keep repeating the same comments: That it was like Escape From New York or a zombie apocalypse. It was beautiful and frightening.” [Vice]

At Zum Schneider, an East Village resident says, “”There is nothing like being able to go back to the same restaurant that I have been going to. I still have no power, warm water or heat at home.” [NY Daily News]

East River Park took a beating, photos show. [GammaBlog]

“The Public Theater announced that it would delay its first preview of ‘The Twenty-Seventh Man,’ by Nathan Englander, to Thursday at the Martinson Theater,” and other off-Broadway theaters offered discounts. [NYT]

The Public also gave away free tickets. [Public]

Yesterday, the line for gas was 35 minutes long, and stretched up to East Fifth Street, at the BP station on Second Avenue and East First Street. [The Local/Twitter]

The farmers of the Stuy Town and Tompkins Square greenmarkets banded together. [East Village Eats]

East Villagers talk about the first thing they did when power came back. [NY Mag]

Bicycle-powered electricity was in full effect not just at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, which is calling for volunteers, but also at ABC No Rio. [Capital NY]

Public and Saxon + Parole donated all of their profits to a DUMBO restaurant that got slammed by Sandy. [Eater]

La MaMa reopened with three new productions. [Broadway World]

Daniel Maurer Stuy Town

While the lights came on for most of the East Village Friday, and bars and restaurants wasted no time breaking out the bubbly, many in the neighborhood are complaining they’ve been left in the dark – and the cold.

Several apartment buildings and at least one restaurant were still without power on Avenue C and in Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town this evening, and many others had no heat or hot water.

Around 6 p.m., seven workers were standing around a manhole on Avenue C near Eighth Street — their thirteenth job of today — waiting for the water to go down so they could check the lines. They had pumped out a little over four feet of water with about a foot more to go.

Workers from Pepco, an electric company in Washington D.C., have been working twelve hour shifts in Manhattan since Wednesday. “Con Edison sends us to a location to check the power in the buildings, and we see what we can do to restore it,” said Brian Vaeth, an underground foreman. “We’re pumping a lot of water, and doing a lot of checking of the lines for what’s hot, what has electricity, and what doesn’t.”

Daniel Maurer In Stuy Town, kids play soccer near downed tree.

Workers are also going from block to block and into meter cabinets to see if breakers or meters are damaged. Mr. Vaeth hoped the power would be on by the end of this weekend, but he admitted, “We’re going to be here for a while.” His crew was joined by workers from Duke Energy, an electric company in Cincinnati, Ohio, also trying to help troubleshoot problems. More than 2,000 utility workers from as far away as California are working in New York City and Westchester County, according to Con Ed.

A block away, Kafana, a Serbian restaurant that lost about $3,000 of food in the wake of Sandy, still didn’t have power. Vladimir Ocokoljic, the owner, pointed to his building and the one next door. “Other tenants with kids don’t have power, but they do have heat and hot water,” he said, admitting his life would be a lot easier if he could use his dishwasher and other amenities. “I’m not planning on being open tomorrow. If I get power, maybe Tuesday.”

Electricity returned to Zum Schneider, at 107 Avenue C, around 2 p.m. today, said Sylvester Schneider, the owner. “I’m excited the power is back on,” he said, “The downside to it is we’ve found out what’s working and what’s not.” The big discovery: his two main refrigerators are dead. Zum Schneider was open for business as of yesterday afternoon and relied on generators for evening light.

Daniel Maurer Tree damage in Stuy Town.

John Coca, a resident of the Jacob Riis Houses on East 12th Street and Avenue D, said his power returned yesterday evening. But while he had hot water, he had no heat. According to Mr. Coca, who is renovating Babel Lounge and Hookah Bar on Avenue C, which had power, a landlord has to hire someone from a private company to make sure it’s safe to turn on a boiler.

This evening, the apartment building at 133 Avenue C had no power, no heat, and no hot water, while the apartment building at 129 Avenue C had power, no heat, and no hot water. There was a mishmash of lighting in the vicinity: some buildings on Avenue C had power in the stairwells, others did not.

Ashley Tucker’s apartment building on Avenue C and East Eighth Street had no power, but the lights were on in the hallways. Her heat was turned on today, but she had no hot water. Ms. Tucker, a second-year student at CUNY School of Law was on her way to a neighboring friend’s fully powered apartment to do her coursework. “I can’t do it by candlelight,” she joked.

Ms. Tucker took a can of microwaveable soup with her, since her friend had no cooking gas or heat. “This whole week has been exhausting,” she said, “Shuffling around sleeping at friends’ apartments, and coming back to the neighborhood to help clean up.”

Shortly after 6 p.m. today, Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town announced that it had restored electricity to 37 buildings, with 17 buildings expected to regain power sometime in the next 48 hours. 31 buildings were expected to regain heat within six days, and 31 were expected to get hot water again in the same time period. A handful of buildings were still without cooking gas.

“Additional buildings regained power yesterday and today, though several of those buildings had issues, particularly with elevator outages and certain apartment lines remaining without electricity,” read this evening’s update. “This is due to issues ConEd is having with their power distribution system. Full electrical service from ConEd has not yet been restored in these buildings.”

In addition to a spreadsheet kept by management regarding the status of heat, gas, water, and electricity, Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town tenants kept their own Google doc tracking the status of WiFi and cell service, and correcting seeming errors in the official matrix. One note, from a tenant of 540 East 20th Street, read, “Finally got phone back with a landline. Great thing considering there’s no cell reception in this void! No electricity. No heat. It’s only getting colder. Come on Stuy Town! I know you’re working hard but this just isn’t fair!”

Con Edison said its steam system, which brings heat and hot water to many buildings, was badly flooded below 14th Street, but it hoped to fully restore service by Nov. 11, with systematic restorations beginning tomorrow.

In the meantime, with temperatures dropping, the city opened overnight warm shelters for residents without heat.

Correction Nov. 8, 2012: The original version of this post was revised to reflect an error. John Coca is renovating Babel Lounge and Hookah Bar but is not the owner.

Courtesy Abounding Grace Ministries

Restaurants and food trucks weren’t the only ones lending a hand as the East Village struggled through a days-long blackout. Churches and religious groups like Abounding Grace Ministries were out in full force.

Friday, locals lined up and around the block to receive food and supplies at Dry Dock Playground near the P.S.34 building, where the ministry normally meets. Volunteers came to Avenue D and East 10th Street after seeing requests on Twitter and Facebook, said Jeremy Del Rio, son of senior pastor Richard and a lawyer who directs 20/20 Vision for Schools.

The relief effort was sparked after a church member living on Avenue D told the senior pastor’s wife, Arlene Del Rio — who was also without power at their Seward Park apartment — that the food and water she had been sharing was running out. The Del Rios placed calls to some of the groups they had worked with during more than 30 years of outreach.

Courtesy Abounding Grace Industries

“The first day we made calls to organizations that already had stuff and they said, ‘We’re going to load the truck and get going,’” Ms. Del Rio said Friday. “People have come, all different denominations, religions, politicians, Housing; it’s unbelievable. Someone said this is a miracle, it absolutely is.”

The ministry worked alongside Trinity Grace Church, the National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Gleanings, and volunteers from 20 other ministries and groups.

The church is no stranger to extreme situations: its “baptism with disaster,” said Jeremy Del Rio, came during Sept. 11, when fire department chaplain Mychal Judge died at Ground Zero and Mr. Del Rio’s father was the only pastor onsite. This time around, he said, “national organizations called us, and it’s been a real privilege to help mobilize this response.”

A cargo van arrived on Tuesday night, followed the next day by five semi trucks carrying water and food.” Distribution began on Thursday. “It’s been a growing machine since,” said Mr. Del Rio.

Over 20,000 were fed at the distribution center, which was due to close today after lunch, according to Abounding Grace Ministries. But the endeavor wasn’t without its bureaucratic kinks. The ministry had wanted to distribute blankets, food, and hygiene items on school grounds where there was shelter, but the city wouldn’t allow it, said Mr. Del Rio. “We’ve been trying to get an answer for three days,” he said. “The school is okay with it, the Mayor’s Office for Emergency Management won’t let us.”

Courtesy Abounding Grace Ministries

Mr. Del Rio praised the Parks Department, the police, the department of Housing Preservation and Development and the National Guard for their assistance, but leveled criticism against the O.E.M. “There were many city agencies represented here, but they won’t tell us why we can’t use the more sensible place as a staging area. All that’s best of the people of New York, all helping, and the bureaucratic level doesn’t make sense.”

Nevertheless, recipients were pleased to receive help. Cynthia Bonao, who lives on the sixth floor of a building on Avenue D, picked up food for herself and a neighbor. “We thought they forgot about us. They kept saying lower Manhattan, but the Lower East Side is different,” she said. “They’re helping; I’m glad.”

Wendy Garcia had been standing in line for an hour and 45 minutes, and was still a considerable distance from the front. “I switched my jackets, it’s freezing,” she said, “We’ve hardly moved.” During the week, she had been helping a neighbor in a wheelchair and cooking for people on her floor. “My bathtub was filled with water, now it’s gone.” In need of toilet paper and dog food, and with the ice in her cooler on its last day, Friday’s replenishment was perfect timing.

Daniel Maurer Injured elm.

While Sandy hit the city harder than Irene did, Tompkins Square Park got off easier than it did during the storm last year, according to a gardener. 

Deborah Hulse, one of two park gardeners, was in the middle of another long day of cleanup this afternoon — the first day the park was open after the superstorm touched down late Monday. 

She said approximately five small trees, including a crabapple and two from the sycamore family, were felled by wind and rain — three of them in the park and two on the street. 

“None of our beloved American elms got knocked over completely, but several lost major branches that were very old,” she said. On the northern end of the park, one elm was cordoned off because its branch had cracked onto a neighboring tree. Ms. Hulse said a parks department forestry crew would determine what to do about the branch, which could break off and fall to the ground at any moment. 

The gardener said practically every tree in the park — including elms, oaks, lindens, and ginkgos — lost branches. “The place looked liked an explosion of branches,” she said, adding that some were the size of small trees. 

Still, the park didn’t see the sort of damage East River Park did. “Somehow we didn’t get the beating that other parks got, though it looked horrendous,” said Ms. Hulse. She added that visitors, some of which have volunteered to clean up, have been happy to return to the park, and squirrels have been happy to see them.

“The squirrels were like, ‘Will you please let the neighborhood people back in, because they feed us peanuts?'”

Daniel Maurer Welcome back, Mona’s.

With the avenues aglow again (well, all except for Avenue C, which is still dark) we cruised down them to see who was open. If we missed anyone, or if your favorite side-street spot has reopened, let us know in the comments or via Twitter.

Menus are limited, of course, but know this: Lucien is serving filet mignon.

BOWERY/THIRD AVENUE
Bowery Diner
Slainte 
Crime Scene
Agozar
Peels
Forcella 
Hecho en Dumbo
Ray’s Pizza
Pour House
Aaa Amici
Bar None
Bowery Electric 
Studio at Webster Hall

14TH STREET
Belfry
Beauty Bar
Bishops and barons 
Bait and Hook

SECOND AVENUE
Finnerty’s 
Calliope
Professor Thom’s 
Entrez 
Shima
13th Step
Bar 82
Candela Candela
Lit
Cooper’s Craft and Kitchen 
Heart of India 
Queen Vic
Dempsey’s 
Urge
Second on Second 
National Underground 
One and One 
Lucien 

FIRST AVENUE
DBA
Azza
Karma 
Three of cups 
Coal yard
International 
Lunasa 
Simone 
Cheap Shots
East Village Pizza 
Coyote Ugly
Sabor a Mexico
Lanza’s
South Brooklyn Pizza
Vinny Vincenz
Tree

AVENUE A
Horse Box
Hi Fi
Planet Rose
2A
Ella
The Library
Double Down Saloon
Zaragoza 
Percy’s 
Destination 
Odessa
Yuca Bar
7A
Mini Thai Cafe
Lantern 
Key Food
Mary O’s
Gracefully
Common Ground
Cafe Ost
Table 12
Bad Burger
Horus Cafe
La Lucha
Doc Holliday’s
Lucy’s 
Nino’s 

AVENUE B
Idle Hands Bar
Mama’s Bar
Croxley’s Ales
Boxcar Lounge
China Wok
Affaire 
Horus
Manitoba’s
7B
Rue B
Spina
B side 
Mona’s
Blackbird

AVENUE C
99 Cent pizza 
The Wayland
Casa Adela

AVENUE D
New Chinatown restaurant 
Ave D Candy Store 
China Wok
Compare Foods
Joselito Bar-Restaurant

And:
Luke’s Lobster
Terroir
Brother Jimmy’s
Blind Barber
Jimmy’s No 43

Correction: Nov. 2, 2012 The original version of this post placed Hi-Fi in the wrong column. It is, of course, on Avenue A, not First Avenue.

Vivienne Gucwa

After almost four days of darkness, power was restored to about 67,000 people in the East Village and Lower East Side at just after 5 p.m. today, according to Con Edison. The power company sent out a tweet announcing, “Area restored begins at Canal St, stretches as far north as 14/15th and reaches west to Broadway and east to the East River.”

Twitter has been alight with locals celebrating the good news. “Just saw some neighbors from the higher floors dancing in the lobby after not leaving their apts since Mon. Thank you, #coned #eastvillage,” wrote @ZiaJD. And @mslima tweeted, “We have power!! East Village and Lower East Side have light[sic] up like a Xmas tree.”

Those near Tompkins Square Park cheered when the lights went back on, according to DNA Info.

But some are still waiting for power, or have reported power but no Internet access. Bradley Davis, an editor with Dow Jones – The Wall Street Journal, tweeted, “Despite good electric news: Super says 4 bldgs on 7St/Av C without power (incl mine). Says doesn’t know why; he’s calling #ConEd, bldg owner.” And another Avenue C resident, @p2therice, wrote, “Welllllll, just heard from our super. We do not have power. Basement took a beating with that storm and drowned the electricity.” The resident was told it would be another 24 hours before power is restored.

Power to the remainder of lower Manhattan should be restored by tomorrow night, according to Con Ed.

Suzanne Rozdeba

Mayor Bloomberg held a press conference earlier this afternoon. Here’s the latest.

The death toll has reached at least 41 New Yorkers, and it may rise. “We are getting to the point where we think we’ve been through every place but you can never be 100 percent sure,” said the mayor.

Since yesterday, the lights have come on for 70,000 more Con Edison customers. 460,000 New Yorkers are still estimated to be without power, approximately half of them in Manhattan. “The hope is to have power restored to most of the borough by midnight tonight,” said the mayor. “Some of these areas should start coming on in a couple of hours; two networks in lower Manhattan will take a little longer to come back online.”

13 distribution sites are currently open and staffed by National Guard members, NYC Service, and the Salvation Army. The city has given away 260,000 meals and bottled water. Those who visit sites and bring their own bags will get three meals, bottles of water.

AT&T has placed “pods” (trucks with generators) in Zone A that provide cell coverage for customers. Many of the pods are in the vicinity of food and water distribution centers.

The city has raised almost $10 million from individuals and corporations such as Rupert Murdoch and NewsCorp, ING, Time Warner, and Viacom.

Companies like Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Co, Walmart and Gristedes have contributed supplies. Developers like Two Trees Management have made generators available.

Goldman Sachs will match the $5 million the city is providing to small businesses in Zone A. Small businesses in need of repairs can receive $5,000 to $25,000.

The city opened the first of several Disaster Assistance Service Centers today in the parking lot of Cyclones stadium at 1904 Surf Avenue. The centers, open till 5 p.m. daily, will provide information about applying for disaster benefits.

Traffic lights are expected to be back on tonight.

Car-pooling restrictions will be waived at 5 p.m. today.

The Holland Tunnel is being opened on a limited basis for commercial vehicles and buses.

Health department inspectors are being redeployed to meet with restaurant owners and explain how to reopen safety so that cases of food poisoning are kept to a minimum.

About 5,500 people are currently in city evacuation shelters. Some 20 percent of them have special medical needs. The city has consolidated its 76 evacuation shelters into 15 in order to make staffing easier.

Schools will reopen on Monday, but about 40 out of 2,000 of the schools may not be able to reopen until Wednesday. An update from the schools chancellor is expected this evening.

The majority of parks and playgrounds will reopen this weekend. About 40 to 50 percent are already open, but others are still dangerous. “A number of the 40-odd people that have died have died from a tree falling on them,” the mayor said.

The sanitation department is picking up garbage wherever possible, but there is still no recycling. About 17,000 tons of refuse was picked up yesterday.

Suzanne Rozdeba Line for a food distribution center on Avenue C.

Immediately after superstorm Sandy passed, local businesses like Northern Spy Food Co. and 11B started doling out free food. The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space began doing the same, and yesterday still more restaurants got out their ladles, with national companies and food trucks joining them.

Even as the city set up food distribution centers for those who hadn’t had a hot meal in a few days, local restaurants like The Cardinal continued to offer alternatives to canned goods and MREs. Leanne Hebert, a co-owner of the East Fourth Street restaurant, said, “When we saw people dumpster diving at Key Food and fighting over food, we thought, ‘This is insane.’ We needed to do something.”

Suzanne Rozdeba Free food at Astor Place.

So Ms. Hebert and her partner, Curtis Brown, via a “bike messenger with a really big bag,” brought in 20 cans of tomato sauce, 20 boxes of pasta and 30 pounds of meat and whipped up some hot spaghetti, plus grilled cheese sandwiches. Thursday, they were able to serve about 70 people in 20 minutes before the free lunches ran out. “We doubled the portions today,” Ms. Hebert said Friday. The restaurant served about 200 people over the course of two days. East Village Finest Deli on Avenue B also donated bread. There were also free socks, underwear, T-shirts and even dog’s clothes donated by American Apparel.

“We know lots of people in this neighborhood, and we wanted to help them. A lot of people were coming in and bringing food to elderly people who haven’t been able to get food. One lady who came in said she had lived in the projects and had five kids to feed, and she took meals and bread home to her children,” said Ms. Hebert.

Suzanne Rozdeba Avenue C bet 9th and 10th.

Over at Rai Rai Ken on East 10th Street, employees dished out steaming miso soup and vegetables for storm survivors. Since Tuesday, they had also been serving yakisoba, a fried noodles dish with vegetables and pork. They served up about 500 free meals over the last few days. “It’s really scary what people are going through. One girl was so happy when she got the food that she almost started crying,” Gerald Sanchez, the restaurant’s manager, told the Local. “People were really glad to be receiving some hot food.”

St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery was also giving away milk and water yesterday afternoon on its front steps.

JetBlue pitched in Thursday and Friday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., and parked food trucks at Astor Place, Tompkins Square Park and East 14th Street. Among the vendors were Wafels & Dinges, Rickshaw Dumplings and Toum. “People seemed pretty happy and were smiling. We wanted to help the community,” said Marina Suberlyrak, who helped JetBlue distribute some of the goodies at Astor Place. The company gave away about 7,000 meals and 12,800 bottles of water, and served about 3,500 people.

Suzanne Rozdeba Coffee and sweets on W 4th.

Sager Panchal, an NYU freshman residing at a dorm on East 12th Street that had lost power, was happily digging into a dulce de leche and butter-dipped waffle. “It’s been good and bad. Some other dorms had to evacuate, but we didn’t have to. We just got hot water yesterday.” His friend, Shirley Shen, who also lives in the dorm, said she was satisfied with her “amazing free waffle.”

And over on East 14th Street, free samples of Castello Cheese were being distributed by Sweetery NYC. The Castello truck had been on a promotional tour for the last three weeks, and was giving away extra samples after the storm. Yesterday they distributed 3,500 cheese samples and 200 cheese wheels. And at Tompkins Square Park, Sweetery NYC also provided 1,000 free meals from Mexico Blvd. “It’s great to help out when people are in a time of doom and gloom,” Grant DiMille, owner of Sweetery NYC, told The Local. “We’ve had a cross section of people. Some people were saying they had no power but were holding up, and others who were much worse off. One gentleman was helping elderly people living on a high floor who couldn’t get to food,” he said.

“This is an emotional and gut-wrenching time,” he added. “But New Yorkers have really pulled together.”

Yesterday, powerwas restored to most of the East Village, but the city will continue to distribute food and water at East 10th Street between Avenues C and D, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., according to its Website.

Remika Rajkitkul

Good morning, East Village.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said during a press conference this morning that the state has pledged to put $100 million into a fund for victims of Sandy and home repairs.

Power will be restored to the southeastern tip of Manhattan (below Frankfort Street and east of Broadway) by midnight tonight, according to Con Edison, but the rest of the 226,000 Manhattan customers without power will have to wait till tomorrow. [NY Times]

According to Governor Cuomo, a total of 1,252,171 New Yorkers are still without power. [Twitter]

The city updated its list of distribution centers this morning. In the East Village, you can get food and water from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on East 10th Street between Avenues C and D. [NYC]

Staten Island ferry service is expected to resume at noon today. The Times is maintaining a list of what’s running and what isn’t. [NY Times]

There were long lines for bus and East River ferry service this morning. [NY Times]

“With the unprecedented evacuation of every other hospital — Bellevue, NYU Langone, the Manhattan VA and New York Downtown — the Second Ave. medical center is at near full capacity, its floors and ER bursting, and its staff working double shifts.” [Daily News]

“The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, defended the decision not to require evacuations of Bellevue, Coney Island and NYU Langone hospitals before the storm, which he said had been made in consultation with the state health commissioner, Dr. Nirav Shah.” [NY Times]

“Scores of seniors are stranded in Stuy Town — and they’re desperate for medication, heat and electricity.” [Daily News]

The Bowery Mission has posted a list of current needs. [Bowery Mission]

The Lo-Down has another list of volunteer needs and opportunities. [Lo-Down]

East Village resident Amaris Perez, with her seven-year-old daughter Leyla, resorted to diving into the dumpster of Key Foods. [Buzzfeed]

Zackary Mach describes how Alphabet City Beer Co. survived the flood: “Neighbors and business owners were congregating and making plans. Chefs were coordinating neighborhood cookouts to feed locals for free. Groups are gathered around a battery-powered radio listening to updates from 1010 WINS.” [Forbes]

Halloween night was eerily quiet in the East Village and Lower East Side. Customers were “few and far between”: “anyone who wanted to party had gone uptown, said [owner Ignacio Carballido]. Meanwhile, food was rotting in the powerless fridge and none of the restaurant’s purveyors had delivered since the weekend. All in all, the storm was costing the restaurant $4,000 a day, Carballido said.” [Huffington Post]

Referring to the Lower East Side, the executive director of Henry Street Settlement says, “I won’t say it’s in good shape. As much as we’ve done it feels like a drop in the bucket.” [Wall Street Journal]

At Seward Park Coop, one tech-savvy young resident “created an open internet connection so everyone nearby can check their email and connect with people online.” [Capital NY]

Elsewhere at the complex, a dozen volunteers made the round, checking on seniors and others in need. [Bowery Boogie]

Num Pang and Northern Spy Food Co. are among the restaurants that fed their neighbors for free. [Eater]

David Chang of Momofuku appeared on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” and mentioned a trio of fundraisers for the Red Cross. [Grub Street] Find out more about “Buns for Charity” on Twitter.

Crif Dogs has been able to keep serving hot dogs thanks to two generators in the backyard, but the neighbors aren’t happy about it. “They had the cops here today,” said Brian Shebairo. “I said, I know I’m making noise and the second the lights go on the generators are going away.” [Grub Street]

Veselka Bowery is doing deviled eggs today. [Twitter]

Rickshaw Dumplings, Wafels & Dinges, and other trucks are giving away free food at Astor Place today. [Twitter] There will also be a giveaway at Tompkins Square Park. [Twitter]

The Cardinal will be serving up free spaghetti today at 1 p.m. [Twitter]

The Whole Foods at Union Square has reopened. [Twitter]

Union Square Greenmarket and the Public Theater remain closed. [Twitter, Twitter]

“The State Board of Elections has approved an extension of the Absentee Ballot deadline for all voters in the state from October 30th to November 2nd.” [NY State]

Lower East Side Pickle Day has been rescheduled to Nov. 4. The organizers tell us, “This difficult decision certainly left us in a pickle, but we had to consider vendor and attendee safety first.”

Follow The Local on Twitter for updates as we get them, and comment here or tweet at @nytlev if you have news of your own.

The bicycle-powered generator used to pump water out of the basement of the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space has been put to yet another creative use: it’s been charging cellphones.

Konstantin Sergeyev sent us photos of the generator at work, along with others of fellow C-Squat resident Nico de Gallo grilling donated food items for neighbors.

The bicycle generator, created by Time’s Up for Occupy Wall Street events, was to be part of an exhibit at MoRUS, slated to open Nov. 17. That opening date is now up in the air as the homesteading and community gardening museum continues to repair its basement.

According to an update on its Website, MoRUS planned to continue offering cell phone charging today — at 155 Avenue C, between Ninth and 10th Streets — and C-Squat will keep doling out free food.

“As always, we’d like to highlight the East Village community,” the update read. “We’re all getting through this crisis together, and there are sure to be better times ahead.”