By Matthew Russell Lee
WALL STREET, October 31 -- With the southern tip of Manhattan virtually occupied by the trucks and machinery of utility, telecommunications and "environmental emergency" companies, long canyons office buildings lay dark on Wednesday night, 48 hours after Hurricane Sandy hit.
Facing the East River a highway underpass by South Ferry was still flooded with twelve feet of water, a pick-up truck nearly entirely covered. Inner City Press photo here.
Up on Wall Street while the New York Stock Exchange was lit, the block east of it was entirely dark, but for lone security guards with flashlights. "Priorities," as one source signed to Inner City Press.
The atrium at 60 Wall Street was opened and surprisingly lit and empty. One wondered if this would have have been a time for Occupy Wall Street. But so does timing go. There are OWS-ers helping in Red Hook and elsewhere.
A denizen of West Street told Inner City Press of his three hour commute south from 89th Street on the M15 bus. "I'll have to climb up 18 flights of stairs," he said, "to see if my dog is still okay. Then either take him uptown or just stay there in the dark.
Another commuter told of a cab trying to charge him and his son $50 for a ride uptown, charging extra for the family of two which usually couldn't be done. Now with school canceled until the end of the week, new challenges emerge.
