Power restored to some parts in Hackensack, but many remain in the darkFriday November 9, 2012, 9:42 AM
BY CAESAR DARIAS
CORRESPONDENT
Hackensack Chronicle
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HACKENSACK - Election Day saw power to all polling stations restored, according to Hackensack City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono, as the city continued to recover from the power outages and a gas shortage brought on by Hurricane Sandy's arrival last week.
Hackensack police maintain order as cars, on the left, line up for gas at the Delta station on Hudson Street.
CAESAR DARIAS/PHOTO
Hackensack police maintain order as cars, on the left, line up for gas at the Delta station on Hudson Street.
Jen Lafontant stands on Washington Avenue - behind his Lafayette Street house - where two trees fell during Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday.
CAESAR DARIAS/PHOTOS
Jen Lafontant stands on Washington Avenue - behind his Lafayette Street house - where two trees fell during Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday.
"City hall, the police department, the fire department were turned on last evening," said Lo Iacono. "A good part of the city is on."
Portions of Hackensack, however, remained in the dark Tuesday morning as some residents continue to cope with lack of power and gasoline lines, albeit with shorter waits.
Tannia Munoz is critical of the city's efforts during Hurricane Sandy. Munoz, her husband and her 8-month-old baby had to leave their home on East Broadway after flooding left them without furniture and shoes. They now sleep on a "mattress bed."
"We don't have power. We don't have gas, no heat, no hot water," said the life-long Hackensack resident. "We're staying in Jersey City right now in one of my college friend's apartment. All we were able to get out was clothes."
Munoz, who graduated from Rutgers Law School this year, says she's looking for a job and also a new place to live.
Before the flood, she was living in a house owned by her parents who also own the house next door.
"They should have said a mandatory evacuation for people next to the River," asserted Munoz. "We didn't know it was going to be that bad."
The city did post this announcement on their web site in bold letters: "Residents in known flood prone areas have been asked to voluntary self evacuate to higher ground. It's recommended that they stay with friends and family."
According to Lo Iacono, officials were proactive prior to Sandy's arrival.
"All of the low lying areas - the areas that typically flood in the city - we started last Saturday, by public address, obviously on the web, reverse 911, printed flyers that were hand-delivered by fire personnel door-to-door in those areas, advising everyone they should leave and they should evacuate," said Lo Iacono.
"We were way ahead of the curve on that," Lo Ianoco continued. "Unfortunately, as is always the case, some people don't want to leave their homes and don't follow those directives. And so in the midst of the storm we had to evacuate some people by boat. One of our firemen was injured in the course of doing that."
Munoz says she now worries about her newborn son's health. "He actually has bronchitis right now because we tried to tough it out and we stayed in my parents room," said Munoz.
Maria Di Leone thought her troubles were behind her Sunday night when the power kicked in at 8:30 p.m. However, after two hours she says it was cut off and, as of earlier this week, continues to run a generator - secured with a heavy chain, "just in case" - behind her house.
"It's really stressful but we got the generator, we manage," said Di Leone, 56, who has lived in her house for 31 years. "I understand there are people worse off than us. We try to keep our spirits up."
According to Di Leone, her $1,100 generator lets her maintain power to essentials such as her refrigerator, telephone and a light in the kitchen."
Her family had a generator before the fury of Hurricane Sandy hit, but it broke. "On Wednesday [my husband] went to Home Depot in North Bergen and he went to get another one."
Was it worth the expense? "Right now it is worth it because we need the lights," said Di Leone. "It's a lot of money we had to spend, but when you have to do it, you have to do it."
Di Leone's gas powered generator, required frequent short walks to the Delta gas station one block away on Hudson Street. "We're using a lot gas. We did the line two hours one night, two hours another night, two hours in the morning, she said on Sunday night.
Jen Lafontant, 57, has been living around the corner on Lafayette Street for 30 years. He had no power on Sunday night. He and his wife light candles at night to keep warm.
"For food, thank God, we have gas and hot water so we can take a shower and cook food, if we have to," said Lafontant. "The only trouble is since there is no electricity there's nothing in the fridge so we have to go out and buy things as you need it."
He says he's feeling neglected. "Some of our neighbors have light and we don't," he said. "We feel like the unwanted child. It ridiculous in the time and age that we have to go through such a routine. But that's the situation."
And at the Delta station, where the street lights and traffic lights were dark Sunday night, a relatively short line of motorists waited their turn to fill up as several Hackensack police personnel maintained order.
Residents on foot also waited their turn while holding the now ubiquitous red gas canisters.
Yanire Garcia, 48, was next in line. The Prospect Avenue resident got her power back Friday morning.
"The good thing is I had filled the tank right before the storm hit," said Garcia. "So I've been trying just to be conservative on the gas."
Garcia's commute, however, just got longer. "I normally work [as a shipping manager] in Moonachie," she said. "But that's gone. They relocated my office up to Mahwah which is farther."
Back on Washington Avenue on Sunday night, Javier Rodriguez surveyed two trees that used to stand on public land but were lying on private property.
Rodriguez, a tree removal specialist who owns Elmwood Services in Paterson, has been removing trees for 17 years.
He says he has never seen so much destruction in New Jersey. "I've never seen it like this," said Rodriguez, who was joined by a Department of Public Works supervisor.
Asked how many trees he has removed over the last five days, Rodriguez said, "I lost track already." He estimates he has removed at least 100 trees.
Email: hackensack@northjersey.com