Are you questioning the animal shelter or the people and pet shelter?

Anybody know if the sandbagging sites are still open? Yeah, I know a little late, but I am thinking that a neighbor might need them and I want to help out.

Quote:

Just to verify -

The city is setting up the temporary animal shelter in the neighborhood of the city furthest from the evacuation zones?

(Not to disparage the work you're doing, r_pinkowitz, but seriously now.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... y_to_offer_pet_shelt.html


We also have the mobile trailer that will serve as temporary animal shelter (awesome OEM Pet disaster mobile) and the evacuation shelter is for anyone and their pets. We will not turn away any pet owner. Just make sure Fido is on a leash. We are fully equipped in case you forget something for your pet. The mobile shelter is state of the art and is fully stocked that can accommodate any strays we find.

The last alert I got on my phone said that All the shelters will NOT take your pets. Wow.

The Montgomery & Orchard sandbagging site was a free-for-all too. Upon arriving at 11:15 am, there was no sand but some about to be delivered. Also, they had run out of bags. The only people that had bags upon our arrival had been there earlier to get them, but had to come back since they had run out of sand. For the people arriving, we began realizing there would be no bags. However, we saw on the corner a guy selling his stash of bags he received earlier to people really needing them for 2 for $5 - not a bad return on investment!

There was another guy who had filled up roughly 30 bags and was putting them on a cart. He then wheeled his cart over to his Monte Carlo and sold the bags out of his trunk to people who didn't have any of the free JC bags. I guess I should be impressed with the JC residents with their entrepreneurial spirit. The best part - a few police officers who really offered no assistance and had no information on the entire process. The entire experience was just minutes after hearing our mayor on 1010 WINS AM radio really offering no advice compared to Bloomberg, Christie, etc.

Classic!

The sandbagging site at MS #40 was a free for all. There was no coordination, no city personnel, and no direction. There was a dumpster full of sand and a couple pallets of bags. People were struggling to fill bags with their hands or empty coffee cups from their cars. Older people were milling around asking for help.

I hope the evacuation centers are better prepared than the sandbagging sites. I understand asking people to fill their own sandbags, and appreciate the opportunity provided by the city. However, desperate people fending for themselves with no one to guide the process can turn ugly. While most people were very neighborly and helped each other, the opportunity for conflict over resources wasn't too far away.

I hope everyone's better angels prevailed, and that everyone who needed sandbags were able to get them.

As for the lack of representation from the City, I've lived in JC for about 2 years now, and I don't know why I was surprised.

UPDATE: One location changed for sandbag distribution. The locations are MS#40, 88 Gates Avenue (Ocean and Gates Avenues) and the Municipal Parking lot on Montgomery and Orchard Streets.

JC GOVERNMENT WEBSITE

Issued at 4:51 today...

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, in conjunction the Office of Emergency Management, announced today that the city is asking for all residents who live in low-lying areas, such as Downtown and Country Village, to voluntarily evacuate. Jersey City will open five emergency shelters open effective 10 am Saturday August 27 where residents can go to and there still remains a possibility of a mandatory evacuation tomorrow. Any disabled or elderly residents who need transportation to one of the emergency shelters is asked to contact 201-547-5684.

Shelter locations are: M.S. 4 107 Bright Street

M.S. 7 222 Laidlaw Ave

P.S. # 17 600 Bergen Avenue

P.S. # 38 339 Stegman Pwky

Dickinson H.S. 2 Palisade Avenue

Current forecasts from the National Weather Service indicate that Hurricane Irene could be a Category 2 storm when it reaches New Jersey, with winds as high as 100 miles per hour and rainfall anywhere between 6 and 12 inches. The storm is expected to hit Jersey City late Saturday into Sunday during a period of high tides, compounding the situation.

The city has updated its evacuation routes and has evacuation plans in place should evacuation become necessary. Residents, however, should not wait until Saturday to pack their belongings, but should rather put together an emergency bag that can be taken with them should they need to relocate.

Residents who park their vehicles underground or in low-lying areas are being advised to move their vehicles to higher ground in anticipation of the storm. Parking rules will suspended citywide on Saturday, thru Monday 12 noon..

Jersey City Parking Authority parking lots located at Montgomery Street and Orchard Street and Central Avenue adjacent to the Burger King will permit free parking for city residents thru 12 noon Monday. Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey is recommending that all vehicular traffic cease at 12 midnight Saturday into Sunday.

Garbage collection for Sunday night has been suspended and will be rescheduled for Wednesday night.

Residents are requested to remove any items that could become projectiles as a result of high winds, including patio furniture, grills, construction equipment, and bicycles. Residents are encouraged to have a preparedness kit ready with batteries, water, flashlights, and charged cell phones, as well as any immediate supplies such as food, medicines.

The city has received 10,000 sand bags and 44 tons of sand for use by city residents. Residents will be able to fill the bags from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, Saturday August 27th at two locations ? the Municipal Parking Lot on Montgomery and Orchard Streets and at the parking lot of PS#30, 171 Seaview Avenue (enter on Gates Avenue).