Posted on 11/02/2012 12:13:43 PM PDT by YourAdHere
EW spoke to Sons of Anarchy – and Staten Island native — Theo Rossi (Juice Ortiz), who was home visiting family and friends when Sandy hit. He’s remained there ever since and gave us this first-hand account of the devastation.
“It’s so bad here, a lot worse than how its being portrayed by the media. They are finding bodies left and right, elderly people who don’t even watch the news or who knew the storm was coming. I was just with one of my best friends from high school and college, and his house is completely gone. One story I heard was about this one guy who evacuated his house during Hurricane Irene but then it got looted. So when they told him to evacuate for Sandy, he said, ‘I’m not leaving.’ Now they can’t find him, his 13-year-old daughter is dead, and his wife is in critical condition at the hospital. These are the stories. My stepfather and my mother, I love them to death. But when they heard the storm was coming, they said, ‘It’s not going to be that bad. Irene didn’t do anything.’ They had two flashlights and a couple of scented candles. Little did they know. It’s just not worth it. If you’re told to evacuate, you need to get out.
The one weird thing is how there is no power. The other weird thing is how there’s no gas. To get gas requires a three-and-a-half hour wait. It’s like this odd, post-apocalyptic kind of thing. Most trees are down. Power lines are down. It’s like a movie, or like The Walking Dead. You can’t believe it. Especially when you grow up here. I moved to Los Angeles in 1999, but this has always been my home. There’s the place I kissed a girl, that’s the place I played handball. I know this island in and out. To see it completely destroyed is bizarre.
I’ve been trying to hit every shelter on Staten Island to do what I can, just to make people smile. A lot of people know me and know I’m from here. My flight has been changed six times now. Finally, I got a flight for Sunday. Then, the city decides they are going ahead with the New York City Marathon. The bridges will be closed, so I can’t get to the airport. How are they doing a marathon when most people don’t have power? On top of it, the hotels in Manhattan have been nice enough to put up people who have no homes. They are charging them $200 as opposed to $700 a night. But now they are throwing these people out because they’ve got people from all over the world coming to run the marathon. They are throwing out the survivors! So I call Jet Blue and say I can’t fly Sunday because I can’t get from Staten Island to JFK Airport. And they said ‘Okay Theo.’ They know me know because I’ve been calling them every 15 minutes. They say, ‘Theo, we can get you on a flight Friday.’ I say book it! I call up the car service, and they say, ‘We can’t pick you up, we have no gas.’ All my friends on Staten Island say, ‘How are we going to get you there? We have no gas.’ And the people who do have gas, don’t want to waste it going to JFK. So I’ve got to call and change my flight again. Now I’m leaving Monday. Everybody says if we don’t have gas in our cars by Monday, if the roads aren’t clear by Monday, that’s it … we’re throwing in the towel.
I’m really glad I’m here to help and do anything, but I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m just glad I’m here with my family. A shout out and thank you to all the amazing city workers who have been working around the clock. Police, fire, sanitation. You all are the true fabric of this city.”
Doesn’t matter the MSM did got their talking points from the WH, and along with Christie helped push the President back to having all the mo with a few days left. Just like they all got their talking points to make a shaky job report seem wonderful for Obama.
THe damage is done. We can’t win with the bastards in the media running interference for their black messiah socialist.
Did you think they’d let a black man lose his second term?
Whatever it takes even ignoring the people in need in NJ and NY or the millions still unemployed.
>> They are finding bodies left and right, elderly people who don’t even watch the news or who knew the storm was coming.
Didn’t we hear the same story immediately after Katrina? Wasn’t the whiny liberal estimate around 10,000 dead for that one?
“Media bigger fail.”
News 12 New Jersey was very blunt about some catastrophic scenarios; one guy said “80% of NJ will lose powere”. I don’t know what percentage actually lost power, and I know ours was turned off deliberately (and therefore we got it back withing a few days), but that guy’s prediction made me prepare for a long-term problem instead of a short-term one.
Long past time for Republicans to go after Obama over this failure and with his buddy Bloomberg endorsing him, they can roast the two of them over the marathon.
“THe damage is done. We can’t win with the bastards in the media running interference for their black messiah socialist.
Did you think they’d let a black man lose his second term?”
Are you done? Because I can believe that many of us have about had it with you BS crying act every time you post.
Turn off FR, get off the computer and go find something else to do. Be a loser at home and spare us anymore of it.
Fox News is making it sound real bad. It’s so sad.
The rest of the media and that idiotic Bloomerang are shameful!!!
This was all a part of Bloomberg’s plan. Now NO One can buy a Big Gulp!
Makes me wonder, why is nobody gathering to picket the media themselves and holding them to account for their actions? If they take a political bias and repeat one side’s talking points while ignoring all else, they become political players and should face all the slings and arrows along with “their man.”
Gee ya think!
If Romney gets elected he had better overreact to EVERY SINGLE NATURAL DISASTER or the media will crucify him if even one person gets a mere sliver in their pinky finger.
I’m not sure anything will stick to Obama here; the NY officials asked him NOT to visit (he would just be in the way).
The media is scared to death their hero might get a little of what they happily threw at Bush splashed on him.
Becki
Where’s Whoraldo?
Sounds to me like he’s not doing anything to help but hey, he got his Cheers where everybody knows your name publicity. Running around smiling at people isn’t getting those downed trees cleared away. Being on his cell every 15 minutes booking a flight isn’t helping his neighborhood. He’s preaching evacuate so why didn’t he?
I saw Whoraldo when the storm began. He took time out from standing in the rain to insult the father of one of the murdered SEALS and defend Obama.
This is the preview of what we will see when Bammy tries to declare Martial Law!!!
My friend in southern NJ is telling me the same things this guy is saying.
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