New Yorkers really rallied in the face of the devastation of Sandy. Neighbors helped neighbors, businesses let bedraggled blackout refugees sit on their floors and plug their phones into electric outlets (two I saw were The Gap and Chase -- big thanks). Elected officials held regular press conferences giving advice and support.
The one group I didn't see at all -- and I am in one of the areas that lost power for 4 days -- was the Red Cross. I walked through a lot of the blacked out areas of Manhattan day after day and didn't see a sign of them. No food for people whose refrigerators were not working and who lacked stoves. No hot coffee for people who were shivering in homes that lacked heat. No lights for people walking pitch black and often scary side streets.
It turns out it wasn't only me. As the New York Times reports, there is a lot of anger across New York at the Red Cross's non-response. The borough president of Staten Island -- one of the worst-hit areas -- called the Red Cross's response an "absolute disgrace."
Apparently the Red Cross first set up and started serving meals on Saturday (and I have no idea how much of that is going on. That is an unconscionable delay when people lost power and were flooded out of their homes Monday night. And it's not like this was a disaster that came out of nowhere, like an earthquake. Disaster experts knew this storm would wreck terrible damage many days in advance.
Well, this morning I did see the first sign of the Red Cross in my recovering neighborhood: when I went to stock up on groceries, the Red Cross had signs set up at every checkout lane asking me and my neighbors to make a contribution to them.
I hope people will ask tough questions of the Red Cross in the days ahead. It looks like the way things are going, there will be more storms like this. The Red Cross is going to have to up its game.