What Election? Sandy Recovery Continues

Sure, it's Election Day tomorrow—but to plenty of families still reeling from Sandy's effects, civic duty is a secondary concern, the Washington Post reports. "Everyone’s trying to live. They got kids. How’s anybody gonna go out and vote?" says a Manhattan school lunch helper. Some 143,000 New Yorkers have been affected by polling site alterations following the storm. And with President Obama firmly ahead in New York and New Jersey, an inability to get to the polls may not affect the presidential vote so much as it does local elections. In other hurricane news:

• The election isn't the only national tradition affected by the storm: Holiday shopping is facing some serious obstacles. Now is the time when retailers are usually getting their last holiday shipments—but the process has been held up by defunct shipping points and warehouses, not to mention road closures and gas shortages, the New York Times notes.

• Following the cancellation of New York City's marathon, more than a dozen generators are sitting unused in Central Park, the New York Post reports—not to mention 20 heaters, tens of thousands of Mylar blankets, apples, and large amounts of bottled water. "If those generators were here, we maybe could have had some light for the cleanup effort," says a Staten Island man.
• But help is on the way: Marines have arrived in Queens and Staten Island to help recovery efforts. "They gave us supplies, water, and food. It makes us feel like we’re actually getting help now. At least we feel safer with their presence," a local resident tells the Post.
• And Mayor Bloomberg joined fellow New Yorkers feeling the commute pain: Today, he took the 5 train to City Hall.

(More New York City stories.)