Getting Post-Sandy Help

Earlier this week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a statement explaining what recovery and emergency aid is now available throughout the city. The Human Resources Administration has established sites where people can learn how to apply for emergency and economic help. These centers are located at:

• Mount Loretto – 6581 Hylan Blvd., Staten Island
• New Dorp High School – Corner of Mill Road and New Dorp Lane, Staten Island
• Coney Island – MCU Parking Lot, 1904 Surf Ave., Brooklyn
• Rockaway – Walbaum’s Parking Lot, 112-15 Beach Channel Drive, Queens
• Breezy Point – Fort Tilden Park (end closest to Breezy Point) – Beach Channel Blvd., Queens
• Edgewater Firehouse Parking Lot, 1 Adee Place between Ninth Avenue and Edge Street, Bronx

There are also hurricane shelters, of course, with 15 operating throughout the five boroughs. A list of these sites for those in need of emergency housing is posted on nyc.gov.

The Human Resources Administration is offering financial help with covering relocation costs, a first month’s rent, a furniture stipend and more, for those eligible. People with no access to kitchen facilities can also apply for a restaurant allowance. For all the details of these modes of assistance, visit nyc.gov.

As the weather gets increasingly cold and concerns turn to those who still don’t have heat, the city has opened Warming Centers at the following downtown locations during the day:

• BRC Senior Nutrition Program, 30 Delancey St., 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• City Hall Senior Center, 100 Gold St., 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• John Paul II Friendship Center, 103 E. 7th St., 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• La Guardia Senior Center, 280 Cherry St., 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• NY Chinatown Senior Center, 70 Mulberry St., 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Sirovich Senior Center, 331 E. 12th St., 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• University Settlement Nutrition, 189 Allen St., 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Bloomberg also warned of wet property turning into moldy property, which can have various health consequences. He urged people with flooded homes to take careful measures to ensure the apartment is fully dried out, such as opening windows and using fans and dehumidifiers. If you have other concerns, such as food stamps, health insurance and small business support, the motto of the day is: go to nyc.gov.

For those who weren’t affected but want to help, the city has a website pulling in information about how to volunteer with or donate to several organizations, including New York Cares, Catholic Charities, Housing Works, Salvation Army, the Red Cross and New York Blood Center. Check out nycservice.org for more info.

Gas Shortage May Persist for Several More Days

Prior to hurricane Sandy, politicians and media outlets made plenty of predictions regarding its potential to wreak havoc on the city. But what went largely unmentioned was the gas shortage that New Yorkers, Long Islanders and New Jersey residents now face. Late Friday, President Barack Obama had deployed mobile fuel stations to New York and nearby ports, giving emergency response vehicles first dibs on the coveted gas. Gov. Andrew Cuomo requested that citizens use their cars as little as possible, saying now was not the time to drive. The first fuel shipment held 8 million gallons of gas, while 28 million gallons were on their way over. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie mandated that even-numbered license plates get their gas on even dates, and odd-numbered plates gas up on the other days. Many stations lost power during the storm and are still recovering. In addition, right after the storm the city’s ports were closed, blocking new gas shipments. They are now open, and hopefully by the end of the week gas will be as accessible as before.

LES Gun Buyback a Success

Two weeks ago, pre-hurricane, the NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office held a gun buyback on the Lower East Side, the first in the neighborhood, at the Rutgers Houses Community Center. The event brought in 50 guns, 14 of which were semi-automatic weapons. The program, which was partly funded through asset forfeiture money seized by the DA’s office, paid $200 bank cards for each operable handgun turned in, and $20 bank cards for rifles and shotguns, with no questions asked and complete anonymity for those bringing the weapons.

“Every gun removed from city streets can be viewed in terms of crimes prevented and, hopefully, lives saved,” District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement after the event. He also praised the Lower East Side youth basketball program that the DA’s office co-hosts as another tool to keep violence down in the neighborhood.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who co-sponsored the event, said that Lower East Side community leaders have been expressing their “serious alarm” about gun violence in the area, and Community Board 3 chair Gigi Li said that the community is grateful that the program came to them.

There have been 154 people shot in Manhattan this year in 129 separate shootings, 19 of which have been fatal.

By Dr. Emily Levy

As students progress through school, their organizational demands increase rapidly. They are required to complete lengthier assignments, take detailed notes, study for exams and transport more materials. For many students, these organizational demands can be daunting, and they often become lost and utterly disorganized in this process.

Most students lack a system for consistently organizing all of their papers, notes, handouts and tests. By learning and implementing the three-tier organizational system below, students will become much more organized and systematic with all of the loose papers that come their way.

So how does it work?

The three-tier notebook organization system is composed of the following three parts: a working notebook, reserve notebook a and long-term filing drawer.

The Working Notebook. This is the notebook that should be taken to school on a regular basis. It can be set up in the form of one three-ring binder with separate tabs for each class or in the form of one color-coded spiral notebook (for taking notes) and one folder (for handouts and homework) for each class. What is most important about the working notebook, however, is that it only contains papers that your child absolutely needs to be carrying with him to school.

One day per week (you should help your child choose this day and have him write it down directly in his assignment book each week) will be designated as his clean-out-my-working-notebook-day. On this day, he will clean out all the papers that he no longer needs to take to school with him and file them in his reserve notebook.

The Reserve Notebook. The reserve notebook should actually take the form of a large, multisection accordion folder. For each class, there will be three sections in the accordion folder: one for homework, one for class notes and one for tests or quizzes. For example, for math, your child would have sections labeled “math homework,” “math class notes” and “math tests/quizzes.” He would have similar sections for English, science, social studies, and all other classes. Remember that the working notebook should be cleaned out and transferred to the reserve notebook on a weekly basis.

The Long-Term Filing Drawer. At the end of the semester or school year, if your child has written a stellar essay, completed a notable project or scored sky-high on a particular exam, you may want to save this work for the long-run. This information should be placed into a filing drawer for long-term safekeeping (you should be in charge of this drawer).

You might want to help your child set up this system and encourage him to maintain it on a regular basis. Within weeks you’ll notice that your child is more organized, structured, and systematic in his approach to managing his loose papers and his overall workload.

Dr. Emily Levy is the founder and director of EBL Coaching (www.eblcoaching.com) which offers tutoring and organizational coaching.