[h=3]By BEN CASSELMAN, ANGUS LOTEN and RYAN DEZEMBER[/h]
As New York began to recover from superstorm Sandy, commuters trying to get to work without subway service faced hours of traffic jams. WSJ's Kate Linebaugh reports via #WorldStream.
Despite the difficulties "people are still going to work," Mr. Dinath said.
In the lobby R.C. Zimmerling and Jake Zucker, who usually take the subway, were resigned to tardiness. They were expected in midtown Manhattan at 10 a.m. and at 9:55 a.m., there was no indication when a car might pick them up. They said they didn't know where to begin with the bus travel and had no Internet access to try to figure it out.
"I don't think we'll be fired if we don't get there, but it's highly requested," Mr. Zimmerling said. "I'm more nervous about trying to get home."
With commuting a challenge, many businesses told employees to work from home. But even that was no guarantee of smooth operations. Much of lower Manhattan is still without wireless or wireline service, and mobile-phone users throughout the city complained on Twitter about service problems that seem to be increasing.
The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday that about a quarter of cellular towers have been damaged in East Coast states affected by Sandy. The situation may get worse before it gets better, the FCC said, as backup power wears down and flooding persists.
Businesses that are likely to see increased sales due to the storm raced to get back online. Home-improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. said only two stores remained closed Wednesday out of about 200 in the affected area due to power outages and flooding. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said 30 stores in the 900-store region remained closed. Sam's Clubs in New Jersey were waiving membership requirements in New Jersey, setting up power stations and urging customers to come in and charge their phones and computers.
For a few industries, Sandy could even prove to be a windfall.
Ski resorts in West Virginia, where the storm dropped up to 3 feet of snow, were looking for an economic lift. David Dekema, marketing director at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, in Snowshoe, W.Va., said the storm has sparked a surge in bookings. The resort hopes the more than 2 feet of snow that have fallen on the 4,800-foot-high mountain will help it open by Thanksgiving. During last year's unseasonably warm winter, the resort delayed its opening twice and cut the season short by a week.
"We love the snow," Mr. Dekema said. "This has definitely been a reminder that winter is coming, and it could be a good one."
—Thomas Gryta, Kris Maher, Anupreeta Das, Neil Shah, Shelly Banjo and Jared A. Favole contributed to this article.Write to Anton Troianovski at [email protected] and Jennifer Levitz at [email protected]
As New York began to recover from superstorm Sandy, commuters trying to get to work without subway service faced hours of traffic jams. WSJ's Kate Linebaugh reports via #WorldStream.Despite the difficulties "people are still going to work," Mr. Dinath said.
In the lobby R.C. Zimmerling and Jake Zucker, who usually take the subway, were resigned to tardiness. They were expected in midtown Manhattan at 10 a.m. and at 9:55 a.m., there was no indication when a car might pick them up. They said they didn't know where to begin with the bus travel and had no Internet access to try to figure it out.
"I don't think we'll be fired if we don't get there, but it's highly requested," Mr. Zimmerling said. "I'm more nervous about trying to get home."
With commuting a challenge, many businesses told employees to work from home. But even that was no guarantee of smooth operations. Much of lower Manhattan is still without wireless or wireline service, and mobile-phone users throughout the city complained on Twitter about service problems that seem to be increasing.
The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday that about a quarter of cellular towers have been damaged in East Coast states affected by Sandy. The situation may get worse before it gets better, the FCC said, as backup power wears down and flooding persists.
Businesses that are likely to see increased sales due to the storm raced to get back online. Home-improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. said only two stores remained closed Wednesday out of about 200 in the affected area due to power outages and flooding. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said 30 stores in the 900-store region remained closed. Sam's Clubs in New Jersey were waiving membership requirements in New Jersey, setting up power stations and urging customers to come in and charge their phones and computers.
For a few industries, Sandy could even prove to be a windfall.
Ski resorts in West Virginia, where the storm dropped up to 3 feet of snow, were looking for an economic lift. David Dekema, marketing director at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, in Snowshoe, W.Va., said the storm has sparked a surge in bookings. The resort hopes the more than 2 feet of snow that have fallen on the 4,800-foot-high mountain will help it open by Thanksgiving. During last year's unseasonably warm winter, the resort delayed its opening twice and cut the season short by a week.
"We love the snow," Mr. Dekema said. "This has definitely been a reminder that winter is coming, and it could be a good one."
—Thomas Gryta, Kris Maher, Anupreeta Das, Neil Shah, Shelly Banjo and Jared A. Favole contributed to this article.Write to Anton Troianovski at [email protected] and Jennifer Levitz at [email protected]