Quote:
About 200 homes will be bulldozed in the coming weeks and months, almost all of them one- and two-family houses on Staten Island, in Queens and Brooklyn. That is in addition to 200 houses that are already partially or completely burned down, washed away or otherwise damaged; those sites will also be cleared. The Buildings Department is still inspecting nearly 500 other damaged structures, some of which could also be razed, according to the commissioner, Robert L. LiMandri.
Mr. LiMandri, in an interview late last week, said neither he nor his staff could recall the city ever undertaking this kind of broad reshaping of its neighborhoods.
“We’ve never had this scale before,” Mr. LiMandri said. “This is what New Yorkers have read about in many other places and have never seen, so it is definitely unprecedented. And by the same token, when you walk around in these communities, people are scared and worried, and we’re trying to make every effort to be up front and share with them what they need to do.”
Quote:
Russian humanitarian aid has arrived in New York, which has recently suffered from the destructive super-storm Sandy.40 tons of blankets, foodstuffs, medicaments and relief goods have been flown in by two aircraft.
The cargo is due to be distributed among residents of New York and New Jersey who have suffered from the elements.
The damage that Sandy inflicted on the northeastern coast of the United States has run into 50 billion dollars.
More than 100 people died in the storm.
Back in 2005, Russia already sent relief aid to the US in the wake of hurricane Katrina.
