5 Unusual Ways Sandy Victims Are Charging Cellphones (See the Photos)

TheBlaze has already brought you some tips for making cellphone power last as long as possible. But as many along the East Coast are still without power after Hurricane Sandy left Monday night, battery conservation efforts are just not enough anymore.

This is where New Yorkers and others without electricity are getting creative. We've pulled together photos from a few novel ways and locations that those affected by the storm have found to juice up their gadgets -- beyond the usual car charging activity.

• Group charging: Some places like Starbucks, drug stores, banks and even at a news truck have been gathering points for those hooking up to multi-plug power strips.

People charge their devices at a free charging station offered by a 7-11 store in an area with power in Manhattan. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

People charge their phones at a mobile charging station. (Photo: Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

• Taking it to the streets: Although you might think outlets are hard to come by, they could actually be lining city streets. In desperation, some have found that lamp posts have a small metal flap that when unscrewed reveals a glorious outlet. Business Insider's Rob Wile saw it happening first hand 47th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Other lamp posts without outlets have reportedly been hot-wired according to the New York Post, to charge devices. The Post reports a former homeless man who used to do this a lot saying he stopped after he received an electrical shock. It reports DOT spokesman Nicholas Mosquera saying tampering with the wires could be dangerous.

A man is seen hooked up to a lamp post outlet. (Photo: Rob Wile/Business Insider)

Here's a look at such an outlet. (Photo: Rob Wile/Business Insider)

• Trunk charger: The Huffington Post's Joe Van Brussel caught a group of New Yorkers crouched around an outlet they found screwed into the trunk of a tree.

Sometimes power sources are found in unlikely locations. (Photo: Joe Van Brussel/Huffington Post)

• Loiter while you still can: Any buildings with a visible outlet outside of it are seeing crowds gathered like campers around a warm fire.

New Yorkers charging outside a FedEx outlet. (Photo: Flickr/edenpictures)

• Digital Good Samaritans: Some neighbors are even opening their homes as charging stations (see a picture here).

A Blaze reader from Hoboken, N.J., sent us this photo of a makeshift charging station outside someone's home.

Until the day comes when your own footsteps can power your cellphone, kudos to those finding interesting ways to keep gadgets running in the mean time.

If you have photos of innovative cellphone charging methods that you'd like to share, then them to lklimas@theblaze.com.