Police officers survey the damage to a Citibank branch amidst concern of looting in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, on Mermaid Avenue in the Coney Island section of the Brooklyn borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (Credit: AP)
Instances of Looting reached epidemic proportions in New York City after the city was ravaged by Superstorm Sandy then hit again by a nor'easter that plunged the city right back into darkness.
Surprisingly, at least one New York City police officer told The Guardian that looting is "acceptable" in certain situations, like feeding your family. The issue has been discussed in ethics classes for decades, but it is still shocking to hear a police officer openly excusing looting, a crime.
"It's snow, it's cold. People are fending for themselves," NYPD officer Anthony DiCarlo said. "Looting, to me, is acceptable if you're looting for your baby or your family," but looting a 60 inch flat-screen TV is not acceptable.
The situation in New York is still dire. On Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and officials on Long Island have decided to start rationing gasoline.
Gasoline will be available to drivers with license plate numbers ending in an odd number starting Friday morning. Drivers with plate numbers ending in an even number can gas up on Saturday.
Parts of New Jersey implemented the same strategy last week.
Bloomberg said Thursday that only 25 percent of the city's gas stations are open. He estimated the tight gas supplies could last another couple of weeks.
MASTIC, NY - NOVEMBER 05: John Cerone of Shirley, New York fills his gas containers at a Valero gas station in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, on November 5, 2012 in Mastic, New York. With the death toll currently over 100 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Superstorm Sandy. (Credit: Getty Images)
Damage in New York state from Superstorm Sandy could total $33 billion when all is said and done, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday as the state began cleaning up from a nor'easter that dumped snow, brought down power lines and left hundreds of thousands of new customers in darkness.
A damage forecasting firm had previously estimated that Sandy might have caused $30 billion to $50 billion in economic losses from the Carolinas to Maine, including property damage, lost business and extra living expenses. Cuomo's estimate will likely push the bill even higher.
A damage estimate of even $50 billion total would make Sandy the second most expensive storm in U.S. history, right behind Hurricane Katrina. Sandy inundated parts of New York City and New Jersey with a storm surge as high as 14 feet, killed more than 100 people and left more than 8.5 million people without power at its peak.
Sandy left more people in the dark than any previous storm, the Department of Energy has said, and it left drivers desperate for gas when it complicated fuel deliveries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
