Metropolitan Diary: FEMA to the Rescue

Author: William Wang

Dear Diary:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is always criticized for its slow response to emergencies, but I had a different experience.

It happened last November, three weeks after Hurricane Sandy wrecked New York City. I had parked my car on the Lower East Side on a dead-end street. Two days later, I remembered I had to move it somewhere else or risk getting a ticket. It was very dark, windy and cold when I went to look for the car around 8 p.m. But when I found it, the battery was dead. Either my daughter or I had left the dome light on.

Nobody was around and the neighborhood was not very safe. I walked to the entrance of the street, hoping I could stop someone and ask for a jump-start. Usually, $20 can get a taxi driver to do the job; but on this cold and windy evening, I stood there for 20 minutes without any luck.

Suddenly, I saw two ladies turn into the street. Though they didn’t look like drivers, I mustered up my courage and said, “Excuse me!” but no answer. Apparently, they didn’t want to stop for a stranger around here. Then farther away I saw two men walking over.

I ran up and asked, “Did you park your car here?” One of the men looked at me suspiciously. “Yes?”
I asked very excitedly; “Can you please give me a jump?”

Silence…. I quickly added, “I will pay you!”

Luckily the same man asked, “Do you have a cable?”

“Yes! Yes!” I answered quickly. So I fetched my cable and they moved their Jeep over next to my car. It took quite a while to move close enough to connect our batteries. As it turned out, the two ladies and these two gentlemen were together, so they all had to wait patiently in cold wind for my battery to come to life.

When my car started, I was so happy, I took out $20 and said, “Please get some hot coffee for everyone.” To my surprise, the man said, “No, it’s O.K.” I didn’t know what to say, so I just thanked them again.

As we said our goodbyes, the second gentleman, a small man who hadn’t said anything the whole time, quietly turned to me and said, “We are from FEMA. We have a temporary station just two blocks away. Come to see us if you need help.”