New York kids back in school, but chaos continues

NEW YORK: Children flocked to reopened schools across New York on Monday for the first time since superstorm Sandy, but colder weather brought misery for hundreds of thousands of people still lacking power.

The sight of yellow school buses crisscrossing the Big Apple marked a major step back to normality for a city that suffered unprecedented damage from the hurricane-strength storm, which struck a week ago.

About one million children were back at their desks, with only 101 schools out of 1,700 still shut due to storm damage or because they were being used as emergency shelters. Many of those were to open in new locations on Wednesday.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said attendance was 86 percent, normal for a Monday.

The week's first commute, however, tested the recovering transit system to the maximum, with passengers crammed into buses and trains before walking down Manhattan sidewalks punctuated with growing piles of uncollected garbage.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the buses and subway trains in New York, said the system was up to 80 percent capacity.

Buses in neighboring New Jersey were up to 90 percent, but the major commuter rail link across the Hudson River to Manhattan remained shut.

With public transport still limited, more people than usual relied on cars -- if they could find fuel. Despite improvements in restoring supplies, filling the tank remained a nightmare, with huge lines and rationing in New Jersey.

"I waited eight hours at the station to finally get 30 dollars of gas, which was the limit," cab driver Sherif Roby said in New York. "Many of my friends have been unable to work because they can't find gas."

Following numerous instances of flaring tempers among motorists, Bloomberg announced Monday that every city gas station would have a police officer posted outside.

In addition, state authorities said they were investigating widespread reports of price gouging on fuel, water and other vital items. Sellers advertising on Craigslist offered a gallon for between 10 and 20 dollars, not the approximately four dollars listed in stations.