Hurricane Sandy: New York's 'massive, massive housing problem'

As many as 40,000 New Yorkers need a new place to stay, and the city doesn't have a lot of housing to spare

National Guard troops deliver food to the Red Hook public housing projects in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Nov. 3. The low-income apartment building remains without power or water
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

The floodwaters have long receded and the lights are flickering back on in many parts of the New York City area struck by Superstorm Sandy, but that doesn't mean everything's rosy. Temperatures are dropping toward freezing levels, about 1.9 million customers in the region are still without power — roughly half in New Jersey — and up to 40,000 New Yorkers need a new place to stay, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday, in a joint appearance with Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.). "This is going to be a massive, massive housing problem," Cuomo added. Here's a look at this looming post-Sandy concern, and what's being done to solve it:

Who are these 40,000 newly homeless people?

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