Bloomfield Slowly Gets Back on its Feet

The good news is that this morning's temperatures are in the mid-40s, compared with the mid-30s on Monday, and are expected to climb to 60 degrees by the end of this week. 

The bad news is that many people in Bloomfield are still without heat and electricity.  Though life is slowly getting back to normal for many Bloomfield residents, others continue to suffer the repercussions of the freak pre-Halloween snowstorm that hit New Jersey this weekend. 

NJ Transit is back up and running today but still experiencing problems.  Commuters reported 30- to 45-minute delays going to work this morning and service was suspended again on the Gladstone Branch line. 

Bloomfield schools remained closed on Tuesday, with no word yet on whether they will re-open Wednesday.  The Civic Center has been open as a "warming center" every day since the storm hit, though few residents, if any, took advantage of it. 

For Bloomfield residents without internet access, the public library is open from 10:00 - 8:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday, 11:00 - 5:00 on Thursday and Friday and 9:00 – 6:00 on Saturday. 

"We have internet access – we never lost power,” said administration secretary Christina Lotito on Tuesday.   “Yesterday we didn’t see a lot of people, I think because they were still dealing with the storm.  But today I’m guessing we’ll see an increase in people using the facilities, especially with schools closed.  Plus, it’s warm in here.” 

The Brookdale ShopRite supermarket, closed Monday because of power failure, was open for business again this morning. 

PSE&G issued a statement this morning saying it hopes to restore electricity to 95 percent of its customers by Thursday.

Let us know about closings and re-openings in your area of town, and send any storm-related photos and news to Linda@Patch.com.