After Sandy, Wi-Fi Becomes Precious Commodity

During an emergency, one of the most precious commodities is information and the ability to communicate it without impediments. When the old reliable phone networks are creaky and central offices are flooded and wireless phone networks are strained to the breaking point with demand for voice calls, one of the most precious things someone might be able to find is an open, free and reliable Wi-Fi connection. With power out south of about 34th Street in Manhattan and throughout much of New Jersey and Long Island, it seems a little ridiculous at first to wonder where the steadiest free and open Wi-Fi hotspots are. But the need is there.