How Eddie Astorino’s quick thinking kept NYC moving after Hurricane Sandy

Back in October 2012, Eddie Astorino, a Senior Project Manager at prosource.it, was managing IT projects for a national transport company in Manhattan, overseeing new bus terminals and relocations. But everything changed when Hurricane Sandy - the most intense and damaging storm to hit the East Coast - made landfall.

Winds of up to 95 mph and a storm surge caused severe flooding, particularly in lower Manhattan. Subways and tunnels were submerged, power and internet outages impacted more than 8.5 million homes and businesses. The stock exchange closed, transport systems shut down, and Broadway went dark.

Stepping up in a crisis

The prosource.it account team immediately reached out to the client to assess the situation and offer support to keep operations running.

With the transport company's internet down, essential systems at the New York Port Authority Terminal - one of North America's busiest - were completely offline at a time when they were needed most. With much of lower Manhattan under water and no vehicles allowed in or out, transport options were limited. Many train services weren’t running so buses were the only way out of the city. The company needed to get back up and running - and fast.

Fortunately, Eddie - a seasoned project manager deeply familiar with the client - was already in New York and ready to take action. With the train line from his home shut down, Eddie jumped into his car, parked as close as he could, and walked the remaining distance to the depot to get straight to work. Initially exploring cellular cards as a temporary solution, he quickly realised they wouldn’t be reliable.

That’s when Eddie spotted a lifeline. A small business next door still had internet via one of the only ISPs still operating after the hurricane. When Eddie explained the situation, the business was eager to help. Together, they devised a quick fix: Eddie drilled a hole through the wall between the businesses and ran a long ethernet cable to connect to their router. 

Thanks to Eddie’s quick and outside-the-box thinking and the kindness of the local business, in just two hours the bus company was back online, allowing them to coordinate transport and help people get out of the city.

Going the extra mile

The company’s ISP restored their internet service a few weeks later, and Eddie seamlessly managed the transition back. His resourcefulness and quick thinking ensured critical transport operations could continue at a time of crisis.

Since then, Eddie has continued to deliver for prosource.it clients working on network refresh projects, large-scale Wi-Fi upgrades, and a transformation project that migrated thousands of advertising industry employees onto common technology platforms.

Resilience in the face of disaster

Hurricane Sandy left a devastating impact: 48 lives lost in New York, $18 billion in economic damages, and over 650,000 homes destroyed or severely damaged. But it also showcased the resilience and determination of those who stepped up to help. 

Eddie’s story is just one example of how prosource.it goes the extra mile - finding solutions, overcoming challenges, and ensuring business continuity even in the toughest conditions.