As of 5 p.m. Monday, more than 200 centers were open where displaced residents could go to stay warm during the day. Many multifamily properties – both public housing and privately-owned buildings – that flooded have severe damage to boilers and electrical systems, leaving many still without heat or hot water. Approximately 115,000 customers remain without power, down from 145,000 on Sunday, Bloomberg said.

According to the city, a total of 402 buildings in the New York City Housing Authority system lost power during the storm. NYCHA now has 288 buildings housing 58,000 people who have had their power restored. That leaves 114 buildings housing 21,000 people where electricity is still out.

“There will be a handful with very severe damage and we’ll have to do something about that, but for most of them I think we are optimistic that since we finished the pumping and looked at the infrastructure we may be able to surprise everybody over the next two, three, four days and get everybody, or almost everybody, back, he says. “It’s a big challenge – but I want to assure everyone that every New Yorker who needs a warm place to live and a roof over his or her head is going to have one.”