With power on along the west side of Broad Street, Starbucks was packed with laptoppers at noon Thursday. Below, an unidentified man tapped into the grid courtesy of a vacant storefront. (Click to enlarge)
They’re hungry for power.
With tens of thousands of homes still without electricity on the Red Bank area, data-starved residents are swarming facilities with electricity, wifi and, ideally, coffee Thursday.
Starbucks in Red Bank was packed at noon, nearly 24 hours after power was restored to parts of the downtown.
Other businesses are encouraging the public to stop by and charge up.
The Two River Theater has opened its lobby for that purpose, and is offering free coffee, said spokeswoman Cassie Galasetti.
“We do ask that you are mindful of others,” she aid in a statement. “If you have multiple devices, please plug your laptop into one of our plugs and plug your phone into the laptop’s USB port if possible, so that everyone can get as much of a chance to charge up as possible.”
Hobbymaster’s on White Street is also making its outlets available, and encouraging parents to bring kids to play games in the store, said co-owner Alan Placer.
Melissa Laut of the Red Bank First Aid Squad posts on redbankgeen‘s Facebook page that the squad’s Spring Street house is also allowing free rechargings.
We’ll post additional facilities as we get them and get internet access.
