East Begins to Stir After 2 Days of Hunkering Down Wednesday is the new Monday for thousands of workers and schoolchildren as the East Coast begins coming back to life after superstorm Sandy. New York is still largely paralyzed, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg planned to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Residents noticed an uptick in traffic and people waiting at bus stops. The Brooklyn Bridge was closed a day earlier because of high winds. But on Wednesday, joggers and bikers made their way across before sunrise. One cyclist carried a flashlight. Car traffic was brisk but slowed going into Manhattan. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett cited reports that Amtrak and Philadelphia's mass transit system were slowly coming back. In Washington, the Smithsonian Institution's museums and National Zoo are reopening after shutting for two days.