Loved ones in New York say they can only wait and worry

THE DEATH AND devastation brought about by the earthquake in Mexico has many in the city on edge as they desperately attempt to contact from relatives and loved ones.

Nestor Leon, owner of popular Mexican eatery El Kallejon in East Harlem, said he was almost too worried to work Tuesday night even though he’d gotten word that his immediate family was all right.

“I’m working but I’m so worried, my mother and my brothers are OK for now, I was able to briefly get in contact with them,” said Leon, in the middle of the evening rush. “We don’t have much more information about what is going on. It’s all just very stressful.”

Ivan Mino, 27, a dispatcher at La Mexicana Express car service in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, said he’s been trying in vain to to get a hold of his aunt and two young cousins.

“It’s nerve-wracking right now, you don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “You can’t really work well right now. It’s like, you don’t know what to do.”

Aner Flores, 56, was manning his burrito truck in Harlem Tuesday night, and trying to get in touch with loved ones in between customers.

“We’ve been trying to communicate with our family all day, but we haven’t been able to get through,” he said. “We’re worried. I’ve got my brothers, my sisters, my cousins, I have a very large family down there. The phones are down, even the cells are dead.”