(MCT) — NEW YORK — A 77-year-old grandfather who slipped on wet stairs inside his beachfront housing complex became the 43rd New York City resident to die as a result of Superstorm Sandy, whose effects continued to be felt across the region Monday as basic services and public transportation crept toward normalcy.

More than 1,800 city residents remained in shelters, unable to return to homes damaged by the storm or still without heat and electricity. But for the first time since Sandy made landfall Oct. 29, the number of households without power in affected states dropped below 100,000. As of Monday morning, the Department of Energy said 88,882 customers in New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia remained in the dark. New York was the worst affected, with 79,744 outages reported.