'There is still more work to do to.' Ten New Yorkers share their vivid recollections of where they were when Hurricane Sandy struck the city, how they rode it out and the lessons they learned from the historic storm.
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022.Hurricane Sandy will go down in history as one of Mother Nature's most surprising attacks on waterfront communities in the tristate area. When the storm hit the region in late October 2012, it turned streets into rivers and basements into swimming pools. In New York City, the disaster killed more than 40 people and caused billions of dollars in damages.
Karen Blondel rode out Hurricane Sandy in her apartment in the Red Hook West Houses, and the storm helped her and her neighbors come together to draw attention to their building’s poor condition. “I remember my neighbor was a paraplegic. And I had some guys take him up to the third floor because I was afraid there would be flooding in the building, and that he would be in danger,” Blondel said. “It does a lot to have a social infrastructure and cohesion.”
Ahlemeyer is also the pastor of St. Virgilius in Broad Channel, an island community of roughly 983 houses in Jamaica Bay.“People were just walking around like zombies, cleaning out their houses, watching their whole lives being thrown out into the garbage.”“The most important thing I think, for myself to say to people is, 'listen, God is not punishing us.
“There was a woman right by my left hand, and suddenly she just started crying. And I just looked at her, I said, ‘are you OK?’ And she said ‘no, I’m not.’ And she said, ‘I’m all alone, no one else in my family is still here.’ And someone sitting behind her just stood up, put her arms around her and said, ‘you’re not all alone, we're all in this together, and we’ll get through it together.’ And I just couldn’t believe it.
“People throw the term hero around very loosely … I don't think anyone individually was, per se, a hero. But I mean, there [were] a lot of heroic things done. You know, you can't put the title ‘hero’ on just one person, because many people bonded together,” he said. “And without those people, none of us would have been able to succeed, [and] do what we managed to accomplish.”and received the honor from the White House in April 2013.
Racioppo said he threw out damaged photos of his children, and soon started photographing the heartbreaking losses of his neighbors, including a dollhouse that had been handed down between generations. Seeing it all piled up for garbage trucks to haul away, Racioppo said the mess taught him a valuable lesson about life’s fragility.
Perez said the water never reached her complex, but she and her neighbors vowed to never be sitting ducks again. They came together to create the, which informs Washington Houses residents on how to stay safe in disastrous events. “It’s good to know what to do. But there is still more work to do to fight back against climate change … it’s very important to push our electeds to start thinking about that.”Liz Fox was on the front lines helping Nassau County residents who had no plan in place to flee the wrath of Sandy with their pets in tow. As a volunteer with the nonprofit Pet Safe Coalition, Fox helped set up a temporary disaster pet shelter in a gymnasium near Nassau Community College.
Hodge, a lifelong resident of the community, said he was determined to help in any way he could when the “ocean met the bay” on Long Beach. “Everyone stayed on the outskirts of North Park and North Park is the poorest part of the city of Long Beach …. when they went to other distribution centers set up in Long Beach, I said, ‘why is no one coming?... why are we left out?’”
Wellington Chen, executive director of the nonprofit organizations Chinatown Partnership and Chinatown Business Improvement District, said his office became the central location for Chinese Americans seeking assistance because they knew they would be heard and understood there. “It’s about how many hits can you take – like a boxer? And trying to get back up … but so far, knock on wood, this community is still fighting.”He battled the dangerous 'firestorm' in Breezy Point
Ingram, who has authored a book on his experiences, "Flood, Fire, and a Superstorm," recalled witnessing miraculous moments, including when the department’s fire trucks started despite being under 5 feet of water.
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