One year ago today we were evacuating, taping windows, securing garbage cans and thinking that it was a waste of time since it was all for naught during Hurricane Irene. One year ago tonight, we realized that we underestimated Superstorm Sandy.

Some of us were safely inland where we watched it play out on TV. Those who lived in low rise homes near water and chose not to evacuate will forever be haunted by the decisions to stay. Some of them didn’t make it out alive. People heard the wind that night and ran down to their basements for safety, only to drown. The lucky ones swam away from their burning houses. They lost their homes but they got away with their lives.

New York and the surrounding areas were left with power outages and gas shortages. The water receded but the work was just beginning. Droves of volunteers showed up to help but as time passed and winter set in, most volunteers forgot about Rockaway and Staten Island.

A year later, if you live inland, you may not realize that some of these places, although cleaned up, still have scars from that night. Some shops have yet to reopen and there are people that remain homeless.

Ellis Island just reopened their doors in time for the one year anniversary of the storm. The McDonalds in Rockaway finally opened after a year of plywood windows stating “Nothing left to take”. Beaches were ready enough for the summer visitors although work continues.  It’s business as usual in Gowanus and Red Hook but the next heavy rainstorm can bring flooding to those areas as they did even before Sandy.

We’ve come a long way but still have a way to go.  The glass is half full now. Quiet those thoughts that it can happen again and move forward! 100 year storm. 100 year storm. Just keep meditating on that.

How Far We’ve Come. HufPo

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Forget Angry Birds. Here’s your opportunity to waste time playing interactive games online while doing some good for society. Repair the Rockaways allows you to purchase virtual bricks for building virtual houses. The donations are real and go to Respond and Rebuild, a volunteer group helping with supplies, education and labor.

Via Mother New York.

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Did you ever wonder what beach water might do to paint? Well, here it is. These cans were in the basement, slightly opened, during Hurricane Sandy. Throw in some freezing and thawing over winter and this is what you get. It’s art. I meant to do that!

Also learned yesterday that 12 year old paint crackle glaze doesn’t work. Luckily, I learned it on a test board, which is sooo not my style.

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Shore Soup has been feeding hurricane Sandy victims in Rockaway since the perfect storm hit the area. Now they want to take it a step further and open up a pay-what-you-can restaurant. It will be mobile until they can get enough funds for brick and mortar. Good idea? Check out the video.

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Listen to some great Indie rock tunes while helping Queens Sandy survivors. Bands from Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Broad Channel and Rockaway Beach put together a compilation album to benefit those who are still struggling in the hard hit areas. Check it out and/or purchase on CD Baby.

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Call for submissions from artists, designers and architects to put Rockaway back together again. MOMA PS1 started work on the temporary Rockaway dome that will house proposal exhibitions. Dome is set to open to the public in April. Progress, peeps!

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Please check out the IndieGogo campaign raising funds for Sandy victims through Children’s Movement for Creative Education. The one year projects helps the youngins of Far Rockaway, Gerritsen Beach, Coney Island and Red Hook heal through artistic expression.

What do to:

1. Watch video.
2. Give money.

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There’s a big Sandy relief walk going down this weekend all around the boroughs and on Long Island and New Jersey. “Walk a Mile in Our Shoes“. Join in! So much info that it was easiest to just copy the press release. Please click on neighborhood links for walk info.

From the press release:

ROCKAWAY BEACH, New York (January 09, 2013) – Coastal communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy will gather this Saturday, 12 January 2013, in a day of action to call upon elected officials and government agency leaders to “walk a mile in our shoes.” The goal of these community walks is to show solidarity and urge immediate passage of a comprehensive Hurricane Sandy relief package by Congress. Once any relief package is passed, Sandy-affected communities call for swift and effective follow-through by Federal, state and local government agencies to deliver desperately needed funds into hard-hit neighborhoods.

“It is a crime that Congress will have failed to act until 78 days after Superstorm Sandy in providing the desperately needed funding to jumpstart this recovery,” says Michael Sciaraffo, co-founder of the “Walk a Mile” community events and founder of The Sandy Claus Foundation. “People are suffering and lives are at stake. Funding for Katrina victims was passed within 10 days after the storm. Why are we any different?”

After Hurricane Sandy slammed into the east coast in October 2012, millions of affected Americans expected swift federal government action would be taken. Yet the 112th Congress came and went without passing a comprehensive relief package.

Originally Governors Cuomo, Christie and Malloy had asked for a combined $83 billion in aid, but only $60 billion was ever proposed as a relief package by Congress. The new 113th Congress passed an initial $9 billion to replenish the FEMA Flood Relief Insurance fund, but then adjourned without further action. Now, the House is reportedly poised to hold a vote for Sandy disaster relief on 15 January 2013 — 78 days after the initial disaster. And the Senate will only get the bill a week later. Meanwhile, the prospects for disaster relief passage is not certain; hurdles and challenges remain. Even if Congress passes the anticipated package of $51 billion in aid, it is far short of the original governors’ combined request, and it could take months, or a year or more to deliver funding on a local level.

Sandy-impacted communities are concerned they are being forgotten. Neighborhoods, towns, and whole counties along the New York and New Jersey coast still bear the scars of shattered homes and shuttered businesses. While much of the disaster’s impact is immediately obvious — with swaths of communities washed away or burned to the ground — other aspects of the disaster are not readily apparent. Gutted and mold-ridden homes conceal their damage on the inside. Emptied savings accounts, bankruptcies and unemployment cannot be seen from a casual street view.

“It is like these neighborhoods are suffering from a kidney punch. There’s a terrible amount of internal hemorrhaging. A relief bill would be life-saving to these communities,” says “Walk a Mile” co-founder Peter Corless. “Much needed Community Development Block Grants could stabilize local economies and save jobs and households. Shorelines are dangerously compromised in the face of future storms. Billions in promised aid could directly lead to smart rebuilding, sand replenishment and flood mitigation projects.”

In the long run, once the day of action passes, “Walk a Mile in Our Shoes” will lead to a program of “Walk a Mile Ambassadors” from each of the Sandy-affected areas. These volunteers have offered to guide future visits by leaders from government, volunteer agencies or businesses who wish to see for themselves the damage that Sandy wrought, and to understand how best to direct aid where it is needed most. Volunteer recruitment will occur at each community walk.

To learn more about the “Walk a Mile in Our Shoes” Sandy Recovery Community Events, see: https://www.facebook.com/SandyWalkAMile. Links for additional information for community-specific events is provided below.

Currently events are planned for eight communities throughout New York and New Jersey. All except Coney Island will be held Saturday 12 January 2013, starting at 9 am. The Coney Island event will be held on Sunday 13 January at 1:30 pm. Event organizers are interested in hearing from other Sandy-affected communities to coordinate similar efforts in the future.

NEW YORK CITY

• Rockaway Beach
• Coney Island – on Sunday 1/13 @ 1:30 pm
• Gerritsen Beach
• Staten Island

NASSAU COUNTY

• Island Park

NEW JERSEY

• Keansburg/Union Beach
• Seaside
• Brigantine

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As of last weekend, we finally hit the reset button on the renovation. The house has heat and electric. The basement is cleaned out. Now, where were we before the storm?

Oh yes, I was down in the basement painting the kitchen cabinets I intended to recycle. Ok, so those were trashed. I ended up finding 2 cabinets to recycle at a PA ReStore and then I caved and bought new unfinished ones at Lowe’s. The good news is that I don’t have to clean maple syrup and mouse shit from the insides of the cabinets. New has it’s charms. So I’m doing the cabinets again. How deja vu.

As mentioned, twas only our basement that flooded, so all of the new sheetrock was fine. I say “was” because since we had licensed competent plumbers over to install a new boiler, we had them run new gas lines throughout the house. That means cutting into some sheetrock. We hate doing sheetrock but we’re not getting the schmuck back who did it in the first place. That didn’t end well. It never does. That’s why we DIY.

So where’s this step forward? Got a clawfoot tub! Yay! It needs some work. “Some” is an understatement. Oh, and I finally bought some bathroom tiles. New slate. No overstock or discounts but like $1.48 per square foot. Not bad. Again, Lowe’s. So much better than Home Depot. The bathroom will be ready to tile once we re-frame and sheetrock that pipe area we demolished.

Funny. Don’t know if I ever mentioned that this house is my project and the hubby wanted nothing to do with it. Now here I am all “we” this and “we” that. Guess I dragged him into it, huh?

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After a slight hurricane setback on the Rockin’ Rockaway Rehab house, things are back on track. As you know, we were without heat and electric for a solid three weeks but it’s all good now.

The basement was gutted and cleaned up immediately. It took LIPA (LI Power Authority) ages to get people back to normal. There were rumors that nobody’s electric would be turned on until each and every home was inspected. Nah, they couldn’t do that. Folks needed to get a licensed electrician to certify the panel or it had to be okayed by LIPA for that individual home to get powered up. I was lucky enough to be around the day LIPA came by to inspect. They okayed me even though, between you and I, I knew that the panel had to be changed, which it was before I turned my power on.

I thought that once I had lights and outlets working I could get back to the renovation, but I wasn’t too happy working there in the cold. I hired the boiler replacement plumbers the same way I hire any contractor….went with the only one who showed up. Kew Forest Plumbing came, supplied an estimate and started work the day after I agreed to the price. Again, luck was on my side that I have a steam system. Hot water boilers are on back order, so there are plenty of folks still waiting for heat. Got me a new water heater too. Too bad we haven’t installed a shower yet.

Have I ever mentioned that we’ve had the gas turned off since August? Every time we turned it on, we discovered a new leak. It was at leak number five and at this point I’m totally freaked out by those old pipes. While the basement is open and while the plumbers are around, I’m having them run all new gas lines. Take that, Sandy. I meant to do it anyway!

After all this time, we finally set up a temporary sink on the first floor! There is a lone toilet sitting in a demoed bathroom on the second floor. We were running down to the basement sink to wash our hands. Or not. A sink in the living area? Only 1 flight from the toilet? How luxurious. And there’s warm water. What a concept. Living the good life!

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As devastating as Sandy was, dare I say that some good has come of it? A better sense of community is the obvious light at the end of the tunnel. Our local economy is going to thrive for awhile, despite it being a drain on the government. Think of all the cleaning supplies, building materials, cars and contractor jobs being sold.

Here’s another glass-is-half-full outcome. Jobs. Apart from the local Home Depots and such needing extra help (I’m just assuming. Don’t quote me on that.) the government is hiring. The US Department of Labor awarded the NYS Department of Labor grant funds to hire workers to assist in the cleanup of Hurricane Sandy. What does this mean for you? Well, you can register here. You must be unemployed prior to or as a direct result of Hurricane Sandy and the job is only temporary. It’s not going to get you rich but it’s probably going to be one of the more fulfilling experiences of your life.

FEMA has some interesting opportunities as well, ranging from Architect to Photographer. Check out the local FEMA jobs here.

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FRANKENSTORM: From Across The East River from John Mattiuzzi on Vimeo.

Dare I say this video beautifully captures the evening the storm hit? John Mattiuzzi shot the footage from his Williamsburg apartment.

Via Gothamist

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With many NYC residents still living in the cold and dark, the damaged businesses are not on our minds as much. But did your realize that we have temporarily lost some solid historic establishments?

The New York Aquarium got flooded in the storm. Everyone is ok, thanks to the staff who stayed on to protect them. The aquarium is closed until further notice while they clean out and get back on track. They are asking for donations to help move things along as the animals do need to get back to normalcy.

 The River Cafe  sustained multiple millions worth of damage. They will remain closed until further notice.

Fairway in Red Hook put out all of their flooded food for people to take and gutted the building. They promise to be back better than ever.

The original Nathans on Surf Avenue will not reopen soon according to their Facebook page. It doesn’t mean they won’t reopen. They just have lots of work to do. The boardwalk Nathans sustained less damage.

There are so many businesses that have been around for years that will struggle to make it back in all of the boroughs. Actually, if The Bronx got hit at all, I haven’t heard anything about it.

Currently closed:

El Greco Diner in Sheepshead Bay

Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club

Cross Bay Diner, Howard Beach

South Street Seaport Museum, NYC

Rockaway Taco and Veggie Island are being used as volunteer staging grounds but they are closed for business.

Apologies to Staten Island and New Jersey for not knowing the areas well enough to report on them.

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NYC Restore helps New Yorkers in the areas most affected by Hurricane Sandy get access to important information and services to help them recover. NYC Restoration Centers provide the following types of assistance:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/misc/html/2012/dasc.html

NYC Rapid Repairs*
Food and Nutrition Assistance
Temporary Housing Information
Health and Medical Benefits
Business Restoration
Counseling Services
Financial Assistance
Personal Records and Information
*NYC Rapid Repairs is a new program to send teams of contractors and City inspectors to neighborhoods affected by Hurricane Sandy to quickly repair damaged homes.
NYC Restoration Centers are open from 8 AM – 8 PM daily

NYC Restoration Centers are located at these addresses:

Coney Island*
Our Lady of Solace
2866 W. 19th St.
Brooklyn, 11224
*Note: the Coney Island location will be closing after 5 pm on Friday.

Red Hook
Coffey Park
85 Richards Street
Brooklyn, 11231

Gravesend
SSA Building
10 Bouck Ct.
Brooklyn, 11223

Fort Tilden
321 Rockaway Point Blvd
Queens, 11697

Far Rockaway
10-01 Beach 20th St.
Queens, 11691

Staten Island
1976 Hylan Boulevard
Staten Island, 10306

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