On Halloween I headed to my old neighborhoods to help. Getting there was a challenge due to the closed and delayed airports. I flew to Philly and drove the rest of the way. Initially I stayed in NJ at a hotel running on a generator. After the 3rd day I was able to get my companions and I into a very nice hotel in NY at Times Square. My old neighborhoods experienced 9 foot 1 inch and 8 foot 4 inch OVER RECORD high water respectively. Broad Channel will never be the same and was just about wiped out completely. This small island between Rockaway and Howard Beach and surrounded by Gateway National Park is just 1 mile long and 740 yards wide yet it contains around 3000 houses. The water was about 2" onto the second story floor. NYPD and FDNY were distinctly absent on day 1-5 after the storm. A few NYC Sanitation Police were assigned to direct traffic and basically keep spectators out. Nearly all of the islands residents' cars washed away so they have no way to get off the island. Throughout the area, even those with cars cannot get gasoline. The Feds, particularly those 3 letter law enforcement agencies did send Emergency Response Teams for a variety of duties and they picked up the slack where the city and state dropped the ball. FEMA showed up on day 4 and started their processes but they werent up to full assessments and claims submissions until a few days ago. Sadly, homeowners insurance from most companies DOES NOT cover acts of nature. The only flood insurance for homes at or below sea level is through a FEMA Flood Insurance program but this covers structure and not real or tangible property or vehicles or incidentals. In the coastal areas of Long Island and NJ these peoples lives are changed forever. Looting became a big problem that was not publicized by the media. On one street, 4 residents out of 30 stayed the nights without heat, power or water to protect the remaining property. On a neighboring street, many houses were raided in the darkness and 10 people were shot trying to protect themselves (guns are essentially illegal in NYC). The cowards crossed the bridge from Far Rockaway into BC on foot. Eventually the Coast Guard and the Bridge and Tunnel Police set up a solid barricade of cars and officers to keep the Rockaway criminals on their own side of the water.
Long Island has more lenient gun laws and they took a different approach.
Here's the water damage inside one home. Walls torn away, flooring gone...
Water was into the second story or attic on these homes:
These cars were completely submerged and this boat floated into this house after travelling over 400 yards from the water
Fed's helped get water, fuel for heat and dry clothes for these children:
The island of Broad Channel does not get FDNY because of a long history with NYC. Essentially, the City sold the deeds to stilts on which to build houses for $1. It was only within the last 20 years that the island got NYC sewer and garbage pickup. My Grandfather was the councilman that negotiated this and the NYC park on the island is named in his memory as well as the main street through the town; George Riekers Veterans Memorial Park and Blvd. The fire trucks burned when the water shorted electrical systems and the ambulances went under water! I was able to network and get a fire truck donated. The City of Chanhassen, Minnesota gave one up and a freight company donated the transportation.
Photobucket is not cooperating so this will be continued ...
OK - got it going again:
Here's Federal Special Agents looking for those in need of assistance. They didnt have to look far:
This is the street I used to live on. Houseboats on on front lawns and in the street and waterfront houses fell in the bay because the bulkheads were compromised and the sand washed away underneath them. Included is a pic of my old house -what's left of it...
I'm done fighting with photobucket. This has taken over 2.5 hours to edit and get posted.
My song "The Christmas Way" is on a top 10 female country artists Christmas albumn and will be performed at Christmas as the Opry by a different male artist. All the proceeds from this song are going to purchase Christmas gifts and essentials for children that were victims of the storm. You can also contribute by downloading or purchasing my produced version of the song called "The Best Gift of All" on Amazon MP3, IHeart, or wherever you can purchase music on-line.
