Flyers Volunteer After Hurricane Sandy

Stephanie P

Many, many Flyers were out helping our community this past weekend after Hurricane Sandy devastated so many of our local neighborhoods. The question, “How can we help?” was answered in many different ways.  

THE ROCKAWAYS

On Saturday, Sondra M, Matt M, Alan G, Stephanie P and Louie R drove out to the Rockaways to help a friends’ family clean out their storm ravaged home.  Their basement was filled with water, sand and muck to the ceiling before it was drained.  Using a bucket brigade, the balance of the sand was removed from the basement and carted out to the curb and the beach.  The carpeting and its padding was pulled up and, dripping wet, discarded before the washer, dryer and refrigerator were navigated up the stairs and out to the curb.   

In addition to cleaning out the ravaged basement, family and friends shoveled the mountain of sand off the pathway in front of the homes, filling buckets and wheel barrows and carting it to the beach area.  Occasionally, we would find personal photographs and other items, including ages old baseball cards that had been swept out of the homes on the block.  Matt M found someone’s wallet, intact with money in it and got it to someone to return it.  One neighbor with a beachfront home got help clearing a path through what was about four feet of sand to his storage shed so that he could clean it out and make room to store salvageable furniture and items from his otherwise demolished home.  Chainsaws were in action cutting through wood to break down what were once fences and porches so that they could be carted off.

This home was one of the lucky ones, as it was across a walkway and behind the beach front homes and will not need to be demolished.  The beach front homes were largely demolished by Sandy and will have to be rebuilt from the basements up.  Here are just a few examples to help describe the degree of damage: one beach front home’s living room was ravaged and contained a significant section of what had been the boardwalk;  the concrete walls that were installed as barriers to the tidal waters had been tossed around like they were made of plywood.  Another home’s foundation had collapsed leaving it tilted into the ground at an absurd angle.  And in an ironic pose was a surfboard that was leaning up against the front door of a condemned home that had succumbed to Sandy’s fury.

A block away, on Beach 130^th Street, we learned that numerous homes had caught fire and been burned to the ground.  One of those homes was the subject of an article in the Daily News on November 5^th, in which the owner, a firefighter, and his son, donning scuba wetsuits as flood waters rose to precarious levels.  The man strapped his 80 year old mother to a surfboard and floated her to safety at a home that was somewhat less impacted than theirs. 

Louie R Wheel-Barrowing Sand
In Staten Island

Sondra M Readying Items
For Trash Removal in the Rockaways

FLYERS SERVE STATEN ISLAND

Our own El Jefe, President Siggy T and Alan G organized volunteering on Staten Island on Sunday.  Flyers Leslie L,  Meg B, Elle G, Stephanie P, Debbie P,  Louie R, Kevin M, Howard C,  Janna G, Nick J, Sungwon H and others (I am sure I am forgetting many names, my apologies) made their way in several cars to Staten Island to hand out relief supplies and help with the cleanup.   Everyone met at the FEMA staging site on Father Capodano Blvd. just a short distance from the Verrazano Bridge/NYC Marathon starting line and added some FEMA supplied items to the donations they’d brought with them. 

This area got hit hard by the storm as the neighborhoods that parallel the Midland Beach, New Dorp Beach and others are downhill from the beach area.  The storm surge sent waters flying down the streets and into people’s homes, flooding basements and ruining much of their belongings.  Trees were uprooted, power lines were down, cars and homes were damaged, if not totaled.  The homeowners were and continue to be, as this is written, without power and heat.

Before heading out, several of us loaded relief supplies onto a NYC bus that was going out into the community to bring aid items to the residents.   When we took to the streets, Nick J and Howard C drove around the Midland beach area with batteries, garbage bags, wipes, drinks and emergency meal packs.  They crisscrossed the neighborhood looking for houses that had people in them.  The individuals who were attending to their homes were working really hard to clean up their places.  Sadly, they seemed to be throwing out just about everything.  It was encouraging to see how determined they were to clean up, fix up and rebuild as quickly as possible.   D batteries and garbage bags were very popular requests.  There was a police officer who was directing traffic who saw that we had batteries and was so pleased when we gave him a couple of D batteries for his equipment.  Others were shocked that we had "D" batteries to give out, as one guy said, "Wow!  These things are like GOLD around here...". 

With the nights longer now and the power still out in many areas, there is a high demand for battery power for lanterns and flashlights. The variety of materials was well received because so much was needed and people were VERY appreciative of the items, like Gatorade, paper towels, toilet paper, granola bars and blankets. There was also the couple who thought the emergency meal pack food (provide by FEMA) was very delicious and were so pleased when they asked for a couple of more and we happily obliged. There also were a fair number of people who declined the things we were offering, stating we should give it to others, who were more in need. It was very encouraging to see neighbors looking out for each other.  

Howard C with Other Volunteers on SI

Trunk Full O' Supplies

Donated Clothes (Including Winter Race Shirts!)

Alan G, Stephanie P, Debbie P, Louie R and Leslie L volunteered at the FEMA site in Staten Island and assisted a family with the removal of some large furniture from the damaged lower level of their home.   Louie R used his engineering expertise to help in carefully removing a sliding door so the furniture could be carted out of the house and to the curb.  However, people reported needing more physical labor rather than the supplies we had overflowing in Alan G’s Flyermobile.  Louie R noted that he had heard that parts of Canarsie had been hit pretty hard, but were being overlooked in the relief effort.  So, they then proceeded to drive to Canarsie, in Brooklyn, where it turned out the waters had overflowed from a nature preserve and flooded homes in the vicinity.  This group supplemented an American Red Cross vehicle by distributing meals, clothing and other supplies to those without power, and whose homes were severely damaged by flooding.

Louie R, Alan G and Leslie L with Grateful Recipients

OTHER FLYERS GROUPS TAKE ACTION

Other Flyers showed the Flyer spirit, too.  A group, including Jon B, Deb M, Anne H, Lindsay M and Jocelyn T,  joined Dr. Jordan Metzl and thousands of others to run through the area with backpacks full of supplies to hand out in Staten Island.  Paul and Cassie N did the same with another group, covering 18 miles in the process of running with supplies to the Beach Channel area of Queens.  Nick J, Betsy P, Sungwon H, Amy S and others either volunteered at or brought supplies to distribution centers throughout the city   And, on Sunday, Claudia O was with Sondra M and Matt M on Long Island helping two families clean out their water-damaged homes, while also providing needed supplies and moral support. 

A common thread that appeared in the communities the Flyers visited was the resilience of the local folks.  Though surrounded by utter devastation, people were working hard to get their homes back in order.  Neighbors were out helping neighbors.  Families and friends traveled some distance to help their family members and friends who were stricken hard by the storm.  And the locals showed a stiff upper lip and even a dose of humor; and their heartfelt gratitude.  Yet, it is clear that more help is needed as the days have now become shorter and the weather colder.  Hopefully, power and heat will be restored in short order to the neighborhoods where it is still off, but people still need help.  So, let’s count our lucky stars and do our part to keep it coming as best we can!

-Stephanie P

Blogmaster's Note: And the disaster relief efforts continue.  Several Flyers donated goods and volunteered their time on Tuesday in SI (Adam M, Dana M, and Stephanie T -- along with Stephanie's Mom and Mom's students! -- with other volunteers) and me on Lower East Side.  Last weekend, Glen W went out to Long Island to help his Mom, whose home was damaged.  This weekend, a group of Flyers is heading out to SI on Sunday as part of a group organized by JackRabbit Sports, and Stephanie T and Sungwon H are heading out to provide disaster relief assistance tomorrow (11/10).  And many (or quite possibly all) Flyers, whether or not mentioned here, have been and/or will continue to be involved in the relief effort by giving of their time and/or money.  Follow Flyers Facebook for more info to get involved or to recruit others (or use Flyer Forums on the Flyers website).

Of course, suffering in NYC sadly pre-dates Hurricane Sandy and will continue after the relief efforts are deemed completed.  And, of course, the NY Flyers and its membership will continue to demonstrate civic responsibility to help improve our world.  Next week, a group of Flyers will help heal Central Park at the next  Central Park Clean-Up Day, a program that Heather M has spearheaded for many years.  Last week, Flyers donated more than 40 pairs of used running shoes at the Pre-Marathon Pasta Dinner to Soles4Souls that will help folks in need.  It's not too late, too, to contribute to the NY Flyers Giveback (just click here) led by Glen W in support of the NYRR Holiday Sneaker Drive As the work goes on.......  -Dave K.