New Yorkers Offer Hands-On Help After Sandy

In normal times, one would hardly use the word "community" to describe New York City.  Everyone is coming and going, and outside their own immediate family and neighborhoods, it's hard to perceive a sense of personal connection.

But these days, after Hurricane Sandy, are hardly normal for huge chunks of this place.  New Yorkers, negating the previous paragraph entirely, are coming out of the woodwork to help others all around the City.

We told you last Saturday that our neighborhood had been spared.  There are some downed trees.  But otherwise, we're almost totally unscathed.  We are all very grateful and we say that to each other on the streets.  We're also expressing this gratitude and commensurate distress for others in quite tangible ways.  A synagogue a couple of blocks from here was possibly the first to put out signs about collecting nonperishable food, cleaning supplies and flashlights and batteries to distribute in damaged areas.  When my roommate and I delivered a load to them, we found that the people accepting the items and stacking them neatly by category weren't even members of that congregation, but just volunteers in off the street.  Churches, including my own, local real estate offices and some stores are also collecting; some have put boxes right out on the sidewalk.

Two examples speak strongly to us.  A nearby area of Brooklyn called "Red Hook" is right down by the harbor; indeed, the new ship Queen Mary 2 docks near there when it comes to New York.  But the area was badly flooded in the storm surge.  Houses there are generally small and residents are real "working class" folks.  Damage is devastating.  But the outreach to them is extraordinary.  The youth group at St. Bart's Church in Manhattan is filling bags of toiletries for the residents of an assisted living facility there.  St. Bart's is in Manhattan, which is in the Diocese of New York, but Red Hook is in Brooklyn, which is in the Diocese of Long Island.  No matter those boundaries; the kids of the big Manhattan parish are reaching out to those people in need here in Brooklyn.[1]  Another group helping in Red Hook are some of the Occupy movement demonstrators.  Let me say that again: another group helping in Red Hook are some of the Occupy movement demonstrators.  Our local Brooklyn Press newspaper explains that their informal network got going on this fast, before even the Red Cross arrived.[2]  And they're doing whatever kinds of work will be useful at this time.

We ourselves put up my roommate's sister one night from her New Jersey suburb; that area is not near the water, but she'd been without power over a week and wanted a warm bed and hot, home-cooked meal.  Fortunately, her electricity came back the next day.  Numerous other "refugees" from waterfront communities are staying in this building and elsewhere in our complex.  Some of the oldest, most beloved neighborhoods near the sea have been destroyed and lots of people have lost everything.  "Homelessness" takes on a new meaning, compared to what we usually think of here in this city.

We also hadn't thought particularly about businesses in a hurricane.  Small stores, yes, but major institutions are also badly hurt.  Some office buildings in the Wall Street area are still closed since they are still without power.  These include the headquarters of AIG, the American International Group, a beautiful 70-story Art Deco structure.  Also 120 Wall Street, which houses the headquarters for numerous non-profit organizations.  Hopefully these will be back up soon.  In Brooklyn, we mention three well-known names badly flooded, torn apart inside and also without power: Nathan's Famous hot dogs on Coney Island, famous for the annual hot dog eating contest.  The posh River Café, down on a pier in the East River under the Brooklyn Bridge; their website says they have no idea when they'll reopen.  And in the Red Hook area, the Fairway Market, right on the harbor in a Civil War-era warehouse.  So well known, it's a "destination" for shoppers from all over the City, and a major commercial anchor for all the small businesses in the neighborhood.  They are still throwing away ruined food and bent up shelves, and they expect to be down for three months.

Finally, our Geranium Farm colleague Debbie Loeb, over at "Hodgepodge" writes there today about her experience in her New Jersey town.  She has more trees down and her power has gone off and on and off again.  Typical.  See her blurb: http://geraniumfarmhodgepodge.blogspot.com.

Whew!  A hurricane hit New York City full blast.  As we said last week, we repeat shamelessly now.  Donate something yourself.  Episcopal Relief and Development, www.er-d.org, the Diocese of Long Island, www.dioceseli.org, and the Red Cross, www.redcross.org.   Millions of us will thank you!

[1]The Priest-in-Charge at St. Bart's is Buddy Stallings, known to us on the Geranium Farm.  See his offerings under "A Few Good Writers" http://www.geraniumfarm.org/writers.cfm .  Buddy went to St. Bart's from a church on Staten Island, an area also really awfully harmed in the hurricane.  He mentioned to us that he was able to send some "chunks of money" donations there.  The parish is also running a special soup kitchen ministry for those who need it.

[2] http://www.brooklynpaper.com/sections/carroll_gardens .  Accessed November 10, 2012.