Long Beach, Sandy, A Town I Love, Heartbreak and Hope

Virginia Ave., Long Beach, N.Y.

   The last time this happned here, it was 1938. The archive photos show it was a hell of a storm.

  Seven decades ago and change. Few remember, though some do. That one was reportedly a lot worse.

Wyoming Ave., Long Beach., N.Y., 1938

   I was in New Orleans not long after Katrina. An industry association, I am a member of chose to support the town with a conference, there, along with a Habitat for Humanity project.

   Long Beach could use some of the same help. For most houses flooded to their bedrooms, it's the same story as Katrina.

Ripping up the beautiful hardwood floor to mitigate the water
damage. Note: drywall is removed to the level of the mantelpiece.

The vast majority of residences in this city of 33,000 plus have been flooded out. Weekdays, I'm told, it's a ghost town. It's uninhabitable for the most part, so residents come in on the weekend to work on their homes.

Anything below the high water level — which came up about 5-7 feet — is  compromised or ruined.

Every house has a pile of debris outside.

In that pile is everything they own that has been ruined, from kids' toys to appliances, walls, floors. And no guessing how many ruined cars.

My friend is a waterman, he knew the warning signs, and had the sense to get himself and his family out, as most did.

W. Park Ave.

He got everything out of the basement, but half the houses here are 1 floor only, so pretty much everything gets trashed anyway.

Grand Avenue church and homes, 11/18/12

So many houses on so many streets; they all have their furniture and belongings out by the side of the road. Massive piles of domestic debris are being deposited at Nickerson Beach parking lot.

The water table is still high. As the tide comes up, the sump pumps still pump out water, even three weeks after the storm.

The sewage plant is still out of action. Sewage from many municipalities is pumped directly into the bays.

Leaving at sunset. Some favorite places look desolate. But this town and it's people are resilient, rebounding, and getting back on the horse.

The dunes are washed away, the boards that separated the boardwalk from the beach and the town are blown out.

The force of the water blew out some basement walls. And everyone knows about the lack of power, heat and running water.

There's a long way to go, it's going to take a long time.

The last devastating hurricane was 74 years ago. Irene was last year — some people just got finished repairing from that.  Sandy this year. They are coming close together. It may be a fluke, but I'm not convinced anyone believes that...the weather has been too erratic and extremely variable in the last decade.

But we'll rebuild Steve's house and a lot more. West End Pizza pizzeria is back in business. That's a major step in the right direction.

For now, it's hammers and crowbars, sturdy boots, gloves and whatever supplies and hope you bring in.