My mother and I returned to our Hometown yesterday. I braced myself for a visit with my Aunt, who is very sick and currently recuperating in hospital from emergency surgery. Throughout my life she’s been a strong and loving presence and to see her so weak and in pain was heartbreaking. Prognosis is still vague, more tests needed, quality of life questionable.
The face I was not prepared for, the face of total devastation… was the south shore of Staten Island itself. The hospital sits on the outskirts of the destruction. Hurricane Sandy did a real number here, a place that has never known this kind of horrific storm or massive flooding. So many of these are the homes of the blue collar working class of New York. Block after block… hundreds of homes.. destroyed.
The air is heavy with “debri pollution”.. a light smog of destruction dust is everywhere.
People wear surgical masks on the street, there are cops on every corner. NYPD helicopters circle the area and squad cars patrol the streets. While people await insurance inspections, repair work, etc… they sleep outside in their cars because they are not allowed to occupy their homes, too dangerous. Stickers mark the houses that are livable, condemned or restricted use (you can come and go to get your stuff, but you can’t live here).
Black mold has taken over the first and second floors of homes that otherwise look like they might have survived the worst damage. There are people shoveling soot away from their steps, piling trash out in the streets… I don’t know how many are getting help and I don’t know when or who will pick up all that trash. On a Monday afternoon, all I saw were cops standing guard and residents scraping at the remains, tossing things to the curb.
Oh I hope the word on the street is wrong too Karen. This is just heartbreaking. I'm so sorry.
Oh my what a eye opening post k . Wow since the media has let up we don't think about it as much ! Wow ! I hope your aunt some how gets better ! Have a wonderful day
Still… after all these weeks, it saddens me. FEMA needs ____, fill in the blank. Is it money they need or re-organization? Katrina showed the nation the real FEMA and now again with Sandy. So sad for those who are going through this nightmare, can you imagine living in your car… it's so cold now. And to lose what has been home is just not right. It's like we are a third world country, living like this. I pray for your Aunt and for the people who have lost so much.
I am without words…… devastating to say the least. I hope you are wrong about the 'word on the street!!' But sad to say, I'm sure that is the way things will go!! How sad. Thanks for your enlightening photos of this tragedy.
wow, that is so tough. i'm tearing up. the news folks truly gives these folks no justice. are they talking about anything important. i wonder why we don't hear what is really going on. wow… god bless these folks. strong folks indeed. i pray the clean up with go smoothly. prayers. i guess that is what i can do. breaks my heart to pieces. makes me feel hopeless. big big hugs.
hey, i have a Christmas giveaway going on at my blog … please be sure to stop by. have a great week. ( :
Complete sadness must consume so many of these people, and where are the children? Are they going to school or do they even have a way to get there?
Vultures always abound when there is opportunity. So sad.
I hope your Aunt gets better soon. Those photos of Staten Is. just horrible. No words.
Thanks for sharing photos today. It is so sad to see. You know being many miles away we thing all is right by now. No way will it be right, if ever for a long long time.
Prayers for all . . . .
So very, very sad. Those of us that can't see it in person, we can't know what it feels like to stand in front of it. That last photo is so apropos.
Brenda
This is so sad. I can't imagine the heartbreak and the desperation these people must feel.
Oh I hope the word on the street is wrong, too…just awful. Your photographs are so moving…their discouragement is so evident…
Oh that's just terrible. I wish there was more help available.
The destruction is amazing. I'm sorry about your aunt. I wonder if those areas should be reconstructed … with climate chang, I think we can only expect more storms like Sandy. : (
just like in new orleans, where the wealthy wanted to drive out the poor for bigger, 'better' developments…
The wheels of help grind so slowly. I JUST don't understand it. Feel so helpless.
Thoughts and prayers for your Aunt.
The photos are heartbreaking, but that last one with the person standing there alone, shouts.
Firstly, Karen, I'm sorry to hear about your Aunt. "Sorry" always seems like a trite word, anyway, but the fact of the matter is…no matter what age, if they have had a good life, that is YOUR Aunt, that is your mom's sister, she is family..and her life has had such meaning! So hard to look suffering in the face..but I'm glad you can stand alongside her.
Secondly, this post was so well put together and is SO important in sharing with others. It's hard to believe in the matter of one day to the next that tragedy can reign down on miles after miles like this, and neighbour can't even pitch into help neighbour because they are knee deep in their own mess. So hard to understand. Someone wrote into the editor to our local paper about the devastation that is so far reaching outside of the US as well, and I felt so ignorant because I didn't even have a clue. Today I am so blessed–inside a warm home. Praying for you Auntie and the people of Staten Island.
Thanks for sharing.
Just so so sad… the pictures are heartbreaking…
I sure hope your Aunt will be okay, xo.
O gosh Karen, I hadn't thought about people being displaced and real estate sold for more expensive housing. I HATE that!
Karen – how heartbreaking. There's no way to comprehend what people are going through. I wish the best for those who have lost anything and everything.
I hope your Aunt will be okay.
Karen- It makes me almost sick to my stomach to hear this and see these picture. It is just crazy and I can't imagine what the people that are living this nightmare is going through- xo Diana
I am so sorry about your aunt, I will remember her in my prayers tonight.
Thanks for bringing these pictures to our attention… they have disappeared from the news, but the devastation of lives there lives on.
I am so sorry about your aunt, I will remember her in my prayers tonight.
Thanks for bringing these pictures to our attention… they have disappeared from the news, but the devastation of lives there lives on.
How incredibly sad! You got some wonderful photos of this tradgedy though. It is good to document it… I do hope that the property the hands of the previous owners but I won't be surprised if the vultures come in for the kill…
I do hope your aunt is better soon!
No words Karen. The destruction is horrendous. My prayers go out to your aunt.
I always get a sick lump in my stomach when the opportunistic vultures descend and help wipe out a whole cultural way of living. Staten Island needs a miracle, a good miracle. I hope the original residents can rebuild and continue to claim that island and their way of life.
Donna
So sad. So very sad, Karen.
It is just beyond our imaginations no matter how many photos we see. My home town neighborhood was destroyed by a tornado a few years ago and it was shocking to go back. The houses were piles of debris but the most eerie thing was the trees…either stripped or completely gone. I still can't think about it without shedding tears. I'm glad you got a chance to go back but I'm sorry these images will be burned into your memory. Sweet hugs.