The Slow Road to Recovery
HDC’s thoughts and best wishes are with all our fellow New Yorkers who have suffered from this storm and are still without water, power, food or shelter even now. As power has been largely restored in Manhattan, we recommend calling local institutions or checking their website to see if there is an organized need for volunteers. The South Street area has been particularly hard hit and our friends at the New Amsterdam Market are organizing a volunteer day tomorrow to clean up. See here for some details: http://www.newamsterdammarket.org/
Outside Manhattan, there is a profound need for volunteers and relief services. Here is a good list to start from for volunteer opportunities: http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2012/oct/30/how-help-hurricane-sandy/. Many institutions are also accepting online donations to help with recovery efforts – we encourage you to check in with your local or favorite institutions to see how you can help. Finally, your local council members and community boards often have up-to-date information about how to help – and most of them have regularly updated websites.
On the historic building front, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has issued the following statement: “ If you are a property owner or manager and need to make emergency repairs, stabilize the condition first and follow up with us when possible for a permit. If your repair involves the removal or repair of an architectural feature, please photograph it, if possible, and store it safely. LPC’s 10/30 hearings were postponed and will be rescheduled.” Check their website for updates (http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/home/home.shtml), the agency should be up and running on Monday.
The pictures we’ve seen and the stories we’ve heard have been terrible – and the response from people has been inspiring. Our thoughts are with all the communities suffering at this time. In response to some questions we’ve received, we will be posting about the damage and recovery in specific neighborhoods as we find out more but I am pleased to report that initial reports from the bungalow colony in Far Rockaway have sounded very hopeful and promising.