Feeling forgotten in the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy

Image source: dakine kane on Flickr

There have been a number of reports that the folks in the Rockaways are feeling forgotten – no sign of the Red Cross or FEMA. NY Magazine wrote that Mayor Bloomberg took an unscheduled tour of the area and got an earful by upset residents. Here’s the official video from that visit, from the Mayor’s office.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR52cfaUraM]

Along with the cold that exists now, there is worry about the coming Nor’Easter mid-week, which is expected to bring more cold air and precipitation, which is just what the people in the Rockaways do not need.

The NY Times made a video and published it this past weekend about the situation in the Rockaways, with a volunteer reporting that the Red Cross hasn’t been there. It’s pretty dire – dead animals are floating in the water, according to one resident. Many residents have said they’ve never seen it this bad.

On top of everything, there’s looting happening, and residents would like to see more emergency lighting to help dissuade that. They find that it’s a very hard thing to deal with the destruction of ones home, and then be stolen from on top of it.

CBS New York reports that FEMA will be in the Rockaways, “Administrator Craig Fugate will visit the communities of Rockaway, Broad Channel and Breezy Point to survey some of the most devastated parts of the state.” According to a report by the NYDN on Sunday, the National Guard has also been there and has helped, and in Belle Harbor, the Navy pitched in. Progress is making its way there, slowly but surely.

Mayor Greeted By Upset Residents In Rockaway Beach [NY1]
Lights Out in the Rockaways [NY Times]
Bloomberg Tours Far Rockaway, Hears From Angry Citizens [New York Magazine]
Cuomo: Tens Of Thousands Of New Yorkers Left Homeless By Sandy [CBS New York]
Raw in the Rockaways: Hurricane Sandy victims huddle in cold with no lights, little food [NYDN]