Businesses in the Rockaways continue to suffer economically after Hurricane Sandy

Image source: City Limits

City Limits via the Metrofocus blog from WNET 13 wrote about the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy from the perspective of the businesses on the peninsula, and the economic impact on them from the storm. In some groceries, the bread aisle is almost empty, though not for a run on bread – there’s just no one to buy it. “No one lives here, my friend,” says Deirdre Maeve’s Supermarket manager Sam Sirriyeh, who had to throw out $100,000 in flood-damaged food and destroyed refrigerators after the storm. Some business owners – even those that deal in construction – were so damaged and slammed into a hole that tehy are unable to take advantage of the needs in their own front yards.

The detriment to the economy is less visible, than say, the big mountain of debris resting in nearby Jacob Riis Park, but it is there.

And for those stores that are open, they are in the minority. According to Kevin Alexander of the Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation, “65 to 70 percent of the 800 or so businesses that existed on the peninsula before Sandy have yet to reopen.” Some stores are still without power and hot water; some businesses are working to navigate the bureaucracy and red tape associated with applying for disaster aid and dealing with insurance companies. Some business owners worry about taking more debt with disaster loans. In Alexander’s words, “There is a lot of pessimism.”

On the other hand, some folks are looking ahead to the future and imagining ways to improve life in the Rockaways for the long term. Some would like to see the current temporary ferry service to become permanent, and find ways to make the Rockaways more self-sufficient (the Solar Sandy Project could help in that respect, as well as storing generators on land that will stay dry). Finding ways to make the Rockaways attractive to beach-goers is another concept worth discussion. In short, how do neighbors find a way to make lemons out of lemonade.

Wanting Customers or Aid, Rockaways Stores Struggle [Metrofocus]
Hungry For Customers or Aid, Rockaways Businesses Struggle [City Limits]