Today marks three months since Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the shores of New York and New Jersey on October 29, 2012.  

Sandy would become the largest Atlantic Hurricane on record, with winds spanning across 1,100 miles, and costing over $60 billion in damages and business disruption.

Sandy also had a significant impact on NYCHA buildings across the city.  There are 26 Housing developments situated in Zone A, the mandatory evacuation zones.  All of them experienced flooding and other damages during the storm.  

In all, 402 NYCHA buildings were left without electricity, affecting approximately 79,000 residents.  By mid-November, electricity, elevators, heat and hot water was restored in all developments impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  

This feat could not have been accomplished without the resilience and commitment of the NYCHA workforce.  Housing staff from all areas of the city were deployed to support the restoration efforts at developments from Staten Island to Coney Island, from Red Hook to the Rockaways, and from Harlem to the Lower East Side.

It was in the Lower East Side where one resident leader expressed her gratitude to the employees with an appreciation luncheon just in time for the holidays.  Nancy Ortiz, president of the Vladeck Houses Resident Association, was joined by local elected officials and representatives to present the NYCHA staff of Vladeck Houses, Rutgers Houses and Straus Houses with Citations for Hurricane Sandy Efforts.  

Over 50 employees were commended for their exemplary work and dedication before, during, and in the aftermath of the storm.  Among the guests that came to show their appreciation were NYCHA Board Member Victor Gonzalez, Council Member Rosie Mendez, and representatives of Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, Senator Daniel Squadron, Council Member Margaret Chin and the Manhattan BP Office.

Today, efforts persist at NYCHA and throughout the East Coast to repair the damages left behind by Sandy.  As communities continue to recover and rebuild, the need to adapt to the escalating effects of climate change also becomes critical.  

A few weeks after the storm, Governor Cuomo wrote an op-ed in reaction to the destruction that the city faced.  ”Extreme weather is the new normal,” he noted.  ”Recent events demand that we get serious once and for all.  We need to act, not simply react.”

By Fernando Montejo