An Embarrassment of Riches

On Monday I posted the following to my Facebook page: "My hurricane plan: a jug of water, a flashlight, and a gallon of pumpkin seeds... oh and cocktails."

My friend PB commented: "Power and cocktails is an embarrassment of riches."

Indeed.

PB's statement was theoretically evident to me when he posted it; today when I was in Coney Island, it was a physical reality.

I'm safely ensconced in an area that is labeled Zone C. To put that into perspective, Zone A is on the coast--residents in that zone were asked to evacuate. Zone C is at the middle of a steady slope up from the water. Circumstances would have to be dire for Zone C to be flooded.

I was in Coney Island today, which is in Zone A. The area was hit hard by the storm as were many other coastal neighborhoods in New York like Red Hook, the Rockaways, and parts of Staten Island.

The damage is different depending on the area, but there are thousands of people in need. In Coney Island, many of the public housing buildings have had no power for days. Today, HA, ML and I joined teams of volunteers to offer water and assistance to elderly or other residents who were unable to leave their apartments for aid.

Photo by HA

Imagine being in an apartment 15 flights above ground level. You have no power, no heat, and no water. The stairways are completely dark. Even if you have a flashlight, you are unable to walk down the stairs to find help.

Having power, pumpkin seeds, cocktails, and the ability to walk 15 flights of stairs does seem obscene, doesn't it?

I'm glad we were able to help out today. It was only an afternoon, and surely, the effort seems so small considering the impact of the storm. Crews were working on getting some power to the buildings when we left, but the halls were still dark. Some New Yorkers have lost their homes already and may lose their livelihoods in the coming weeks.

Please consider helping out in some way if you can. Here are a few resources:

WNYC's How To Help Sandy Recovery (for donation and volunteer opportunities of many types)

Red Cross

United Way of New York City

FEMA: Volunteer and Donate Responsibly

Until next time, my friends...