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NEW YORK (PIX11) – Tuesday’s deadline for Sandy victims to get evicted from temporary hotel housing has been extended.
The new deadline has been set for May 31st.
The New York communities for change has been working and assisting about fifty families.
Last week the families protested the deadline in front of the city’s Department of Homeless Services offices in lower Manhattan.
LONG ISLAND (PIX11) – In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, residents of the tri-state area grappled with the loss of loved ones and an estimated $100 billion in damages to the region.
This week, PIX11 News continues its live coverage of the areas hit hardest by Sandy with “PIX11 CARES” segments. Beginning Monday, April 29 and running through Friday, May 3, PIX11 Morning News will return to the neighborhoods that the station visited immediately after Sandy to see how the communities have recovered and what help is still needed.
Check out some highlights from Tuesday:
The return of the boardwalk at Long Beach City
Jones Beach on track to reopen in time for summer
How Facebook is helping Long Beach residents get back on their feet post-Sandy
In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, residents of the Tri-State area grappled with the loss of loved ones and an estimated $100 billion in damages to the region. This week, PIX11 News continues its live coverage of the areas hit hardest by Sandy with “PIX11 CARES” segments. Beginning Monday, April 29 and running through Friday, May 3, PIX11 Morning News will return to the neighborhoods that the station visited immediately after Sandy to see how the communities have recovered and what help is still needed.
WATCH PIX11 CARES ON THE PIX11 MORNING NEWS LIVE
As the recovery from the destructive impact of Sandy continues, PIX11 will talk to politicians, community leaders, and organizations that have been helping restore and rebuild their neighborhoods. PIX11 News will visit Queens (the Rockaways,) Staten Island (New Dorp Beach,) New Jersey (Union Beach and Sea Bright,) and Long Island (Long Beach and Jones Beach.)
PIX11 Morning News anchors Sukanya Krishnan and Frances Rivera and reporter Dan Mannarino will broadcast live from within the communities from 6-9am.
RELATED: PIX11 CARES FULL COVERAGE
PIX11 News at 5 will air personal stories of storm survivors, revisit families we met six months ago to see how they’ve rebuilt and what still needs to be done for them to get their lives back together. PIX11 News at Ten segments will visit the hardest hit areas and examine how these communities are faring today as they prepare for the summer season.
RELATED: FULL COVERAGE ON SANDY’S AFTERMATH
”Our top priority as a local broadcast station is to serve our community and we feel it is vital to provide continued support to those still struggling in the aftermath of Sandy,” said Eric Meyrowitz, PIX11 Vice President/General Manager.
04/18/13
by Stephanie Tsoflias
Reporter
04/18/13
by Stephanie Tsoflias
Reporter
The ride that was swept into the Atlantic Ocean from Casino Pier is Seaside Heights is finally being removed.
“Yes, we have hired Weeks Marine of Cranford, NJ to begin the demolition process,” said Maria Mastoris, spokesperson for Casino Pier.
This after nearly six months of sitting in the ocean.
“In two weeks or so they’ll start the process. They’ll survey and see what the best options are. The coaster will likely come out piece by piece. It should be a 24 hour a day, seven day a week job,” Mastoris said.
Around the clock work is already underway. When Hurricane Sandy came ashore in October, the storm surge washed away the boardwalk and the entire upper deck of the pier that was home to over a dozen rides. Mastoris said crews are replacing boards and putting in pylons daily. And in addition to pulling down the coaster from the surf, the crews will take out five others.
The pier before Sandy destroyed it.
“The log flume, the roller coaster, our haunted house and another structure that served as our storage unit.”
Casino Pier declined to say how much the removal would cost only that it is expected to be complete by Memorial Day. Though, the majority of the rides will not be back this season.
“I hope it comes back, I really do,” said Chris Angelo.
04/05/13
by Mike Gilliam
Reporter
04/05/13
by Mike Gilliam
Reporter
BROOKLYN (PIX11) – Some Coney Island residents can’t seem to catch a break. First Superstorm Sandy turned their world upside down and now they say the noise from around the clock repairs on the boardwalk is making it impossible to sleep.
The machinery that is causing all of the anger is huge pile driver that is planting concrete piles into the sand. Glenn Kessler lives in a building just feet from the construction.
“At 5 o’clock in the morning the pile driving began. I was literally bounced out of bed,” Kessler told PIX11.
They are working 24/7 to repair the boardwalk, lifeguard stations and bathrooms damaged by Sandy in time for the summer beach season. But with a cold winter and early spring, the window for the repairs is short. And that’s causing the problems.
The 24/7 around the clock schedule means bright lights, vibration, and noise when people are trying to sleep. Because he lives so close, Kessler say he feels every pound of the machine.
“My apartment building is approximately 500 feet from the pile driver so the vibrations are felt throughout the building. I thought the world was ending. It sounded worst than Sandy and I was here during the storm.”
Some say the inconvenience is not worth it to build bathrooms and lifeguard stations. But others feel the work is a positive sign the area is bouncing back.
The Parks Department says part of this is the Sandy rebuild and they have to get ready for the summer season. They stress you can’t have millions of people on the beach and no restrooms.
04/04/13
by Mike Gilliam
Reporter
04/04/13
by Mike Gilliam
Reporter
Commuters are smiling in Lower Manhattan as service is restored at South Ferry Subway Station for the first time since Super Storm Sandy.
Acting MTA chief Fernando Ferrer was on hand with a delegation to greet commuters on a cold Thursday morning saying “It’s good. It means people don’t have to walk a half mile from the ferry to the next stop.”
The reopening of the South Ferry Station some 5 months after the storm plugs a gap in the subway system. It restores the final stop on the Number 1 train and a critical connection for Staten Island Ferry riders. Commuters on the first few trains said they were pleased to once again have seamless service between the subway and the Staten Island Ferry.
Deborah Shands says she and her two kids use the train from 125th Street to get to the ferry on their way to school on Staten Island. She says the stop helps her commute” It’s improved a lot because it was hard for the kids because they had to get up early and walk. Sometimes I had to carry my daughter because she would get tired.”
Reopening the 108 year old station became necessary after the new hub that was opened in 2009 and cost more than $500 million dollars to build was devastated by Sandy. It may take years before repairs are complete and it reopens, and it could cost up to $600 million dollars. In the meantime the M.T.A. has been hard at work opening the old stop that was shut down four years ago.
There are some problems. The M.T.A. will have to go back to the so called five car rule, meaning riders exiting at the station will have to leave through the first five cars of the train because the platform is not long enough to to accommodate 10 car trains. In recent months the M.T.A. has made improvements including the installation of a new entrance , lighting and a closed circuit television system to make it easier for crews to see trains on the curved track.
03/27/13
by Ellyn Marks
Reporter
03/27/13
by Ellyn Marks
Reporter
“It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re squatting where someone has electricity and heat. They’re going to whatever homes they can open the door and sit,” said Donna Graziano who runs a relief center in New Dorp Beach.
Graziano said some of the squatters have tried to get a hot meal in the center, and she’s turned them away.
“They’re using drugs and alcohol and stuff like that. That’s the type of squatters we’re seeing,” Graziano said.
“They’re using drugs and alcohol and stuff like that. That’s the type of squatters we’re seeing,” Graziano said.
Families forced out of their homes can’t stomach the thought of squatters moving in.
“If I was to learn that someone was squatting in my home that I’m not able to live in right now, it would add insult to injury,” said Sandy victim Lorraine Gonzalez. “They’re a danger to my neighbors.”
As the residents get warmer, residents expect the problem to get worse, and they’re calling for a greater police presence. Civic groups are urging people to check on their vacant homes more frequently.
03/19/13
by PIX11 Web Desk
The Statue of Liberty is finally set to reopen — just in time for Independence Day.
Closed since Hurricane Sandy badly damaged the docks and walkways, officials announced Tuesday that it will reopen by July 4th.
As Sandy made landfall, the massive storm surge that inundated Battery Park on Oct. 29 caused water to rise 13.8 feet. That meant that 75% of Liberty Island — where the statue stood in direct path of the storm — was below water, according to Statue of Liberty Superintendent David Luchsinger.
The statue itself, however, did not receive any damage.
The Statue’s 126 year old iron framework designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel allowed for the Statue of Liberty to withstand the storm’s intense winds,” according to the National Park Service website. “However, the Island’s utilities, backup generator, and power systems were destroyed. The passenger and auxiliary docks were severely damaged and brick pathways have been uprooted around the Island.”
03/11/13
by Jay Dow
Reporter
03/11/13
by Jay Dow
Reporter
But is the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund – run by none other than Governor Chris Christie’s wife doing enough?
The first lady’s charity has reportedly already raised $32 million in the four months since Sandy slapped the Garden State, but has yet to disburse any of that money.
Christie tells the Asbury Park Press her small staff has intentionally taken its time to carefully identify which charities should receive its funds.
She wants to still be around – handing out money two OR three years from now.
But in the trenches – that is, in the neighborhoods where families are still struggling to rebuild there is concern – without naming Christie’s charity specifically – that help isn’t coming fast enough.
Sea Bright restaurant owner Chris “Woody” Woods runs a local charity, “Sea Bright Rising” which has already raised more than a million dollars and has doled out 60-percent of it .
“As a charity you have to be very judicious as how you distribute those funds. We’re under a constant microscope. We can’t’ screw this up. We have to make sure we get the money to the people who deserve it. Not only from our perspective because we’ll be audited at some point, but from our donors’ standpoint as well”, Woods told Pix11.
03/08/13
by PIX11 Web Desk
The South Ferry subway station was flooded with salty, corrosive water during Sandy.
A retired South Ferry subway station — is being dusted off a long time ahead of schedule.
The number 1 train service will be back in service the first week of April, according to the MTA. It was originally predicted that the station would have to be completely re-hauled — at a cost of $600 million over three years.
Instead, the city found an alternate route. The 1 train will run through an old station next door that closed in 2009.
The return of the 1 train will ease the commute in Southern Manhattan for thousands.
Flood waters from Sandy destroyed the new Ferry Terminal Station itself that cost the city ; the MTA estimates it’ll take at least two more years to restore.
Superstorm Sandy devastated coastal regions across the tri-state area, killing dozens and setting off a crisis that crippled transportation, the oil supply and the electrical grid. The region’s recovery from the storm has been slow and difficult.
