nytimes.com - November 12, 2012 - Raymond Hernandez

The New York Times reports that Governor Cuomo is planning to ask for at least $30 billion in disaster relief from the federal government. 

We need some of this money to be allocated for immediate food, water, medicine, and other supplies.

'In making the case for federal aid, the governor’s advisers provided a staggering inventory of need ... $3.5 billion to repair the region’s bridges, tunnels and subway and commuter rail lines; $1.65 billion to rebuild homes and apartment buildings; $1 billion to reimburse local governments for overtime costs of police, fire and other emergency personnel; and several billion dollars in federal loans and grants to affected businesses.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/nyregion/cuomo-to-seek-30-billion-in-aid-for-storm-relief.html?smid=fb-share

easthamptonstar.com - November 11, 2011 - Carrie Ann Salvi

Word is finally out about the dire situation in the Rockaways and how community-based volunteer groups are getting help to those in need.

'Hundreds of elderly people in areas of Queens struck hard by Hurricane Sandy are stuck in high-rise apartments without food and water...Several Montauk residents quickly organized East End Cares to help victims after the Oct. 29 storm struck the Northeast. Both the Sag Harbor and Montauk Fire Departments sent teams to striken areas on Saturday...

"Desperately needed" donations, according to Ms. <Melissa> Berman, can be made online, and updates can be found on the Facebook page. <https://www.facebook.com/groups/EastEndCares/> Clothes are not needed right now, she said. Shovels, mops, cleaning supplies, and heavy gloves will be welcomed...

"Does the world know how bad it is here?" asked Ms. <Alison> Thompson on Twitter yesterday from Rockaway, Queens. Top needs include medication, she posted. The power won't be on for a month at least, she said. "We need to get these people out."

November 9, 2012

Dear Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg,

We write first to thank you for your dedication to the constituents of this City and your support in addressing the unprecedented crisis of Hurricane Sandy. While there has been an incredible outpouring of help and attention to our friends and neighbors struggling throughout the five boroughs, we have learned in recent days that constituents of Queens in the Rockaways and Hamilton Beach, home to approximately 80,000 people, continue to live without vital necessities. As we continue to hear stories from the residents there, we are particularly concerned that this area will be without power for a minimum of the next three weeks, including the Thanksgiving holiday.

As concerned citizens of New York City and neighbors to those worst affected by the storm, the groups who have signed below would like to know the steps being taken to address these areas and, more importantly, to offer our assistance as you and your agencies increase emergency efforts.

From current communication with those in the field, we have assessed that thousands of residents have little or no access to the following resources:

(TO READ THE COMPLETE LETTER - SEE LINK OR ATTACHMENT BELOW - 6 PAGE .PDF FILE)

nytimes.com - by Joe Nocera - November 9, 2012

On Friday morning, I drove out to the Rockaways with Nan Shipley, a 48-year-old real estate broker and mother of three. Though we barely know each other, she had been sending me e-mails all week, updating me about the problems facing residents of the Rockaways, the thin peninsula on the southern edge of Queens that had been decimated by Hurricane Sandy.

Shipley, who lives in Manhattan, had been going out there every day since last Saturday, volunteering in the hard-hit enclave of Belle Harbor, where a Roman Catholic church, St. Francis de Sales, had essentially been taken over by relief workers.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

MYFOXNY.COM - November 10, 2012

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be opening a Disaster Recovery Center in Rockland County Sunday to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy.  

The Disaster Recovery Center will be located at Provident Bank Park in Pomona and will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. seven days a week until further notice. 

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/20063874/fema-disaster-recovery-center-to-open-in-rockland

Image: Wreckage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Submitted by Samuel Bendett

inhabitat.com - November 6th, 2012 - Molly Cotter

Many people have been talking about how to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Sandy, but nonprofit design services group Architecture for Humanity has actually gone and created a 5-point rebuilding plan. Their proposal not only focuses on working with local authorities, companies, and builders, but is also dedicated to reconstructing for long-term results, and that means building green. The organization, which has been helping Japan reconstruct many of its towns after the tsunami and earthquakes of 2011, used their expertise to draw up a strategic scheme for how New York and New Jersey could be rebuilt in a way that would make them more sustainable and disaster-proof than ever before.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ny.cbslocal.com - November 9, 2012

'<Mayor>Bloomberg said Friday that the program called “NYC Rapid Repair” is aimed at getting as many people back into their homes as quickly as possible.

He said that starting Tuesday, New Yorkers whose homes were damaged in the storm can go to a city restoration center, get a Federal Emergency Management Agency number and sign up.

“You have to have a FEMA ID number. The FEMA ID number will be given you regardless of whether you have insurance, regardless of how much damage you have, regardless of whether you have a mortgage. Just call FEMA, they will give you a number and then you have to just ask for the assistance,” Bloomberg said.

To Contact FEMA, call 1 (800) 621-FEMA (3362)

He said that once a homeowner signs up, a contractor will come and assess the damage and “within a short time, the work will be done.”

Bloomberg said he expects FEMA to pay for most of the repairs.

cbsnews.com - November 6, 2012

'The Long Island Power Authority has removed some areas of Long Island and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens from its map of power outages caused by superstorm Sandy, saying homes there are too damaged to receive electric service ... the number of customers in Rockaway affected by power outages is listed as zero. There are about 193,000 customers in Nassau and Suffolk Counties still without power...New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slammed the state's utility companies... Cuomo said that power had been restored to all but 480,000 New Yorkers, down from 2.1 million affected by the storm. But he added that, a week after the deadly storm made landfall, such slow progress was "unacceptable," and that utilities will be "held accountable for their lack of performance,"... Con Edison has restored power to almost all Manhattan ... But Cuomo said that there is more to Con Ed's service area than just Manhattan, and accused the utility of blowing other areas off... '

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57545640/some-hard-hit-ny-areas-disa

nydailynews.com - November 8, 2012 - Victoria Cavaliere

'Following in the footsteps of New Jersey, Mayor Bloomberg on Thursday signed "an emergency order to establish an odd-even license plate system" to cut down on wait times as consumers queue at gas stations to fill up their tanks.

The measure will go into effect at 6 a.m. Friday.

Long Island, also reeling from gas shortages following Hurricane Sandy, will begin a rationing program in Suffolk and Nassau Counties starting at 5 p.m. Friday.

Drivers with license plates ending in an even number can buy only on even-numbered days. Drivers with license plates ending in an odd number can buy on odd-numbered days. Vanity plates are considered odd.'

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gas-shortage-continues-fray-patience-drivers-article-1.1198809

easthampton.patch.com - November 8, 2012 - Evelyn O'Doherty

"There is enormous outcry about Hurricane Sandy and the path of destruction it left ... if you truly want to be EFFECTIVE in your response, you have to listen to the needs of the people on the ground...I was lucky enough to join Melissa Berman from East End Cares as she spearheaded an election day trip into Rockaway with a group of about 30 volunteers....Please contact East End Cares or one of the following groups to get an accurate read on what donations you might supply and especially, if you're headed west to help, get a contact on the ground to point you in the right direction. "

http://easthampton.patch.com/blog_posts/east-end-cares-mobilizes-an-entire-community