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'Super' Donation Helps Hoboken Boys And Girls Club Reopen Six Months After Sandy

HOBOKEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - The Boys and Girls Club in Hoboken just reopened last week after damage it sustained during superstorm Sandy.

When the storm washed through Hoboken six months ago, the gym at the Hudson County kids center was destroyed.

"It was like a bathtub. There was at least four, five feet of water mixed with gasoline," Boys and Girls Club of Hudson County executive director Gary Greenberg told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "The floor that we had in there was completely destroyed, totally warped."

Greenberg said it was devastating to see the full extent of the damage.

"We were standing in front of the building after the storm, we were crying," Greenberg told Haskell.

'Super' Donation Helps Hoboken Boys And Girls Club Reopen Six Months After Sandy

The gym reopened last week, just ahead of the six-month anniversary of the storm. The $100,000 needed for repairs came from the NFL and the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl Committee. MetLife Stadium is playing host to Super Bowl XLVIII in February.

"We weren't able to bring the gymnasium back until the NFL stepped in and saved us and brought the gym back," said Greenberg. "It's a gift of a lifetime for something like this to happen."

Hoboken Boys and Girls Club Gym Reopens
Hoboken Boys and Girls Club gym reopens thanks to a donation from the NFL and the Super Bowl Hosting Committee. (credit: Peter Haskell/WCBS 880)

Greenberg added the impact of the donation goes beyond the facility.

"I think this brings hope back to the community that people do care and I think the gym and the building is the symbol of Hoboken coming back," he told Haskell.

The NFL and the host committee will give out a total of $2 million in the area for storm relief.

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