Volunteers Descend On New York's Tough Spots As Post Sandy Recovery Effort Continues
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Volunteers went house to house in Gerritsen Beach, on Saturday, in the final step of a three-week long effort to restore electricity to homes in the community.
The effort was funded by the Brooklyn Community Foundation which managed to raise a $1.5-million recovery fund in the days following Hurricane Sandy.
While Gerritsen Beach is a community known for its volunteerism many of Saturday's helpers came from out-of-town.
"We came all the way from Pennsylvania, about four and half hours so we're just here with a group of eighteen and where ever they tell us to go we go," Jen, who came with her church group told 1010 WINS reporter Gary Baumgarten.
1010 WINS reporter Gary Baumgarten Reports...
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Gerritsen Beach was not the only part of the city to make steps towards recovery; the New York City Housing Authority reported that as of Saturday heat and hot water had been restored to ninety-six percent of buildings affected by the storm, including all Rockaway developments.
On Staten Island plans are in the works to close Miller Field and begin redirecting directing relief seekers to the New York City Restoration Center on Hylan Boulevard in Dongan Hills. That move is intended to help storm victims connect with city agencies, FEMA, and NYC Rapid Repairs as winter approaches.
Governor Andrew Cuomo was at Miller Field on Saturday handing out supplies with the National Guard and touring neighborhoods that were left devastated by Sandy.
1010 WINS Reporter Gary Baumgarten reports...
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Timothy Cardinal Dolan also made his third visit to Staten Island since the hurricane, the Archdiocese of New York plans to donate at least $2-million in assistance to Sandy victims, according to The Staten Island Advance.
Cardinal Dolan and Governor Cuomo's visits came during the same weekend that the New York Times announced that about two-hundred homes would be demolished because of damage sustained during Sandy.
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