Volunteers Help Rebuild Staten Island Park To Honor 9/11, Sandy Victims
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - On this National Day of Service and Remembrance, volunteers are remembering the 9/11 victims by helping to rebuild a Staten Island park that turned into a home away from home for residents displaced by superstorm Sandy.
As WCBS 880's Monica Miller reported, the sound of church bells and the smell of mulch have replaced the buzzing generators and fire smoke that came from a makeshift tent set up at Cedar Grove Park for displaced residents.
Volunteers Help Rebuild Staten Island Park To Honor 9/11, Sandy Victims
"It was - you got to see the people that you would see every day," one woman told Miller.
Mike Hoffman co-founded Yellow Boots to help rebuild Staten Island. He said it only makes sense that they're holding the Timberland Day of Community Service on the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
"9/11, I was actually at the towers when it hit and I actually was in part of the rescue effort," Hoffman told Miller.
The unemployed landscaper says he learned an important lesson that carried over to recovering from Sandy.
"Things that are just bigger than you and there's nothing wrong with helping somebody," Hoffman said.
He got more more than 100 volunteers from boot and clothing brand Timberland on board to help.
"We're going to get it done and I'm competitive too, I'm in sales," one of the volunteers said.
The rebuilding effort will lead to an official dedication at Cedar Grove Park on the first anniversary of Sandy on Oct. 29.
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