Hurricane Sandy: It's Still Not Over for Many Brooklyn Residents

Things are still not back to normal in Brooklyn neighborhoods hit hard by Sandy, including Coney Island, Gerritsen Beach and Canarsie, according to a report released yesterday by the Brooklyn Recovery Fund. The findings are pretty shocking:

*In Canarsie, foreclosure rates have more than doubled, to more than 3,000 foreclosures.
*Homeowners have run out of money for repairs. In Gerritsen Beach, “where nearly all basements and first floors were flooded,” said the report, “many families continue to live on their second floor.”
*Mold, debris, and back-up boilers in Brooklyn public housing persist. “NYCHA residents in Coney Island are intermittently without heat, battling ongoing health problems resulting from mold and debris,” the report said.
*Mold-related illnesses are common in all the areas affected by the storm.
*Many immigrants, legal and illegal, in Brighton Beach are living in unsafe conditions or “displaced altogether,” said the report.
*In Sheepshead Bay, 40 percent of businesses, most of them owned by immigrants, have closed permanently, “jeopardizing economic vitality in the neighborhood.”
*In Gerritsen Beach, residents struggle psychologically day to day, “simultaneously coping with the loss of possessions and stress of rebuilding without adequate resources.”

Above, the National Guard distributed blankets, diapers, and other supplies to Brighton Beach residents in the weeks after the storm. Many outlets have covered aspects of how the storm is still affecting Brooklyn residents one year later, below.

Public Housing Residents in Coney Island Still Recovering From Storm [NY Times]
Brooklyn After Sandy: Then and Now [Brooklyn Paper]
Coney Island’s Sea Gate Still Defenseless After Sandy — By Its Own Choice [Forward]
Many in Coney Island Still Feel Post-Storm Needs [Brooklyn Eagle]
Sandy Affected Outer Borough Sales Way More Than Manhattan [Curbed]