Alternative Spring Break: Day 1 – Patrice

Today was the first day of ASB 2013 for Superstorm Sandy. I arrived on the NYC campus of Pace University excited and curious about what was to happen over the course of this week. Before heading over to Staten Island, we first watched a documentary for Superstorm Sandy. This documentary was both emotional and informational. It uncovered much of the issues leading up to, during and after Hurricane Sandy. It helped me understand why it hit and caused so much damage to certain parts of the North East. It talked much of the great tragedies of Sandy, leaving many without a homes, electricity and even for some without their lives. This was a great way to begin my ASB journey. It opened my eyes to much of the issues concerning the Superstorm and laid the foundation to what I will be expecting once we arrive in Staten Island.

Once in Staten Island we were guided in a tour of the devastated areas of Staten Island. This tour was very in-depth and gave me a visual to much of the issues and damage I only before heard of. Roofs atop rumble lay where once stood homes. Also dirt patches were all that was left in other areas where homes once were due to various clean-up efforts. To me this illustrated the reality of the storm’s aftermath. Much of the homes have not began clean-up and for the homes that have these homes have not completed or even began restoration. This augments the issue of there still being a lot of work to be done on Staten Island in Sandy’s Aftermath. Before I came to Staten Island expected for a lot of the homes to be mostly cleaned up or restored due to Sandy occurring technically last year, but the truth was that there was still much that needed to be done. This gave me more motivation to use my time here in Staten Island toward helping out in restoring the homes of the families in Staten Island.

Today led to me think about the many issues and lessons Sandy has brought many New Yorkers. The issues of preparation and people being properly informed concerning impending and actual disasters. Furthermore the precautions and preventative measures needed for coastal neighborhoods, such as ones found on Staten Island. Also the issue of rebuilding the homes or relocating the people effected by Sandy. I hope to begin to expand my knowledge in these issues throughout my experiences this week to a point of action that can help the people on Staten Island affected by Sandy and prevent or reduce the effects of possible future disasters.

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Patrice C.
ASB Participant 2013