We spent election night 2012 at a friend’s house in Park Slope. Dinner was jittery—but delicious. As we drank copious amounts of Italian wine, we agonized about an America governed by Mitt Romney; fantasized about four more years with Obama. Any optimism was quelled by our host, who is extremely superstitious.

At 9:30, media projections shifted in Obama’s direction. At 10:18 Fox News, of all places, projected Obama the winner. The night just got better and better after that.

We walked home early Wednesday morning before Romney’s concession and Obama’s acceptance. Annoyance set in as we wondered why Romney was being such a sore sport. Lights were on in Park Slope windows but Seventh Avenue was quiet, nothing like 2008 when streets were filled with ecstatic citizens and honking cars.

Once home we settled on the couch with the television on. Waiting. Finally, finally at 1:30AM or so we listened, rapturously, as Obama delivered an inspiring and gracious acceptance speech, the best speech of the campaign.

I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.

Added Value Needs Your Help

Hurricane Sandy submerged Added Value, the community farm in Red Hook just as it submerged the Red Hook neighborhood in several feet of sea water when it came ashore on October 29th, 2012. In the picture above, staff and volunteers are beginning the massive clean up effort Post-Sandy

Added Value’s Red Hook Farm grows more than just food. It catalyzes a food justice ecosystem in that community through youth empowerment programs and it ensures that Red Hook has access to healthy, affordable food.

If you believe in their mission, they need your help now more than ever.

Here’s how you can help:

 1. Donate. A gift of any amount is welcome, via PayPal or Credit Card.

2. Volunteer. Follow their updates on Facebook and contact  them for ways to help.

Lines are long because turnout is good. At least here in Park Slope. But here’s some stuff that you need to know.

If you usually vote at the John Jay High School Complex, you are voting today at PS 282 on Sixth Avenue and Lincoln Place.

When you get there, go to the special entrance for John Jay voters on Berkeley Place between Sixth and Fifth (it’s near the playground entrance).

Once inside get on line in your election district if you know it. The line for district 80 was long but the line for 78 (which covers Third Street between 6th and 7th and elsewhere) wasn’t long at all. It took me ten minutes to get in and out.

If you don’t know your election district, go to one of the information tables and find out. Then go to the proper table where you’ll get a ballot and a card with your voting number on it.  Since we’re doing paper ballots now, it was easy to find a standing desk with attached pens. But not all the desks have working pens. Bring a pen just in case. Then, bring your filled out ballot to a scanner and VOILA.

The deed is done.

Yesterday was a surreal blur of network television impressions as I live-blogged and tweeted the new Katie Couric Show on ABC’s Day of Giving. The network raised $16.8 million for Sandy recovery efforts.

Whew.

Guests on the show included Jon Bon Jovi, a Jersey native, who returned from an international tour to be with his family and community on the devastated Jersey shore. His JBJ Soul Kitchen Restaurant in Red Bank New Jersey  was flooded out but at another site, Soul Kitchen volunteers are preparing meals for Sandy victims.

It was interesting to learn about Bon Jovi’s Soul Kitchen, a non-profit community restaurant run by the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. The menu has no set prices. “You select what you like and make the minimum donation. If you can afford to donate more you are helping to feed your neighbor. If you are unable to donate, an hour of volunteering pays for the meal.”

Bon Jovi is a tremendously likable and sincere guy. “I was gutted,” he said when he saw Jersey after Superstorm Sandy. “Cash is king,” he told the audience urging them to give money to relief organizations rather than “just show up not sure what you can do.” Asked whether he thought the shore would regain its former glory he said: “There are a lot of determined people in Jersey, Breezy Point, Rockaway. A tough bunch. We’ll rebuild.”

The always appealing Steve Buscemi, a Brooklyn native, was also a guest on the show. A former firefighter, Buscemi has pitched in extensively to help firefighters since 9/11. Over the weekend he went out to the Rockaways and Breezy Point where many firefighters live. “They’re great about helping others but a little shy about getting help for themselves,” he told Katie’s audience.

Also on the show was the sister, uncle and cousins of a young girl named Angela Rose who died during the storm. Her mother is in the hospital. Katie interviewed the family sensitively as they spoke about the 13-year-old Angela, “a popular and typical teenager: who loved to “stay up late and text her friends.”

Continue reading Live Blogging on Katie Couric’s “Day of Giving” Show →

FIND OUT if you voting site has changed by going to the Board of Elections site. Type in your address and find out before you go to the wrong place.

Because of Sandy, John Jay High School Complex in Park Slope is being used as an evacuation shelter. That’s why they’ve moved the voting elsewhere.

http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm?number=+449+&street=Third+Street&borough=Brooklyn&lang=en

V O T E   T O D A Y    P L E A S E !

This week’s Only the Blog at Two Moon is now a benefit for Sandy recovery efforts.

Come Wednesday, November 7th to Writers Who Sing, Singers Who Write with Mila Drumke and Peter Silsbee and we’ll donate whatever you give to the Red Hook Initiative or another appropriate charity helping locals recover from Sandy. There will also be a RAFFLE of photos by Hugh Crawford, CDs by Mila Drumke and a book by Peter Silsbee.

Governor Cuomo has signed an executive order to allow New Yorkers displaced by Hurricane Sandy to vote by affidavit ballot.

If you are a displaced voter, you will need to sign a sworn statement that you are registered to vote in the state and federal elections.

New Jersey is doing something very similar but will be using provisional ballots.

Also, be sure to check your polling site before you leave to vote tomorrow. Make sure your usual voting site hasn’t changed. Click here for the Board of Elections website on voting after Sandy. 

Yesterday at around 6PM, I got an email from Brittany Jones Cooper, an assistant to Katie Couric, who asked if I would be willing to live blog on the Katie Couric Show. I was, of course, happy to do it and intrigued. She sent me a list of guidelines about what I should wear.

Recommended: Solid Bright Attire & Dressy shoes. Katie LOVES bright colors and will be happy to see our audience dressed to impress in colorful tops/attire.  The camera picks up bright colors best, so please try to plan your outfit accordingly.

Honestly, I think that was the only obstacle to my being on the show. I don’t own any bright colored clothes. I looked in my closet and found two suit jackets that weren’t black.

This morning, I got up early, dressed and headed out to beat the Post-Sandy rush hour not knowing what to expect. The 3-Train at Grand Army Plaza was crowded but it was running and it got me to the Upper West Side quickly.

Continue reading Live Blogging the Katie Couric Show →

Helpfulness is all around us here in Brooklyn. It’s one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen in my life.

Yesterday I posted photos by Pastor Tom Martinez of Sandy relief volunteers at the Greenpoint Reformed Church in Brooklyn. Soon after I got an email from the Katie Couric Show. They saw the pix and wanted to know more about the grassroots relief efforts I’ve been hearing about in Brooklyn. That’s why I was asked to be a live blogger on Katie’s show during ABC’s Day of Giving.

Indeed, parts of Brooklyn were hard hit.

Nearby in Coney Island and Red Hook homes were lost, property damaged, and businesses devastated. Public housing in Red Hook and Gowanus have been without electricity, heat, water and elevator service since the storm.

Thankfully, people in ways large and small have spontaneously come together to help others.

Groups like Red Hook Initiative, which was primarily a youth center, have stepped in to coordinate volunteer efforts locally. In Park Slope, two shelters, at the Park Slope Armory and the John Jay High School Complex, were set up by the city. Congregation Beth Elohim and other group have been busy cooking and providing clothing and care for the evacuees from the Rockaways that arrived by the busload.

The Old Stone House in Park Slope, a museum and cultural center, is now a drop-off site for donations. Yesterday the House was filled to the gills with volunteers sorting through the dry goods, food, water and clothing that was contributed.

Pastor Ann Kanfield of Greenpoint Reformed Church is amazed by the “outpouring of good will and a real desire to help among New Yorkers, but also from the world at large.”

She writes in an email to me: “We’ve received monetary donations from friends across the country. One woman sent $20 when she only had $40 in her bank account, but she felt that she was grateful for what she had and she wanted to help those who needed it more than she did.”

On Friday an email was forwarded to me from a local woman, who was inviting friends and neighbors to cook a hot dish that she would drive over to Red Hook the next morning, providing a hot lunch for those in the Red Hook Houses.

According to Pastor Kanfield, people really want to do something but the hard part is not knowing what’s actually needed, and where it’s needed. “This is really a twofold issue: communication and distribution,” she writes. “We need to communicate the needs to people who want to help, and then we need the items distributed in ways that they can be used.”

To alleviate confusion and answer questions about relief efforts, City Councilmember Brad Lander and Eric McClure of Park Slope Neighbors have sent out sending out daily updates about the storm and the relief efforts which have kept locals informed.

Interestingly, the Occupy Wall Street movement has been incredibly effective in the coordination of volunteers and supplies. In Brooklyn, they’ve been coordinating services from St. Jacobi Evangelical Luteran Church in Sunset Park  (5406 Fourth Avenue). “All those days out in Zucotti Park with no heat and electricity prepared them for times like this – they are experts in how to feed large numbers of people, how to run generators off vegetable oil and how to provide medical care to those in need,” Pastor Kanfield writes.

The number of volunteers who came out and continue to help with the recovery is overwhelming. “I’m exhausted, but it’s a good exhausted—the phone keeps ringing, the emails keep coming—people want to help. And I’m really thankful that our little church could play a role in enabling them to live out the command to “love your neighbor as you love yourself,” writes Pastor Kanfield.

Indeed.

Today, just 6 days post-Sandy, New York City feels like a city of helpers. Volunteers are doing whatever they can to help. Driving, cooking, lifting, donating dry goods, warm clothing and blankets. Concern and loving kindness is flowing in the direction of those in need.

Out here in Park Slope, an area the storm largely missed, there has been an enormous volunteer effort for Red Hook, Coney Island, Gowanus and the Rockaways.

The rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim put up the above picture on Facebook and worte: “Another way to pray.” Indeed, it’s a mitzvah to help others and people around here are taking that very, very seriously. And there are so many ways to do it. A journalist friend writes on her Facebook page:

“Many housing project buildings are still dark – from Park Slope you can walk to the Gowanus Community Center, 420 Baltic near Hoyt where they are accepting donations of diapers, canned food, formula, powdered milk, formula, etc. Signing off from the 3rd world country formerly known as New York City…”

There have been non-stop call-outs on Twitter and Facebook for drivers, for heavy lifters, for cooks, for people willing to put in long shifts at shelters, for social workers and those with medical expertise. There are ways to contribute big and small.

I hope this spirit of generosity lasts for a very long time. On the eve of a very divisive election, it is inspiring that people are feeling such a pull towards others, such a sense of concern, a real desire to help.

It’s really quite beautiful.

Triada Samaras, co-founder of Carroll Gardens Organization for Respectful Development (CORD), has been trying to get the attention of the media all week. So far, little luck. Last night they decided to try CNN and NPR. This is a letter she wrote to Anderson Cooper and NPR. The picture above was taken on Second Street and Bond not far from where I sit.

Dear Mr. Cooper:

Dear NPR:

PLEASE HELP US!! We are living in the toxic flood aftermath of a EPA designated Superfund site right here in Brooklyn! We had a flood of five feet of highly contaminated Gowanus Canal water during Hurricane Sandy and toxic sludge has been left behind with highly dangerous chemicals including oil, PCB’s, coal tar wastes, E coli, gonorrhea, heavy metals, and raw sewage. This is one of the most contaminated waterways in America directly across from Wall Street.

We need media coverage! No one is helping us! Our elected officials have forgotten us! Supermarkets that have been flooded with this toxic stew are now selling us food! HELP!!

PLEASE HELP US!!!

Triada Samaras

CG CORD Co-Founder

www.carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com

cgcord@gmail.com

and: The Communities of Carroll Gardens/Gowanus/Red Hook

Brooklyn, NY

Here are some links that tell our story:

http://carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com/2012/10/horrific-flooding-of-gowanus-canal-last.html

http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2012/11/gowanus-business-owners-concerned-about.html

http://carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com/2012/11/who-will-clean-gowanus-canal-aftermath.html

http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-amazing-gowanus.html

Thanks to a tweet from Brad Lander I see that I won’t be voting on Tuesday at John Jay High School Complex Park Slope where I have always voted. Instead, I’ll be voting at PS 282 at Sixth Avenue and Berkeley Place.

Find out where you’ll be voting by going to this Board of Elections site. Type in your address and find out NOW so you won’t be surprised on Tuesday.

Because of Sandy, John Jay is being used as an evacuation shelter. That’s why they’ve moved the voting elsewhere.

http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm?number=+449+&street=Third+Street&borough=Brooklyn&lang=en

Tomorrow New York City public school students are expected to return to school. How is that going to go with so many children living in areas still without power?

We shall see.

Approximately 35  schools will be relocated because they were impacted by the storm. Here’s what I found on the NYC.gov website:

Most NYC public schools will reopen Monday, 11/5. Some schools will not be open on Monday, 11/5, and Tuesday, 11/6 due to severe damage caused by the recent hurricane. Others will open on 11/5 but will be temporarily relocated. Teachers and staff should report on 11/5 at their regular start time.

 Find out if your school has been impacted by the storm

It’s Marathon Sunday without the Marathon and that feels right. While I’m all for uplifting spectacle, this is not the time for a running race that exemplifies man’s ability to push past obstacles. It would have been a great metaphor but a hollow one in the face of this particular catastrophe that requires all our resources to bring the city and state back.

The aftermath of Superstorm Sandy is a marathon of a different sort.

WNYC reported yesterday that some marathoners in town for the race will run as a way to bring supplies to storm damaged areas in the region. Early this morning, there was a 6km run/relief effort planned from 61 Local in Cobble Hill to Red Hook.

Reports from Red Hook are mixed: there is suffering but also a great deal of help finally pouring into that waterlogged and power-less community. The idea that 3,000 residents of the Red  Hook Houses, 30 14-story buildings that house  6,000, will continue without power and water for another week or ten days is unacceptable. Let’s hope Con Edison can bring power back to Red Hook more swiftly. In the short term, FEMA generators would be a big help.

There are elderly and disabled individuals in those buildings that need medical services and other kinds of help. Many are terrified to be in their apartments after dark.

Parts of Staten Island, Long Island and New Jersey still look like war-torn countries. Last night someone told me that the storm damaged areas in New York State and New Jersey are equal to the size of Europe.

The scale of this disaster is unfathomable. That said, progress is being made though it is “fractured” as the New York Times reports today. As time passes and the recovery efforts lag in some areas, anger heightens and people living in areas still without power and water feel disenfranchised and bitter.

On Monday most New York City schools will be open. The subways seem to be back with some exceptions. Lower Manhattan is bright again. I am hoping that this week brings some comfort to those who have suffered inordinately this past week and have endured a marathon of a different sort.

This info via Park Slope Patch:

Free gas will be available through temporary fuel trucks that are being deployed across the five boroughs and Long Island, according to the New York Post. But not so fast.

The state Division of Military and Naval Affairs issued an advisory asking that the public keep away from the pumps until emergency vehicles could fill up, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Once the first responders fill up: “The 5,000 gallon trucks will be deployed throughout the morning and there are an additional 150,000 gallons of fuel available to restock the trucks throughout the day. There is a 10 gallon limit per vehicle. Cars can fill up directly off of the truck.”

Here is a list of the fueling stations in Brooklyn and Queens.

Brooklyn Armory 
1579 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11225

Queens Armory 
93-05 160th St.
Jamaica, NY 11433

After days of non-stop television images, WNYC radio reports, Twitter, Facebook, and other media stories, the scales have truly fallen from my eyes as I take in the full magnitude of what’s been done to our city by Sandy.

To quote Bruce Springsteen: “My city’s in ruins.” The song, The Rising, was included on Springsteen’s same-named 9/11-themed album, but it was actually about Asbury Park. But now, sadly, it’s apt, profoundly apt, for New York City post-Superstorm Sandy.

The devastation in our city is heartbreaking. The suffering of our fellow citizens is painful. The discomfort, the difficulties, the pain…

A friend who lives in downtown Manhattan just got her power back. She writes: “Lower NYC is devastated, trees fell, awnings ripped off, it looked like a bomb hit, I started crying, like a child at all the scenes of damage, especially around Gramercy and Union Square.”

Another friend, Mike Sorgatz, described Red Hook on Facebook Saturday morning: “It’s a mess out there. Flooding hit the 4-5 foot mark. Fairway’s parking lot is filled with trash. Streets are lined with waterlogged furniture and plastic bags. The only thing more spectacular is the number of people volunteering to help.”

Another friend, Lorie Honor in Staten Island, wrote yesterday: “Much is yet to be revealed here on Staten Island…new definition of the “forgotten borough” as we suffered greatest loss of life and still have had limited news coverage and just now are getting Red Cross distribution and some aid to the displaced.”

Staten Island is now getting the help—and news coverage—it deserves. But the suffering, the destruction and the heroism of the local helpers is mighty

All night I thought about the people in NYC public housing without water and electricity. I felt grateful that a good friend of mine who used to live in public housing on Coney Island moved a year ago to South Carolina. I was grateful that she did not have to endure the many days without power and the related discomfort and frustration. But many of her relatives and friends are suffering.

So many are suffering in our city. The Marathon has been cancelled. The clean up to come is beyond all imagining. But as Mike Sorgatz said, ” The only thing more spectacular is the number of people volunteering to help.”

Indeed. The photographs that Tom Martinez sent yesterday (including the one above) of volunteers at the Park Slope Armory transporting food and dry goods to the Red Hook Initiative were also encouraging. The level of volunteerism of all kinds has been incredible.

That’s what give me hope and what makes this bearable. Because of our communities, our modes of communication (Facebook, Twitter, radio) and our determination (and faith) not to let our fellow citizens suffer, I have  hope that we will overcome. Take it, Bruce…

My city’s in ruins 
My city’s in ruins 

Now with these hands 
I pray Lord 
with these hands 
for the strength Lord 
with these hands 
for the faith Lord 
with these hands 
I pray Lord 
with these hands 
for the strength Lord 
with these hands 
for the faith Lord 
with these hands 

Another update from City Councilmember Brad Lander, who writes:

“I continue to be amazed by this community’s response to Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath. Every call for volunteers, donation, and help has been filled many times over. And we have remained good neighbors, despite this very stressful and ongoing event.

“I would like to highlight the amazing work of the people who are managing the two evacuee shelters in our district. ERIN and ZAIDA at the Park Slope Armory and BETTY, FLORENCE AND TORI at John Jay High School have been strong, dedicated, calm, and organized through a difficult situation. The 700+ people living in these shelters, and our whole community, owe them a big thank you.

“See below for opportunities this weekend to help continue the clean up and support those affected this weekend.

“Volunteer and Donation Needs this Weekend

“The Park Slope Armory shelter (361 15th Street, between 7th & 8th Avenues) needs volunteers who can work at least an 8 hour shift, longer would be great. Shifts start at 8 AM and 8 PM. If they have too many volunteers, you may be turned away, so be prepared for that.

“The John Jay High School shelter (237 7th Avenue, between 4th & 5th Streets) needs day, evening, and overnight volunteers this weekend (especially, but not only, people with medical training). You need to be able to dedicate at least 6-8 hours and cannot bring your children.

“There is still a huge need for your help in Red Hook (and thank you to everyone who has already volunteered). Here are several opportunities over the weekend:

“I am very happy to report that the Office of Emergency Management has set up an office in Red Hook at 402 Van Brunt Street. At 10 AM on Saturday, they are looking for 100 volunteers to assist with cleanup efforts. Please bring tools, work gloves, and be prepared to get a little dirty.

“Added Value, the Red Hook community farm (480 Columbia Street, across the street from IKEA) sustained extensive damage during the storm. About 100 volunteers will be working throughout the morning and will need a hot lunch.

“They are asking any kind souls to bring hot, cooked food to the farm at 1 PM on Saturday. Also, their computers were destroyed by Sandy and the farm would really appreciate a donation of an old computer or smart phone.

“Red Hook Initiative has been doing amazing work this week on behalf of this community in need. They would still appreciate volunteers (at 767 Hicks Street) and donations of flashlights, ice, and medical supplies (but no clothes). Call 718-858-6782 for details.”

A friend of a friend named Kate Mosher Smith is doing a Call to Kitchens and will be driving hot meals to Red Hook Initiative on Saturday to help the people of Red Hook, who are without power and water.

Kate is urging cooks to get your hot dish on! If you can contribute something hot and bring it to their car by 11AM  she will get it to them by lunchtime. Her car is parked on Sixth Avenue between First and Second Streets in Park Slope.

She writes: “We can take supplies/equipment tonight until 9:30pm as well but food should come in the morning by 11AM to 295 6th Ave, bell 3 (up the stoop).”

They are taking donations as well: flashlights, candles, matches, baby food, diapers, paper plates, utensils, paper towels, non-perishable food, water, batteries, and power strips.

Also: Contractor bags, Rags, Bleach, Paper towels, Water, Mop heads, Industrial mop bucket, Mops, Brooms, Toilet paper and Gloves.

I would personally like to thank WNYC for their coverage of Superstorm Sandy. Our radio has been going non-stop since before the storm, during the storm, and all the days since. I am grateful for the reporters, the wealth of information, and their just being there.

It has been a huge help to me and many in terms of morale and hard facts.

Thank you: Brian Lehrer, Amy Eddings, Andrea Bernstein, John Hockenberry, Richard Hake, Bob Hennelly, Illya Marritz, Fred Mogul, Marianne McCune, John Schaeffer, and many more. Please send in more names if you’d like to add to this list.

After being closed for almost a week due to damage from Superstorm Sandy, Prospect Park will reopen to the public tomorrow at 8AM.

Some areas will still be off limits to the public while cleanup continues. The Lincoln Road Playground, Stewart Playground (at the Parade Ground), the area around Nellie’s Lawn, and most of the Woodlands remain closed until further notices. Other area will be marked by caution-tape and the public must avoid these areas.

Sad to say, the damage to Prospect Park exceeds what any storm has done to the Park in 25 years (as long as the Prospect Park Alliance has existed).

Over 300 hundred trees are down or so badly damaged that they will be taken down for safety. There were over 100 hanging limbs and almost 1,000 large branches and limbs are down or damaged.

“Alliance and Parks Department staffs have been working long hours to prepare the Park for its reopening to the public on Saturday,” said Emily Lloyd, Prospect Park Alliance President and Park Administrator. She added, “NYC Service brought over 170 volunteers into Prospect Park today to help clean up and they will be bringing many more on Saturday and Sunday. We also had 50 Army recruiters who were attending a meeting at Fort Hamilton and members of the United States Forest Service helping clear damaged areas. We are grateful for everyone’s support and service to the Park.”

Here’s a way you can help:

On Saturday, November 3^rd at 9 a.m. there’s the Alliance’s Third Annual Walk-a-thon for Prospect Park and First Annual Run for Prospect Park (www.prospectpark.org/walkathon). All proceeds from the Walk-a-thon will be directed to help with the cleanup and restoration of the Park.

Dumbo was badly hit by Storm Sandy. Two of our favorite shops were flooded by the storm surge and suffered major damage. They are now cleaning up and trying to clean up, dry off and move forward.

One Girl Cookies, located on Main Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn, was badly hit by Superstorm Sandy. After the storm, there was four feet of water on their Dumbo block. The bakery filled with water and they are now without power and the shop itself is a disaster area.

One Girl also has a shop in Cobble Hill that was, thankfully, untouched by the storm. The business employs about 36 people and at the moment many of them are helping clean up the Dumbo cafe.  I found this message on their website:

We just want to send boundless gratitude to everyone who has emailed, messaged, tweeted, phoned and stopped by with well wishes and offers of help. As some of you may already know, our lovely DUMBO store is not so lovely right now. Unfortunately, we were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy and suffered some damage due to flooding. (Our block was under 4′ of water and power has not yet been restored.)

PowerHouse Arena, a bookstore, event and exhibition space (and site of the 2009 Brooklyn Blogfest) was also a victim of the storm. The bookstore is truly an essential site on the map of Brooklyn’s literary scene as it is the site of many book launch parties. Here’s the email they sent out:

“The POWERHOUSE Arena sits just blocks from the beautiful Brooklyn waterfront, and while we moved merchandise in preparation for the hurricane’s 3′-11′ surges predicted by the expert meteorologists, we were not prepared for a 14′ rise in water level, which resulted in an inundation of 28″ throughout our 5000 sf main floor. Tubs of kids books, event copies, stationery and totes were lifted off the Arena steps and sunk; cabinets bobbed in the rushing onslaught; within 20 minutes the Arena was flooded and then emptied, breaking out the front door glass window and taking more than a few items along the way. Many of our neighbors–Almondine Bakery, One Girl Cookie, Governor, Aegir Surfboards–were equally devastated, in some cases more so. We’ve not fully tallied our losses, but they’re in the several tens of thousands of dollars.

People are collecting donations of food and water at the Park Slope Armory on 8th Ave in the Slope. It’s being d delivered (and folks can offer to drive loads of supplies) to a community center down the street from Red Hook Initiatives (http://www.rhicenter.org/contact.html).  Volunteers who can get to Red Hook are being encouraged to go directly to the RHI office where they will be given tasks, etc.