Dear Friends throughout the Rotary world and beyond...
It has now been almost a week since Hurricane Sandy attacked New Jersey and New York. All of the six District governors in the area whose Districts were most affected have been in contact with one another, and I would like to give you an update on what has happened to each of our areas, as well as a list of both immediate and long-term needs as we know them now.
At Zones 24 and 32's director Bryn Sykes suggestion, we are all working together to get donated supplies to the right area. We are asking that cash donations be made to one fund, the Walter D. head Foundation if Rotary District 7490, c/o Calisto Bertin ( our DGN), Bertin Engineering, 66 Glen Avenue, Glen Rock, NJ 07452. By tomorrow, we will also have a way those who wish to do so can wire transfer money or donate on-line or using PayPal or other major credit cards. We will split whatever donations are given among the six affected districts, although we may decide to give more to those districts that are most affected( see below). That information will be on the website (created as part of a mufti-district PR grant we received from Rotary International): www.nynjrotary.org. We will keep that site updated with the latest information every other day., including foundations of individual distrcts.
We are overwhelmed by the generosity and support we have received from not only Rotarians but also from the general public. Today a group of dancing students is running a supplies drive, and will also be putting on a fund raising event. Hundreds of Rotary districts and clubs all over the world have called or e-mailed us to see how they could help.
In general, most of the flood waters in the area have subsided, but about 50% of us still have no power and may not get it back before the end of the week. Mass transit is slowly returning to the area, and roads are being cleared. Unfortunately, the U.S. Weather Service is forecasting another severe storm fir Wednesday, which may eradicate any progress. But many people, including Rotarians, lost their homes and businesses, and some even lost their lives. With the power still out, there is still danger from overexposure to carbon monoxide fumes from generators and propane tanks, and from freezing without heat.
Many Rotary districts and clubs , as well as other organizations, are already on their way with donated supplies. At least four trucks are already on their way.
Here are items needed NOW by people in shelters throughout the area:
Clothing
Underwear
Socks
Blankets
Cots
Pillows
Bedding
Towels
Cleaning supplies of all types - mops, brooms, pails, disinfectant, bleach, detergent
Batteries, especially D batteries
Disposable diapers for babies of all sizes
Depends for senior citizens
Non-perishable food items, especially Chunky soups, protein items like tuna fish or salmon, sardines, peanut butter, bread, jelly,beans, stews, canned ravioli, also juices
Baby food of all types
Non-electronic toys and games
Coats
Sweaters, sweatpants and sweatshirts
Paper plates and cups
By tomorrow, we will out on the website a warehouse where items may be delivered. We are putting together trucks and people to drive the supplies where they are needed throughout the six Districts. Non-food donations can be delivered to: 799 Route 17south in Paramus, just south of Linwood Avenue and the Capital One Bank. We will post more sites on the website.
Longer-term needs
Once people get out of shelters and resume their lives, they will need the following:
Furniture - chairs, tables, beds, desks
School supplies of all sorts
Linens and towels
Warm clothing
Kitchen utensils
Appliances
We are working in a multi- district grant to supply some of these.
Building needs
We will need help rebuilding many structures and will keep that updated on our website at www.nynjrotary.org.
Among the sites we will need help rebuilding are:
Schools ( plus all supplies and furniture)
Senior Centers
Libraries
Civic centers
We will need hands-on volunteers for these projects, as well as funds.
Here is a District by District (in numerical order) of what is happening in each District that was badly affected. I am also including the name and contact information for the District Governor in that area.
District 7230 (Manhattan, Bronx Staten Island and Westchester) Greg Arcaro, DG, [email protected], (c) 914-589-2090
Hundreds of people are homeless on the southern side of Staten Island. The restaurant (owned by a Rotarian) where the South Staten Island Rotary met was washed out to sea. The ferry has just started running to Staten Island again, but many roads are impassable. Power has been restored to about 50% of the people there. Lower Manhattan's Battery Park was flooded, and tunnels serving the city, the Holland and Brooklyn Tunnels, were inundated. Power has been restored to much of Manhattan. Westchester and the Bronx did not get much damage other than falling trees and downed power lines. We have not heard from Bermuda, which is part of the District, and was also in Hurricane Sandy's path.
District 7250 (Queens, Brooklyn and Nassau Counties, NY), DG Mario Moran, [email protected], (c) 516-729-8164
This area was badly damaged. Many are homeless in the Rockaways, Long Beach, Fire Island,the Rockaways in Queens, Coney Island and Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. In Breezy Point, a fire destroyed eighty homes. All of the areas in Nassau County south of Sunrise Highway were flooded. There is a shelter that has been set up in Freeport, NY) one of our Youth Exchange students from Brazil who was staying in Long Beach lost the home where he is staying, although it looks like he will be adopted by District 7490. Trees are down throughout the area, but about 60% have had power restored at this point.
District 7640, Suffolk County, NY, Connie Gevinski, DG, [email protected], (c) 631-255-6119
Hardest -hit areas are in Islip and in Huntington on the North Shore. Trees are down, but much power has been restored.The town of Lindenhurst had 100 homes lost to the Ocean. A large area of
homes were flooded. They are in desperate need of cleaning supplies and
physical help. They do not need any more clothing donations, but bedding
would be useful.
We still have many without power and heat because of downed lines and it may
be some time before they receive it.
There are also other Oceanside towns that I have not been able to get lists
of needs from.
District 7490 ( Bergen, Passaic and Hudson Counties, NJ). Bonnie Sirower, DG, [email protected], (c) 201-446-1814
The towns if Moonachie and Little Ferry were washed away when a levee broke. Most buildings and homes were destroyed, although floodwaters have receded. No power restored yet. Hoboken was 90% underwater. Jersey City and Secaucus were somewhat flooded, too. There is a shelter run by the Elks in Hoboken and at Woodridge High School near Moonachie. Power is about 50% restored to the area (not here yet).
District 7500 (Monmouth, Ocean and Burlington Counties, NJ) Joan Vas, DG, [email protected], (c) 732-241-3947
This area was VERY badly damaged. In Sea Bright, there is still no access to the town. Many residents in Belmar were evacuated and are now in shelters. Seaside Heights was devastated and its amusement area and boardwalk were washed out to sea. The National Guard is patrolling the area of Point Pleasant where people have been evacuated. Mantolokin is still considered unsafe. There is very little electricity throughout the area. The DGE's home is uninhabitable. The town Union Beach had over 200 homes washed away and between 15 and 30 residents are unaccounted for at this point in time. Long Beach Island was devastated with about 4-5 feet of beach sand on the main road through the island."
District 7640 (Atlantic, Cape May, Camden and Gloucester Counties, NJ) John Andrews, DG , [email protected], (c) 609-576-8353
Atlantic City and Brigantine were the hardest hit. They are still in a state of emergency Much of those cities were inundated. Also hard-hit were Beach Haven,Ventnor, Margate and Longport. There are shelters set up in these areas.
In the other districts in our immediate region, District 7470 (Essex, Sussex, Morris and Somerset Counties) had some flooding in Newark, plus downed trees. District 7510 (Union, Middlesex, Princeton) had some flooding and downed trees and no power. 7210 (Rockland, Orange, Duchess) had some flooding in Piermont and Nyack, plus downed trees and no power in many areas, but the damage is not as drastic as in the other areas. I have not included Connecticut in this survey.
We appreciate your help!