As New York City reopens its schools and subways, a week after Hurricane Sandy claimed the lives of 40 New Yorkers and damaged the homes of thousands more, the Rockaway peninsula of Queens faces a long, difficult path to recovery. Over a hundred homes went up in flames Monday night in the Breezy Point neighborhood. Water has filled the ground floors of buildings across the Rockaways. The boardwalk, a beloved city landmark, has collapsed. Those stores left standing remain closed. Cars are piled on top of each other, cabs are nowhere to be seen, and the subway is a long way from repaired.
We filmed the devastation to the Rockaways, and are urging people to aid in the recovery there via Interoccupy, the Red Cross, rockawayhelp, or the New York Blood Center.
Our friend Michelle lives in Rockaway Beach. We didn’t hear from her until three days after the storm, when she left us a message that reminded us how lucky some of us really fared. The following day, we traveled to her neighborhood to document the aftermath of the storm and made this short film. Of course, there are so many areas in the region experiencing great devastation, but we wanted to show that the damage in the Rockaways is extensive and under-reported.
Poppy de Villeneuve and Alex Braverman