U.S. Army Fort Hamilton on Nov. 14, 2012, Fort Hamilton, N.Y. After Hurricane Sandy devastated many areas along the Northeast coast of the country; military forces conducting civil support operations used Fort Hamilton as a staging area after it was designated the base support installation. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Osvaldo Equite

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Story by Staff Sgt. Osvaldo Equite

For more than a century, the present-day Southwest corner of New York City’s borough of Brooklyn was used to protect the entrance of New York’s harbor from intruders during the American Revolution and as a fort during the American Civil War.

Its construction, which began in 1825 on the Eastern side of the narrows, was completed after six years. Today, the 120-acre installation stands besides the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the U.S.
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Homeowner Erin Daly coordinates volunteer efforts and donations on her cellular phone at a “gut and pump” volunteer post she created with the assistance of New York City firemen. The volunteers have dewatered and cleared damaged drywall, insulation and water damaged property from more than 75 homes on Breezy Point. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Nicholas S. Tenorio

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By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Nicholas S. Tenorio

Breezy Point is a beachfront New York borough of Queens and home to the nations second largest concentration of Irish-Americans. This community of fewer than 5,000 full-time residents is also home to three of New York City’s 10 remaining volunteer fire departments.

A community disproportionately Irish-American. A community disproportionately firefighter.
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Here are some of the ways that all of us can help the people whose lives have been turned upside down by the destruction brought by Hurricane Sandy. There is also a link to a list of publicly announced corporate and individual donors to the Hurricane Sandy relief effort.

Funds raised in the U.S. through day 18 of the disaster:
Indonesian tsunami: 01/13/2005 – $615,000,000
Hurricane Katrina: 09/16/2005 – $828,515,374
Hurricane Sandy: 11/15/2012 – $189,801,647

NBC telethon fundraising
Indonesian tsunami: $158,285,000
Hurricane Katrina: $39,000,000
Hurricane Sandy: nearly $23 million

This post will remain sticky, at the top of the site, for about two weeks unless other events intervene.
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Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) clear debris during diaster relief operations in a Queens, N.Y. neighborhood, Nov. 9, 2012. The 26th MEU is able to provide generators, fuel, clean water, and helicopter lift capabilities to aid in disaster relief efforts. Photo by Cpl. Michael Lockett

Despite all the warnings… Despite the previous storms… The richest city in the richest nation on earth has tens of thousands living in the ruins, cold, hungry and afraid. Hurricane Sandy and the failures of relief and recovery at all levels of government point out how little distance there really is between American in 2012 and Haiti in 2012.
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Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit work with members of the New York Sanitation Department to clear out the tremendous piles of debris that have accumulated on Staten Island in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Nov. 5, 2012. The 26th MEU is able to provide generators, fuel, clean water, and helicopter lift capabilities to aid in disaster relief efforts. Photo by Cpl. Chris Stone

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Marines with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, to join them on the USS Wasp (LHD 1), Nov. 05, 2011.

“After the commandant’s arrival, he left to talk to the (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey), and to see first hand the destruction of Hurricane Sandy,” said Sgt. Maj. Todd M. Parisi, hometown native of Kersey, Penn., and sergeant major of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. “This isn’t as simple as ‘hey, there is a need and we have people here who want to help so lets put them on the ground,’ this is a larger, more complex type of situation of relationships and dynamics. Things have to be done right. The Marine Corps is geared and poised ready to execute immediately, but not everything happens that fast. However, today was a great success.”
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