Story by Nicole Murphy.
Nassau County and Red
Cross have teamed up to help the thousands of Long Islanders without resources
in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
A shelter at Levittown
Memorial High School, located at 150 Abbey Lane, opened Sunday night where more
than 180 residents fled seeking heat, power and food.
Coleen Smith, special
assistant to Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, said that dozens have left
since Tuesday morning to check on their homes, but she expects attendance may
begin to rise again as the temperature drops.
"There are a lot of
people who are here because they're out of their homes or their homes washed
away in the storm,” Smith said. “A lot of local people without power are here
to eat, warm up or charge their phones."
The building's gymnasium
is lined with cots for residents to sleep in, in addition to a dining room with
fresh sandwiches, milk, fruit and coffee and a game room for children's
entertainment.
Smith said that the Red
Cross has been more than generous in supplying food and shelter necessities,
while residents have been dropping off additional items like clothing, cups,
plates and toilet paper.
Long Beach resident
Jennifer DeCarlo arrived at the shelter early Tuesday morning after her and her
two daughters, ages eight and 11, experienced severe flooding and damage to
their East Chester Street apartment.
"The water rushed
through the front door into our apartment," DeCarlo recalled.
"Tuesday morning, before we left, I looked in there and the water had
knocked everything over. A lot of our belongings are ruined. Our refrigerator
was knocked over."
Since the storm hit,
DeCarlo has been unable to reach her parents, which she said is the most
frightening of all.
"They live in
Baldwin and I haven't heard anything about the conditions there," she
explained. "I can't reach them and I don't know how they are doing."
For the duration of
recovery, DeCarlo is hoping her family is able to return to her hometown and
her daughters are able to get back to school.
"I hope my landlord
will put me in the hotel in Long Beach if my house isn't repaired,"
DeCarlo said. "I want my kids to be able to go back to school regularly and we
can't really be out of town."
Smith said she expects
the shelter will be open at least until all traffic lights are restored as
schools will then begin to open.
Levittown Memorial Shelters Long Beach Resident, Daughters
Credit: Nicole Murphy
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john peri Jr May 23, 2013 at 04:48 pm
TRIVIA: Joseph Carlino, former Speaker of the NY State Assembly, gave a speech on the 5th…Read More Amendment at my high school graduation. His father was the Republican leader in Long Beach.
Patrick Smith May 23, 2013 at 04:38 pm
She will be questioned by kid gloved committee , and a back room deal will be made .Repukes get what…Read More they want and obama will fire her with a golden parachute ,end of story.This is America
Tideline May 23, 2013 at 12:04 pm
She also is still collecting a big paycheck for a job that she took the 5th on and would not answer…Read More any questions. She should be immediately suspended without pay. She won't she is protected by the Obama umbrella. I predict she will be recalled, since she made a statement and that negated her 5th protections. When she refuses again next time, she should be found in contempt of Congress.
Leonard Bauman May 23, 2013 at 09:27 pm
The victims are the poor defenseless cats and dogs in that shelter that Rescue Ink was using as…Read More donation pawns, giving the cats and dogs scrimps while spending the large spoils on their own selfish selves. Why can't the North Shore Animal League take over the shelter and make it a second adoption site to complement their location in Port Washington?
andy napolitano May 23, 2013 at 05:51 pm
Well lets see now. Long Beach has always been known as such a corrupt city why shouldn't them…Read More allowing these guys to illegally park their van anywhere they want come as such a surprise. Then to top it off let them open an animal shelter so they all can profit from it. I have lived in Long Beach for over 30 years & it has ALWAYS been known that city hall is not exactly on the up & up. So yeah I think we should be outraged at the City who allowed this to happen.And when this new scandel breaks wide open is everyone going to act so surprised? This is just the tip of the iceburg with this shelter & Rescue Ink.
Happy Daze May 23, 2013 at 04:49 pm
Wow such outrage. Did you really think these guys, who illegally parked their van in a handicapped…Read More spot every night in the west end a few years back, were going to be the saviors they portrayed themselves to be?
Oh and let's not blame this on the City because at least the City tried to provide an animal shelter for Long Beach.
Patrick Smith May 23, 2013 at 04:42 pm
This is economic cleansing by vulture capitalists ,Agenda 21 moving as planned
Tideline May 23, 2013 at 07:45 am
I spoke with the construction mgr who told me that the entire bsmt, 1 st flr were flooded and 2 feet…Read More of water onto the second floor. Foundation is sound, that is why they will be moving back in within 60 days. As bad as the damage looks, their financial picture seems even worse. Construction mgr did not seem to care about the owners situation, just finishing the work.
sun&sand May 23, 2013 at 07:05 am
The water flooded the first floor of apts. I am not sure if the entire foundation is sound--the…Read More building was built on sand and several of the pilings might have to be reinforced. The 2nd floor and above was not flooded. The building sits on sand and is wide open to the elements. The people I know have been paying their maintenance charges which included RE taxes. However, the need for more money to fix everything is more than they have on hand.
Me May 22, 2013 at 10:46 am
Might actually be cheaper to buy a used RV. It doesn't need to really run or drive well. You can…Read More find them on craigslist for as little as $1,000 dollars. Even if you change aout all matresses, clean up etc you could be all in for only the cost of a month or two rent. Then you can re-sell, donate to charity or give it away free when done and no problem if construction runs long you own it.
andy napolitano May 23, 2013 at 03:34 pm
Just speculating that Schumer is buddies with Joe Panzarella & the shelter got finished while…Read More other places are still waiting. People can take what they want from that comment but it looks fishy.
andy napolitano May 23, 2013 at 08:26 am
Yeah I've seen all the pictures of Joe "Panz" Panzarella with Chuck Schumer. Rescue Ink…Read More gets their shelter back but so many other things that are more important are still not up & running. The few animals that Rescue Ink had were in a safe warehouse so there was no real hurry to move them back to the building the shelter is in but they're back. "Politics make strange bedfellows" isn't that the saying? Chuck & Joe. Makes ya wanna go Hmmmmmmmm!!!!!!
Eddie May 22, 2013 at 10:52 am
Your bill of sale on Craigslist says the door is Fiberglas, not "clear pine".
Erica May 23, 2013 at 01:51 am
What about the foot bridges to just get in the beach in the west end? And the people still out of…Read More their homes? And the phoney letters claiming outrageous percentages of damage (proven to be untrue) to get us to raise the houses for how many thousands to be reassessed higher taxes?
Eddie May 22, 2013 at 09:21 pm
Asbury Park = Democrats.
Freeport = Democrats
Rockaway = Democrats
Long Beach = Democrats.
Paul Carrella May 22, 2013 at 10:41 am
Taht's right Tony, takes a long time to figure out how to steal that kind of dough. Welcome to the…Read More new Asbury Park.
paul.d.spellman May 21, 2013 at 10:56 am
If you have an alarm system, you need to pay the city fee. They hired an outside company to manage…Read More the payments so now the fee is expected to be collected.
Leonard Bauman May 21, 2013 at 07:33 pm
I have heard 3 stories: the movie theatre owner had no flood insurance and will need to find $$ to…Read More rebuild, no $$ so far; the theatre will be razed and will become home to 4 stores, the movie theatre will be renovated into a world class theatre with surround sound and ticket prices of $2 for children and $4 for adults except after 4PM.
IRISH 4 May 21, 2013 at 10:41 am
I cant believe all the shore towns with boardwalks up and running & Lb hasnt even started .So…Read More much for we are different and are building a better one,Well the first one lasted many years so just upgrade and get finished.& months later and not even a board in & still making excuses AND 4XS THE COST ....WOW WHAT A BARGAIN .
Publius May 21, 2013 at 08:56 am
some observations: one, applicable regulations for safety provide you cannot have mixed swimming…Read More and surfing beaches, so if the idea is to have both, you need to allocate. two, different beaches, because of bottom conditions, have very different waves -- ergo, the selection of beaches for surfing. three, on any given summer day with decent waves, and barely decent on a weekend, the number of surfers is dangerous. truly. I will not let my younger children surf/learn on those days. I won't even surf those days. four, on any given summer day, the number of people in the water, let alone actually swimming, is incredibly small in comparison to our total available beach real estate. five, as a general rule under this schedule, no swimmer should have to walk more than a few seconds to 2 minutes to be on a swimming beach. it is an allocation issue and not everyone is going to like the allocation, but that's often a part of the give and take of living in a community where resources are shared. folks who live near the train station have commuters parking in front of the their houses, sometimes with cars left for 2-3 days. similar for folks who live near the beach and can't get parking for themselves or at least their guests on a weekend. there are unbelievable issues with allocation of sports fields for practice and games. west-enders put up with bar traffic and a lot of other things. in any event, my two cents.
john peri Jr May 19, 2013 at 09:02 am
Food is just one element of achieving health. There are probably thousands. For…Read More instance---exercise, clean water, sunshine, avoiding poisons, proper sleep, stress management, education, etc.
john peri Jr May 19, 2013 at 07:31 am
With my suggestion, the IRS could enforce compliance with bathroom inspection raids.
Patrick Smith May 18, 2013 at 08:59 am
After looking at strongerthanthestorm.com and well Jersey completed the work they did,we got to…Read More replace the clowns we have running all of Long Beach