Long Beach to Host Sandy Commemoration Ceremony

A ceremony to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy will be held in Long Beach later this month, the City of Long Beach said Thursday.

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Headlined as an event to “reflect, recognize and resolve on” the storm, the ceremony is scheduled for Kennedy Plaza, outside the front of City Hall at 1 W. Chester St., starting at 11 a.m. Oct. 26, according to an announcement posted on the city’s website. The hour-long event will “commemorate the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy’s landfall and ensuing destructive path through their city and the rest of Long Island,” the announcement states.

When Sandy slammed Long Beach on Oct. 29, 2012, the storm’s wrath is estimated to have caused more than $200 million in damages to city property, including the water and sewer infrastructure and the 2.2-mile boardwalk, a $44 million project that nears completion. Moreover, more than 860 of the city’s 9,500 homes were deemed “substantially damaged” according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Following the storm, Kennedy Plaza was set up as a hub for emergency operations for response and recovery efforts, the city noted, and at the Oct. 26 ceremony federal, state and local elected officials will speak about the city’s recovery efforts.