Block after block, lives were emptied onto the streets.
Blankets and sheets were spread on lawns. Photos placed on top of them to dry in the sun. What if the wind comes back? Plates, dishes, pots and pans have been placed on the memories to keep them from blowing away.
A grandmother’s bedroom set, soon to be passed down, now warped from soaking under sea water and possibly sewage, takes its place in line for the inevitable toss into the dumpster. What to throw away. What to save. People pull up, they are in vans. They want to know if we are throwing any of this away. We scream back, “This is not garbage—this is our life on our lawn. Get off my property.”
Furniture, luggage, garbage–lifetimes of possessions–stood before home after home, a grim reminder, blocks long, of everything lost. Photo Couresy Donna Faiella
A single red pew is surrounded by the splintered remains of the Howard Beach Assembly of God Church. Photo Courtesy Donna Faiella
Marguerite Carillo is a Howard Beach resident who shared with us her personal thoughts. Her letter contains some very wise words we think everyone will be better for. Another “good thing” to have come from all this mess.
“Like everyone else here, we had 4 feet of water surrounding the house and 8 feet of water inside the basement. I never felt so helpless and frightened. My 90-years-young Mom put on a brave face but I knew that she was very scared.
What I will take away from all of this is how the people from Howard Beach came together as a community. I had neighbors coming over to see if they could help. Sanitation workers checking in on us to see if there was something they could do for us.
Whatever I had I tried to share with others and they did the same with us. We had no one but each other… Our neighborhood stood tall and this is what I want to remember on 10/29/13. I want to think about the good.”
Photo Courtesy Marguerite Carillo
Virtually no clues remain that this is the boat yard of longtime Howard Beach resident John Fazio. Other residents along the water’s edge lost their boats, as well as the docks they were tied to. Photo Courtesy Susan Lombardo
Rows of collapsed and crumbled bungalow type homes were rendered beyond repair and marked with red stickers as condemned properties Photo Courtesy Victoria Holt/VRPhotography
An American flag was placed outside this house, along with so many others, as a symbol of pride and inspiration and as a reminder that strength and courage is what built the greatest country on earth. Photo Courtesy Victoria Holt/VRPhotography
