Forum Photos by James SanPhillipo, Peter DeAngelis & Patricia Adams
By Michael V. Cusenza
A nor’easter packing powerful winds and plenty of precipitation pounded South Queens on Saturday—two days prior to the sixth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy—leaving in its wake floods that stifled streets and sent several feet of water into homes, eerily reminding area residents and first responders of the catastrophic tempest that changed so many borough lives in October 2012.
Parts of Howard Beach, such as Hamilton Beach and Coleman Square, and neighborhood arteries, including 160th Avenue, were inundated with water—more than three-feet deep in some spots. Several roads became impossible to traverse. Firefighters learned this the hard way as a tow truck was called in to help an FDNY engine escape a treacherous street sea that had formed just outside Coleman Square.
Superstorm Sandy struck New York City on Oct. 29, 2012. It claimed the lives of dozens of New Yorkers and caused more than $19 billion in damages and lost economic activity in the city.
