SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Port Sheepshead Marina, nothing but rubble.

Despite more than a week of cleaning, Emmons Avenue’s eastern end, a strip of waterfront condos, bungalows and boating clubs, remains in shambles.

We visited Emmons Avenue’s two waterfront bungalow colonies earlier this week, and, though Hurricane Sandy destroyed several homes and left families for the streets, there had been no visits from FEMA, Red Cross or any examples of the volunteer frenzy other neighborhoods have received.

In the absence of outside help, neighbors banded together to help each other.

Keep reading, and view a photo gallery of the destruction in the bungalow colonies.

The National Weather Service has issued a High Wind Warning beginning at 2:00 p.m. today, lasting until 4:00 a.m. on Thursday, and a Coastal Flood Warning this afternoon through tomorrow morning. City officials are recommending that residents of areas hard-hit by Hurricane Sandy stay with family, friends or at an evacuation center until it’s over.

Cold weather, rain and high wind gusts are expected. Though it won’t be nearly as strong as Sandy’s fury, wind speeds are expected to reach 40 miles per hour.

All parks and beaches will be closed from noon today until midnight Thursday.

“If you live in a low-lying or a flood prone area, an area already impacted by the recent hurricane, or have concerns about flooding, consider staying with friends or family outside affected areas or in a NYC evacuation shelter.”

Sheltersare currently open. Locate the nearest shelter by visiting this site. If you need assistance with transportation, call 311 for help. All evacuation centers have at least one wheelchair accessible entrance.

As Sheepshead Bay and Southern Brooklyn continue to cope with the damage from Hurricane Sandy, those without heat or hot water face a new challenge: falling temperatures, and a possible nor’easter later this week. Those without heat – especially seniors – are strongly encouraged to find a place to stay until temperatures swing back up next weekend.

From the New York Times:

In New York, 30,000 to 40,000 people, mainly residents of public housing, will have to find new homes, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at a news conference with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sunday.

… Temperatures throughout the region fell early Sunday into the 30s, and the National Weather Service issued a freeze watch on Sunday for parts of New Jersey, including the coast, where many residents remained without heat. Officials have urged them to head to shelters.

Mr. Bloomberg called the cold the “most pressing” challenge in the recovery. The city has opened heating shelters and is passing out blankets to New Yorkers without electricity.

“You can die from being cold,” Mr. Bloomberg said Sunday. “You can die from fires started from candles or stoves. Please go to the local disaster site. If you don’t know where to go, stop a cop on the side of the road and ask.”

Adding to the concerns, forecasters now say that a northeaster could move in by midweek, hitting the already battered coastal areas with heavy winds and strong waves. Freezing temperatures are also expected.

On Twitter, the mayor’s office said that recovery efforts today are focused on checking in with those in hard hit areas that may be without heat or hot water, and encouraging them to move to shelters.

Mayor: today we’re focusing on checking in on people and seeing who else may need a warm place to sleep for the night. #Sandy

— NYC Mayor’s Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) November 4, 2012

Five warming centers are currently open in Brooklyn, and a list of locations and times can be found here.

With the drop in temperatures this weekend, the city is providing warming center in the five boroughs for a place to get out of the cold. Sure, there are still thousands of residents in Brooklyn who lost heat and hot water during Hurricane Sandy, but, hey we get one, just one. Oh, and it closes early.

Here’s the complete list.

For the fourth day in a row – and the third since the storm hit Monday night – all New York City public schools will be closed. They will remain closed on Friday as well.

Alternate side parking regulations will be suspended, but meters and all other parking regulations remain in effect. (Corrected)

The city is making scheduled garbage collections as storm conditions permit. Recycling collections are suspended. All recycling should be stored until further notice.

The MTA is partially restoring subway service, as are other area agencies. No subways will be crossing bridges or tunnels into Manhattan, and there will not be any service in Manhattan south of the 34th Street. However, the MTA will run shuttle buses to connect the lines.

The MTA’s subway service map post-Sandy – a depressing site – can be found here. Here’s WNYC’s handy tool to keep track of subway, bus and other transit options:

Correction (11/1/2012 @ 9:20 a.m.): The original version of this post indicated that parking meter regulations would not be enforced. That was incorrect. Beginning today, all parking meter regulations are being enforced.

Photo via Ditmas Park Corner

Two casualties of Hurricane Sandy were former students of Leon M. Goldstein High School at Kingsborough Community College and Edward R. Murrow High School.

The two were together, killed while walking a dog on Monday night in Ditmas Park, where they lived.

Ditmas Park Corner has the story:

Jessie Streich-Kest and Jacob Vogelman were killed while walking their dog during last night’s storm. A tree fell and pinned the two, who were not discovered until early this morning.

Jessie Streich-Kest grew up in Ditmas Park and attended Murrow High School. She has friends and family throughout the immediate neighborhood who are grief stricken.

“Jessie was first a student and then a friend of mine,” wrote neighbor Matt MacLean. “I can’t believe that she’s not here anymore. Her passion for animal welfare, political activism, and her new career as a high school teacher were so amazing. We talked not long ago about getting together for another coffee or drink. She could plow through all sorts of obstacles and her fortitude was a sight to behold. My heart goes out to her family. It just doesn’t seem real.”

… Jacob Vogelman was “a nice guy, very kind and always smiling” remembered Dominique Manzione, a friend of his from high school. Jacob grew up nearby and had attended Goldstein High School near Manhattan Beach. For college, he attended SUNY Buffalo.

A Sheepshead Bay resident is looking for a few good guys and gals to help clean up the neighborhood.

Bites reader Danil Rudoy launched the group yesterday, seeking volunteers to “pitch in and get our neighborhood cleaned up.”

Rudoy is organizing volunteers to remove branches from roadways and is looking for equipment to pump water out of public areas and local institutions like the Russian American Jewish Experience (RAJE) facilities. He’s also offering help cleaning up local homes and businesses.

You can find the group here.

As in Manhattan Beach, Hurricane Sandy pummeled the Sheepshead Bay waterfront. We had hoped to get out take some photos and video of our own, but spent all that time sorting through the enormous volume of user-submitted items we received. And, anyway, these guys and gals captured most of the things I had planned to get photos of.

Thanks to Danil Rudoy, Jane Stern, Alex Morozov, Jewly D, Thomas LoPinto, Yelena Ostrovskaya, Emily Braunstein, Andrey, Amanda Ardito, zvi greenspan, Lev Feldman, Andrew.in.RWC, Michelle Shalmiyev, Daniel McGowan, Kristel Simmonds-Cobb, Eric Dwyer, Daniel Rubin, James Chen, Ruth Gottesman, Lev Feldman, Kelly Bridwell, ken.jets, Eugene, Allen Friedman, Dmitry Epshteyn, Michelle November, Dmitry Epshteyn, Issabella vinokurov, Mia Aginsky, Andrey Smorgunov, Mike Star, Michael Yuryev, achiko88, Skblaugrana10, Baawsman and Avtandil Tsertsvadze for the submissions.

As for me, I need to go pump my own basement out. This will be it until later in the evening or tomorrow.

Good luck, and best wishes.

[Show as slideshow]

Where do we even begin to tell the story of the massive destruction that swept through our neighborhood last night?

We chose Manhattan Beach because it was the hardest hit within our coverage area, with eight foot tall waves crashing through the neighborhood. Several community landmarks are heavily damaged, not least of which is the esplanade.

Sure, the esplanade has taken damage in previous storms. But though dangerous and unusable, it was still there.

No longer.

On the other side of the community, the Ocean Avenue footbridge is heavily damaged. About a third of the railing is gone, and the wooden planks are splintered in some areas.

In between, homes are flooded. Water was bubbling up from the manhole covers when we visited around noon. A portion of one home’s facade collapsed.

Honestly, we can’t even begin to go in-depth on this. We’re hoping to get more info up about Sheepshead Bay and other neighborhoods. We quickly put together this video, and a set of unedited photos from Brighton Beach to Manhattan Beach which only just begin to express the extant of the damage.

See the photo gallery.

Councilman Lew Fidler just sent us the following message:

I just came back from a tour of the entire 46th Council District and it clear that we still have flooding issues even after the waters receeded.

In the coming days, we will be getting info out to assist people in making FEMA, Flood Insurance and Con Ed claims.

Until then, my district office is open. Constituents should feel free to call in at 718-241-9330 with issues that we can help with. We will try to get the fastest possible government response, especially on critical issues. Even after hours, we are monitoring our voice messages, so leave a detailed one if we are not in.

He adds that FEMA info should be available within two days.