Nation
October 30, 2012
Jewish community bears impact of Hurricane Sandy
by Adam Soclof, JTA
Member of the FDNY in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York on Oct. 30. Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Less than a year into her job at North Shore Synagogue in Syosset, N.Y., Rabbi Debbie Bravo sounded remarkably poised as she and her community faced one of their most powerful challenges together: Hurricane Sandy.
Bravo’s land line was dead. When she picked up her cell phone Tuesday, she had just returned from the local police station.
“I have a child who takes medication that has to be refrigerated,” she said calmly.
According to figures released by The Long Island Power Authority on Tuesday, more than 930,000 families -- 90 percent of all island residents -- are without power after Hurricane Sandy wrought havoc Monday night across the northeastern United States. Among those 930,000 are an estimated 139,000 Jewish househoolds.
Hurricane Sandy, which washed ashore Monday evening just south of Atlantic City, N.J., took dead aim at the most populous region of the country, home as well to the majority of the country's Jews. In its wake, it left a trail of devastation that may take weeks to restore, if not longer.
“I went over to the synagogue a few hours ago, which is right next to a woodsy area," Bravo said. "Ten plus trees are down, including a huge one down on the front law. Everyone’s saying this is a hundred times worse” than previous natural disasters that hit the island.
The greater New York area, home to the largest population of Jews in North America, took a harsh hit as severe winds and flooding toppled trees, triggered electrical fires and flooded public transportation systems. The result: mass evacuations of apartments and dormitories, widespread school closings and damaged homes and community institutions.
Early Tuesday afternoon, David Weissberg, executive director of the 120-year-old Isabella Freedman Retreat Center in Falls Village, Conn., posted a photo of a tree that literally sliced through the roof over the center’s main building.
“We’re looking in the short term how to work around that space and need to assess how long it will take to get that space repaired,” Weissberg said.
“It’s an amazingly precise cut,” he marvelled. “It fell at an angle perfectly perpendicular to the building, which will hopefully make the repair an easier one.”
Jewish communal organizations, whose offices, landlines and in some cases e-mail servers were closed or down on Tuesday, largely set up shop remotely as they set out to formulate a response.
“The concerns of the Jewish Federations movement is focussed on both those in the Jewish community and non-Jewish community as we work with local Jewish federations as well as local, state and federal emergency management personnel to assess the damage and look forward to recovery,” said William Daroff, vice president of public policy and director of the Washington office of The Jewish Federations of North America.
Daroff noted that while watching the devastation unfold, social media was a source of comfort. “Compared to visuals from New York and the Long Island coast, having a support structure and literally thousands of friends acquired through Facebook and Twitter helped me feel less alone as my family sat shuttering with gusts of wind at 50 mph.”
The Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago set up a relief fund Monday night, with The Jewish Federations of North America and Union for Reform Judaism following suit the next afternoon.
For those without power on Long Island, finding alternative to landlines was critical.
“A lot of people are not getting cell phone service at home,” Bravo said. “For one congregant, the only time i could talk to her was when she left her house.”
As Bravo attempts to establish and maintain contact with the elderly and other congregants -- including two with recent births -- she also pondered the next moves for her synagogue’s two b’nai mizvah this weekend, which in all likelihood will be conducted without power.
“Truthfully in my mind, our options are try to use daylight,” she said.
Click to view a slideshow
Post-tropical cyclone Sandy is seen slowly moving westward while weakening across southern Pennsylvania in this NOAA handout image taken at 1445 GMT (1045 EST) October 30, 2012. High wind warnings are in effect along the central to southern Appalachians and across portions of the Great Lakes. Storm warnings remain in effect along the mid-Atlantic and New England coast from Virginia to Massachusetts. REUTERS/NOAA/Handout
Damage after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the southern New Jersey coastline is seen in this U.S. Coast Guard handout photo in Brigantine, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. In the storm's wake, Obama issued federal emergency decrees for New York and New Jersey, declaring that "major disasters" existed in both states. One disaster-forecasting company predicted economic losses could ultimately reach $20 billion (12.4 billion pounds), only half insured. REUTERS/U.S.Coast Guard/Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson/Handout
Damage after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the southern New Jersey coastline is seen in this U.S. Coast Guard handout photo in Brigantine, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. In the storm's wake, Obama issued federal emergency decrees for New York and New Jersey, declaring that "major disasters" existed in both states. One disaster-forecasting company predicted economic losses could ultimately reach $20 billion (12.4 billion pounds), only half insured. REUTERS/U.S.Coast Guard/Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson/Handout
Damage after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the southern New Jersey coastline is seen in this U.S. Coast Guard handout photo in Brigantine, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. In the storm's wake, Obama issued federal emergency decrees for New York and New Jersey, declaring that "major disasters" existed in both states. One disaster-forecasting company predicted economic losses could ultimately reach $20 billion (12.4 billion pounds), only half insured. REUTERS/U.S.Coast Guard/Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson/Handout
Damage after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the southern New Jersey coastline is seen in this U.S. Coast Guard handout photo in Brigantine, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. In the storm's wake, Obama issued federal emergency decrees for New York and New Jersey, declaring that "major disasters" existed in both states. One disaster-forecasting company predicted economic losses could ultimately reach $20 billion (12.4 billion pounds), only half insured. REUTERS/U.S.Coast Guard/Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson/Handout
Damage after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the southern New Jersey coastline is seen in this U.S. Coast Guard handout photo in Brigantine, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. In the storm's wake, Obama issued federal emergency decrees for New York and New Jersey, declaring that "major disasters" existed in both states. One disaster-forecasting company predicted economic losses could ultimately reach $20 billion (12.4 billion pounds), only half insured. REUTERS/U.S.Coast Guard/Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson/Handout
Damage after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the southern New Jersey coastline is seen in this U.S. Coast Guard handout photo in Brigantine, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. In the storm's wake, Obama issued federal emergency decrees for New York and New Jersey, declaring that "major disasters" existed in both states. One disaster-forecasting company predicted economic losses could ultimately reach $20 billion (12.4 billion pounds), only half insured. REUTERS/U.S.Coast Guard/Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson/Handout
Homes are flooded after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the southern New Jersey coastline in this U.S. Coast Guard handout photo in Tuckerton, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. In the storm's wake, Obama issued federal emergency decrees for New York and New Jersey, declaring that "major disasters" existed in both states. One disaster-forecasting company predicted economic losses could ultimately reach $20 billion (12.4 billion pounds), only half insured. REUTERS/U.S.Coast Guard/Handout
Bystanders survey the 700-ton John B. Caddell tanker on the north shore of Staten Island, New York, October 30th, 2012. The tanker ran agound Monday night from the storm surge caused by Hurricane Sandy. Millions of people across the eastern United States awoke on Tuesday to scenes of destruction wrought by the monster storm which knocked out power to hugh swathes of the nation's densely populated region. REUTERS/Michael Berrigan
Members of the FDNY look through the wreckage of their home devastated by fire and the effects of Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York October 30, 2012. Millions of people across the eastern United States awoke on Tuesday to scenes of destruction wrought by monster storm Sandy, which knocked out power to huge swathes of the nation's most densely populated region, swamped New York's subway system and submerged streets in Manhattan's financial district. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Tom and Deidre Duffy look through the wreckage of their home devastated by fire and the effects of Hurricane Sandy are seen the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York October 30, 2012. Millions of people across the eastern United States awoke on Tuesday to scenes of destruction wrought by monster storm Sandy, which knocked out power to huge swathes of the nation's most densely populated region, swamped New York's subway system and submerged streets in Manhattan's financial district. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
A pathway to the beach from the boardwalk is buried in sand up to the railings, at a beach in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Atlantic City, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. Millions of people were left reeling in the aftermath of the massive storm Sandy on Tuesday as New York City and a wide swath of the eastern United States struggled with epic flooding and extensive power outages. The death toll climbed to at least 30. REUTERS/Tom Mihalek
Two front-end loaders remove sand from Atlantic Avenue, following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Atlantic City, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. Millions of people were left reeling in the aftermath of the massive storm Sandy on Tuesday as New York City and a wide swath of the eastern United States struggled with epic flooding and extensive power outages. The death toll climbed to at least 30. REUTERS/Tom Mihalek
A man walks past cottages along Roy Carpenter's Beach that were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Matunuck, Rhode Island October 30, 2012. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi
A tow truck crew works to remove a car from its owner's backyard, where it was pushed by debris during Hurricane Sandy in Atlantic City, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. Millions of people were left reeling in the aftermath of the massive storm Sandy on Tuesday as New York City and a wide swath of the eastern United States struggled with epic flooding and extensive power outages. The death toll climbed to at least 30. REUTERS/Tom Mihalek
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