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A
Special
Report on the Effects of |
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Hurricane Sandy on Our Hometown,
the |
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Status of the Relief/Recovery Efforts and
Our
Appeal
for
Help
from
Our
1960
Sailors
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UPDATE:
July 5, 2013 |
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Last
month, our class
Association's
board of directors
met in New York and obtained a status
report from
Bob Transom, president of
Oceanside Community Service, Inc.
(OCS),
who. together with its other volunteers,
tirelessly led
the Sandy relief/recovery effort in our
hometown. We learned that even over
seven months after Sandy, conditions in
Oceanside
remain far worse than we thought.
Following is my summary of Bob's report:
Driving up and down Oceanside Road,
Long Beach Road and Lawson Blvd.,
one sees evidence of lost trees and
store fronts boarded up. (I
witnessed this firsthand,
and I also saw many dumpsters
and other trash accumulations on
front lawns,
when I personally toured
Oceanside
on June 15th.)
Bob said South Derby Drive, where
most homeowners had no flood
insurance, was particularly hard
hit.
Although most homes in the
southeastern, southern and the
western sections of town (where most
of the storm damage was done) look
good on the outside, "the look is
deceiving." An estimated 300-400
homes are still less than 50%
reconstructed with many first floor
interiors still gutted and only
rough wiring installed. Some of the
occupants are living on upper
floors, with bedrooms now
temporarily converted to kitchens,
offices and entertainment space.
Most of the recovery delays are
attributable to slow insurance claim
reimbursement and institutional
lenders holding back money until
work is complete. Although FEMA has
stepped in, the bureaucracy is slow
and tedious (but coordination is
getting much better now). And
because of the apartment and housing
shortage caused by the storm, over
290 school kids that were displaced
from their
Oceanside
homes are still being housed
temporarily in other communities,
and the Oceanside School District is
reimbursing the other Districts for
the costs.
Bob reported
that the people of Oceanside
continue to be strong
─
"neighbor helping neighbor." Random
acts of kindness abound. A lot of
the “bull” work was done by the high
school teams and clubs during the
initial rip out and carry out. They
continue today helping the older
folks whom they helped during the
tougher times when the lights and
heat were out. Frozen food was
stored in freezers at the Mary
Brennan Soup Kitchen, and it went to
those who had no food. And
South Nassau
Community Hospital's "Project Hope"
program has been helping people cope
with the day-to-day struggles they
face.
Schools 9M and
9E (the middle and elementary
schools housed together in the building
in the
southernmost part of town originally built
in the 1960s
as Boardman Jr. High) have been
repaired with the exception of certain cabinets expected in August.
Exterior park structures not
covered by insurance are still in
ruin. The 9M portables are to be
demolished, and FEMA is expected to
help finance a new building to house
old records being preserved and to
replace
lost storage
equipment.
After
attending classes elsewhere in town,
the students of School # 8 (which
was closed for two months after
Sandy) returned to their home school
on January 2nd but then
operated
for four
months with a portable boiler room
on the front lawn. The
CEO of Disney
Corp., Robert Iger (OHS '69) attended
School # 8 as a child and arranged
to replace its exterior
playground equipment that was
destroyed.
It is apparent from Bob Transom's report that
more help is still needed back home, and
our
board of directors
agreed to
ask our members for more support in
connection with our annual voluntary
dues campaign that
starts
now.
Click here to find out how you can
help.
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UPDATE:
January 9, 2012 |
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For your information, we collected
and passed on, or donated from our treasury,
a total in excess of $4,100 (92% from our
1960 classmates) for the Sandy
victims in
Oceanside!
In addition, we know that many donations that
were
made directly to
Oceanside Community Service, Inc.
(OCS)
for the Sandy relief/recovery effort
were, in fact, inspired by our efforts, but
since we did not process these,
we are unable to account for them.
Today, I received a message from Bob
Transom, president of OCS, that started with, "First,
thank you for the yeoman’s effort put forth by you
and the Class of 1960! The town will really put it
to good use." Bob went on to report that OCS
is distributing assistance in such a manner that
they know they are addressing the needs they can
best meet and will reach the most people. Primarily,
rather than cash, they are providing residents with
gift cards from major retailers (for example, Home
Depot, Kohl's, CVS, Stop & Shop, Target and Walmart).
They are also considering purchasing appliances
directly for underinsured and needy families.
We really showed our
blue and white, and
we
are so proud
to be Sailors ─ and
to be a
part of these efforts!! |
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UPDATE:
December 30, 2012 |
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Item 1.
Students of the Oceanside High School in
Oceanside, California, (known as "the
Pirates") prepared digital slideshows
containing their heartfelt words and images
of encouragement for the current Sailors of
our OHS, their newly designated "sister
school," and posted them online along with
the following message:
Ahoy OHS NY
Sailors
From across the continent we send our
very best greetings and hope you all
have
a much better New Year!
You can view most of the
images
on
Facebook. (Click on any of the
thumbnail images to enlarge; then
proceed by clicking on ">"
or "<"
to view the others.)
Digital Studio Classes
Or click on these links to view them
all:
Period 1
Period 3 Period
4 Period
5 Period
6 Band
(Pause frequently to read the messages.)
And here you can view the
YouTube video response from our
young Sailors.
Item 2. Journalist and OHS alumnus,
Stephen Robert Morse, wrote an interesting
article in the Huffington Post
entitled, "My
Hometown's Recovery From Sandy Has Been
Lackluster, But It Could Have Been Better,"
in which
he compare the effectiveness of the Sandy
relief efforts in Long Beach to those in
Oceanside and proposes that, despite the
valiant efforts of dedicated volunteers,
Oceanside would have been far better of had
it been an incorporated village. The article
can be seen at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-robert-morse/hurricane-sandy-oceanside_b_2366653.html.
Item 3. In an article
by Alex Costello in its December 30th
edition (http://www.liherald.com/oceanside/),
the Oceanside Herald collectively
honored all the fire department members and
other volunteers who helped in the relief
efforts in Oceanside and Island Park as its
"People of the Year." "Bob
Transom and the Oceanside Community Service
worked tirelessly to feed the needy, which
comprised a large majority of the town."
Also honored were Dr. Herb Brown,
Superintendent of Schools and the many
teachers, principals and other school staff
and Sanitary District workers, all of whom,
like the volunteer firemen, "went above and
beyond."
UPDATE:
December 16, 2012
As
we told community leaders in November, "we want
everyone
who now lives in
Oceanside
to know that
the heart of the OHS class of 1960 is still beatin'
─
and that
we still care."
In response, we received an e-mail message
from Dr. Herb Brown,
Oceanside
Superintendent of Schools,
in which
he expressed his
gratitude to our class by saying, "We
will survive and become stronger because of
people like you." Bob
Transom, President of OCS, wrote, "the
Sailors Class of '60 are the best. We are holding
strong and remain as one," to which we responded, "Our
memories are a powerful bond. Yours are, too." |
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A
lifelong local resident, Margaret
Backus, wrote the following in a message addressed to our class: |
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"To the Class
of 1960, |
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"I came across
your 1960 page tonight when on
Facebook, and looking at the
Oceanside Sandy Recovery Page [Facebook
– Oceanside, NY Hurricane Sandy
Updates]. It
first caught my eye, because I was
born in 1960. Then as I scrolled
down, I saw how much so many former OHS graduates care about our
wonderful community from so far
away. I was so touched! I, too,
graduated from OHS in 1978. My
oldest daughter will be graduating
this June 2013, and I have a younger
daughter that will graduate June
2015. ... I
have so many wonderful memories, and
I know my daughter cherishes her
time in the Oceanside School
District. ... The
continued sense of community that
has been so everlasting is helping
many of these kids like my daughter
get through this devastating
time. To see what all of you are
doing has really touched me, and I
just wanted to reach out and say
THANK YOU! Today, while at the
high school, I saw people from all
walks of life joining for a
Thanksgiving Dinner, and all seeming
to want the same thing ─ to
put our beautiful community back
together again. We all cannot thank
you enough for wanting the very same
thing, even though many of you are
long gone. I don't know any of you,
but you will forever be in my
prayers as that wonderful group that
pulled together when that mean girl,
Sandy, popped into our lives. |
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"... when I spread the word
about people like you, I can see how
it makes them feel like they are not
forgotten. So many of my friends
have been greatly affected, and many
of my children's friends. Many are
so confused, and just can't seem to
understand it all. A group like
yours gives people that strength to
keep fighting, that support that
keeps them hanging on, and that bond
that has and will always be
Oceanside ─ a
true community ─ as
it was in 1960, in 1978, 2012 ─ and as
it will be in the future! You are
all our little group of angels
hovering over us and making us feel
loved and protected, during times
that still seem unimaginable. So
thank you again, and know that you
are all very greatly appreciated! |
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"All the best of happiness and
good health to you and your families.
May you all be as blessed in your
lives as we are to have you in ours!" |
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It is no coincidence that "unity" is the
biggest part of "community." |
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We were advised
this week that things are settling down
in
Oceanside,
and although many are living in temporary
quarters, its residents are beginning to
return to work. As a result, there is now a
severe shortage of available volunteers to
continue the relief and recovery work.
Accordingly, if any readers of this live
nearby and are available to assist as a
volunteer,
please call OCS President, Bob Transom, at
516/208-5991, or e-mail him at
rtransom@optonline.net.
Dr.
Herb Brown was interviewed on WNYC public radio on
November 21, 2012, about
Oceanside's
progress to
date in its recovery
from Sandy's devastation.
Click here to hear the 5-minute audio clip. |
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OUR
ORIGINAL REPORT and APPEAL FOR SUPPORT:
November 12 (as revised, November 17), 2012 |
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There
are many
videos online
showing the horrendous effects of superstorm Sandy on Long
Beach,
where the destruction was even more severe that in
the surrounding areas. This
one, however, is focused on
Oceanside
and, nevertheless, will tear your heart out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7W9YXb4H50&sns=em |
Take a look.
It is an appeal for help ─ not
for donations to the American Red Cross but rather for money that will
go directly
(and 100%) to benefit the people of
Oceanside. I
was quite moved by it
─ and this page is the result.
Many of you will recall the devastating effects on
Oceanside
of
Hurricane Donna in September 1960, shortly after
we graduated. Gusts reached up to
90 miles per hour,
houses were damaged,
cellars flooded, trees and shrubs uprooted,
and people were rowing boats down Windsor Parkway,
Mott St. and others.
The
junior high school was used as a shelter.
Well, Sandy was far worse. And this time, it appears that
our little
town
has been completely
disabled, and the recovery will take a long time.
"Debris
litters the streets: tree limbs and entire trees,
shingles and entire roofs, windows, boats, power lines
and more"
the Oceanside
Herald reported on October 30th.1
And according to a November 17th
report in USA Today,
people "couldn't
keep water and sewage from swamping their homes ... save their cars from corrosive saltwater
... [or] get electricity turned back on ... flooded basement[s had to be] treated for mold and
bacteria,"
and the psychological toll on the residents has been
severe.
One resident said, "People are so depressed ... [t]hey have no homes and no cars and walk around
saying 'What do we do?'"2
A small sample of images from the video and other
sources follows. These heartbreaking images do not come
close to showing the extent of the damage:
 To make matters
worse,
Oceanside
was virtually ignored by the
national media, the
Red Cross, FEMA and other relief organizations, the
Nassau County Police Department (no protection) ─
and especially by LIPA (the power company, now under
investigation
─ the COO resigned).
Watch this November 9th
WPIX11 news video; it will shock you (you must wait
first through the 30-second commercial):
http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video.html?freewheel=91044&sitesection=wpix&VID=23883851
 "Our
community has come together as it always does, in an
amazing show of community spirit,"
said Herb Brown,
Oceanside's
Superintendent of Schools,
as
reported November 9th
in the Herald..
"This
is a disaster beyond the scope of anything our
community has ever dealt with. Families are
suffering in cold, dark homes."3
 Oceanside Community Service, Inc. (OCS), an
organization formed in 1949 by
Dr. Walter S. Boardman that is staffed entirely
by volunteers, is leading the relief
and recovery effort, and Sandy has been its largest
challenge in its 63-year history.
But local community spirit and volunteer service isn't nearly enough.
OCS
is seeking additional volunteers and financial
assistance to benefit our
hometown community directly.
These efforts are needed since any
available emergency funds and other
resources that
might now be forthcoming from the Red Cross, FEMA
and/or other relief organizations necessarily must be
diluted among the many other victimized
communities whose voices are louder.
Among other values we learned during our time
at OHS,
we
were taught
the value of community service:
“Watching
Oceanside in action has taught us how a good
community
should function. We cannot help but be better
citizens for it.”
─
From the
valedictory speech
by our classmate,
Gerda Balding (now Kunkel), June 26,
1960
As far as we know, 1960 is the only
OHS class that
has an organized, active alumni
association
such as ours.
And
our
Board of Directors believes community service is
consistent with
our mission ─ moreover,
we remember where we came from.
If those of us
old Sailors who are rooted in a historical and
emotional connection to
our little
town
don't help, we asked who
will?
So our
Board has come together on an emergency basis,
allocated a substantial majority ($1,000) of our
small treasury to this cause, and authorized this
appeal for additional support from our members,
other
Sailors (we have contacted representatives of other OHS classes) and people who just love Oceanside.
Actually, we were surprised and gratified to learn that some
much needed help for our hometown community is coming from
across the country from the people of Oceanside, California,
through its Chamber of Commerce. Check out
this video aired and posted online November 9th
by the San Diego NBC affiliate (you'll have to wait
for another brief commercial first):
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Oceanside-Helps-East-Coast-Hurricane-Victims/178281271
To see a sample of typical thank you notes sent by Oceanside
residents to the Oceanside, California, Chamber of
Commerce, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4lymhl1i2g
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Our class
Association's
Board of Directors extends our warmest wishes and
our hopes and prayers to all those who live or have family
members in
Oceanside, elsewhere on Long Island, the Rockaways,
Staten Island, the Jersey shore, Connecticut, and/or other affected areas, that all of
you have avoided serious injury or damage, that you will recover from the
effects of this tragic storm with a minimum of disruption to
your lives, and that you all were able to fully enjoy
the 2012 holiday season
with your loved ones. |
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