DISCLAIMER: This is an "op-ed" on Hurricane Sandy.
Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast with some serious wrath earlier this week. The photos of devastation throughout the states that endured this storm are surreal, and the loss of life, and people's homes and businesses, is so very upsetting. Living in New York City, I know many people affected by the flooding and widespread power outages. Growing up on Long Island, I know even more. My parents, who own two homes on Long Island, have been without power since Monday, and had several large trees blown down on their property, ruining horse-paddock fencing and a storage shed. It is on a wish and a prayer that those trees did not hit one of their two homes or their horse barn. I vacationed at the Jersey Shore several summers ago with my girlfriends, and am sorry to see what it is now. At work, I have collaborated with organizations in Breezy Point, Queens to help families in HFH's Queens shelter. A few summer's ago my cousin Chris rented a house in Long Beach, and my cousins and I enjoyed the sand and surf there on several occasions. I saw pictures of the beautiful homes in Bellport (one of my favorite Long Island towns), as well as the lovely Jane's Carousel (where Jared and I took some of our engagement pictures this past summer) under feet of water. As one follows the news, and learns of the tragic deaths of children, adults, and elders, you cannot help but sigh and bow your head, wondering why things like this happen.
I applaud the steps Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg have taken to keep New York City residents informed, and to deal with the aftermath of this 'superstorm'. So many different factors came into play, and so many critical, time sensitive decisions had to be made, that it would be impossible for anyone to make the correct one every time. The general public is not privy to every bit of information, and as such, cannot begin to understand the thought process behind an elected officials decision to do this or that. From where I stand, although it was probably inconvenient for many people, shutting the NYC subway system down on Sunday evening probably saved lives, and I imagine a great deal of time and money, given the extensive damage it has undergone. There is no reason to have school open this week, when traffic in and out of Manhattan and the outer boroughs is at its very worst, when teachers are unable to commute to work given the crippled subway, when countless schools in Lower Manhattan and State Island are without power, and when many communities are only at the beginning the cleanup processes. The decision to move forward with the ING NYC Marathon was controversial, yes. And the decision to cancel it for this Sunday, can be viewed by many as both right and wrong. I feel strongly that this is not the point in time for people to be overly critical of our leaders, but to provide some constructive feedback, and more importantly, support.
One debate that should take place however, and an issue that MUST be tackled in the coming weeks, months, and years, is the impact that climate change has had on the globe. More and more often we are watching news stories with video footage of extreme weather patterns, from Hurricane Katrina, to the long draughts in Texas and other southwestern states, to the tornado outbreaks across the Midwest in May 2011 including the tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, hell to the tornado outbreak in Brooklyn and Queens, New York in 2010, to the blizzard the East Coast endured later that same year, and now, Hurricane Sandy. More than ever before it is important for people to come together to not only help their neighbor and the community to return to normal and to rebuild, but to address one of the biggest issues facing all generations, and costing the community more than just money, but lives.