1st & Best Responders: Community Groups that Took on Sandy

Just as the impact of Super Storm Sandy was greater than many ever imagined, so too has been the response of neighborhood groups. Local community groups acted as crucial first responders often before overwhelmed government agencies and large scale charities were able to intervene. The impact of these groups, many of them relatively small, was tremendous, filling a significant infrastructure vacuum. Using deep knowledge of their neighborhoods and close connections with residents and business owners, neighborhood-based groups effectively assessed community needs, coordinated responses and delivered.

Here are just a few examples of ANHD's member groups that ran to the rescue:

Asian Americans for Equality- For many homeowners and small businesses, the impact of Sandy has been devastating. Between storm damage and the displacement of their consumer base, many local businesses in the impacted areas are struggling to stay open; and some of these owners are also dealing with damage to their homes as well. In both cases, the owners need funds to get their lives back on track. In response, AAFE initiated two emergency loan programs to help homeowners and small businesses throughout the five boroughs. So far the two programs have assisted 75 clients with a total of $1,500,000 in loans. For more information click here Astella Development Corporation - Like so many in Coney Island, the local nonprofit group, Astella, lost everything. After being submerged under five feet of water Astella's entire office was destroyed and most of its staff displaced. Rather than abandoning their community to recover, Astella staff borrowed space in a local funeral home and dug in to help, coordinating with local allies, FEMA and NYC government officials to help local businesses, tenants and homeowners get much needed storm recovery aid. Astella has convened owners and residents, conducted a local needs assessment survey and is helping the Coney Island community determine its next steps in the long road to recovery. Fifth Avenue Committee - In the days immediately after the storm, before government services truly arrived, Red Hook was literally in the dark. Traveling was nearly impossible. Many apartment buildings in the affected areas were left completely neglected. But in the buildings owned by local not-for-profit, the Fifth Avenue Committee, staff worked around-the-clock from Day 1 - starting with one staff member driving to one of the buildings in the middle of the storm because residents who didn't evacuate were scared of water rushing in. FAC staff continued through the days to come, staying side by side with residents making sure they and the buildings were safe, while also advocating for increased police and National Guard presence for the entire community, and working tirelessly to pump the water out of buildings and get their systems back on-line. FAC has already relocated tenants from their affected buildings in Gowanus who were displaced, and is preparing to house additional Sandy survivors. Good Old Lower East Side - The Lower East Side in Lower Manhattan was hit hard by Sandy. Fortunately GOLES, an established organization with deep connections to the community, was in place to take action. GOLES mobilized and coordinated thousands of volunteers to canvass the public housing , Section 8 and private high-rise buildings hardest hit by the storm, climbing through pitch-black stairwells with flashlights to check on seniors and other vulnerable families to deliver food, water, flashlights, blankets, and medicine. Using their organizing skills and intimate knowledge of the community, they were able to coordinate all of this work even while the GOLES office had no phones, power or internet and half of the staff had no power, water or heat in their own homes. Given the conditions, GOLES and its allies learned to be innovative, creating a "Bicycle Express" of volunteers on bicycles, passing messages between organizations who, without landlines, internet and only spotty cell phone service, couldn't communicate. Make The Road New York - Make the Road has been a key advocate for immigrants and limited English proficient residents impacted by Super Storm Sandy. Utilizing canvasing capacity developed from voter registration and education work, MRNY staff connected storm survivors to their new polling sites, delivered supplies door-to-door, registered people for FEMA aid and determined eligibility for additional help, and when immigration status prevented them from accessing public aid, supplied mini-grants from private sources. All four of MRNY's offices also stayed open as warming centers for people to get hot food, coffee, supplies and charge cell phones. MRNY has a full-time case worker in each Staten Island and Long Island office to counsel on accessing aid and determining rights on eviction and employment cases related to the storm. MRNY is also working in coordination with elected officials to get help to the Rockaways in Queens. Click here for more inspirational examples of neighborhood groups responding to the Sandy

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