Breezy

 It's six weeks after Hurricane Sandy, but out in the far reaches of Queens and Staten Island the situation is nowhere near back to normal.

On Saturday I volunteered out in Breezy Point, a narrow strip of sand which is south of Brooklyn but is technically part of Queens. It's a popular spot for retirees and is the site of many small beachfront houses.

Or, at least, it was. Sandy devastated the community. Most people still have no power or heat, thousands of homes were flooded and rendered unlivable. Several hundred houses went up in flames:

Now, the residents have only two options: move out or rebuild. I spent the morning and afternoon helping a retired schoolteacher tear up her house, taking out the sheetrock, insulation, and floorboards, until only the skeleton was left.

Really, they don't have a choice. Once mold is in a house it is in there until the end of time; after weeks of flooding the place was a lost cause and needed to be completely redone. I and the other volunteers all had to wear face masks and gloves to avoid breathing in the spores. 

Hard to imagine that in 2012 in New York we'd find ourselves to vulnerable to the elements, but there you are.