HURRICANE SANDY UPDATES

SANDY RELIEF RESOURCES 

(Join OFFICIAL Grass Roots Operations  in PART B)

The following resources are being provided for those seeking relief from Hurricane Sandy’s impact:

Food and Water Distribution in New York City

The City is setting up food and water distribution sites throughout the blackout zone in Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens. Click here for a full list of food and water distribution sites.

Emergency Food Programs in New York City
Use City Harvest’s Emergency Food Locator to find an agency near you that is distributing emergency food. Please call the agency ahead of time to make sure they are fully operational in light of the storm.

Food Distribution in Long Island
Food stations have been set up in:

• Nassau County
     Christopher Morely Park, 500 Searingtown Rd, Roslyn
Nickerson Beach Park, 850 Lido Boulevard, Lido Beach
Cedar Creek Park, 3340 Merrick Road, Seaford

• Suffolk County
H. Lee Dennison Building, 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge
Riverhead City Center, 210 Center Drive, Riverhead
Mastic Fire House, 1080 Mastic Road, Mastic

Evacuation Shelters
New York City has set up 76 official evacuation shelters for immediate assistance. Click here for the full list of designated emergency shelters or call 311 for more information.

Blackout Zones
The City announced that the National Guard, NYC Service, and the Salvation Army will be knocking on doors in all affected residential high-rises in the blackout zones that need it in order to identify seniors, medically-vulnerable, and those with disabilities who are currently stranded with no power, elevators, heat, or any water.

Replacement Food Stamps
You can receive replacement SNAP (food stamp) benefits for the cost of food lost due to:

• Flooding
• Extended power outages or equipment (refrigerator/freezer) failures
• Dislocation (evacuation) due to an emergency leading to an inability to access food

All requests for Food Stamp replacement benefits must be reported within 10 days after the loss occurred. Report your loss by contacting your local HRA Food Stamp Center.

Aid for Property Damage
If you have sustained damage to your property, disaster assistance may be available to you. To ensure your application for assistance is processed as quickly as possible, please:

• File an application: the first step is to file an application for assistance as soon as possible.
• Log your application with NYCC: fill out this form so that New York Communities for Change
(NYCC) can follow up on your application.

PART B : others (This is OFFICIAL on the ground – places that need help)

There are more locations, but these are the ones that need the most help.

updated SUNDAY, NOV 18:

ROCKAWAYS

updated SUNDAY, NOV 18:
Rockaways Rescue Alliance has mobilized a soup kitchen with 900 daily deliveries going out door-to-door.  Do not be fooled by their Facebook page, these guys are the most organized food distribution system in the Rockaways. From Beach 20 to Beach 120, they deliver from their HQ’s on Beach 92.  Inquire:  RockawayRescueAlliance@gmail.com

Uptown Occupy Sandy  (112 and Rockaway Beach Blvd) serve about 200 people canvas to they have a strong presence in the Rockaways and Staten Island.  They are coordinating efforts and always need volunteers.  Request to work in Midland Beach, South Beach, specific neighborhoods:  Cedar Grove, Mills & Guyon, Midland Ave.  Everything from Demolition/Cleanup, Food/Meal Canvasing contact:  their website or @OccupySandy on Twitter

Surf Shop (87th and Rockaway Freeway) REALLY grass roots, awesome surfers been there since DAY ! need volunteers , these guys canvas (walk door to door) meals to 200-300 people.  Don’t look for a surf shop setup, think fenced shanty house, but there’s a lot of stocked piled things here for the community.  Help them deliver their food and distribute during the day 9am-4pm.

Veggie Island (96th and Rockaway Beach Blvd) Local Staple in an abandoned storefront,  another food pantry, giving out fresh produce to the people, need volunteers.  Grass Roots all the way.  Need volunteers to canvas to their locations.

Team Rubicon (Beach 120 & Rockaway Beach Blvd in “Belle Harbour” of the Rockaways)  are a group of Veterans and 1,000+ volunteers that want to do Demolition work.  They rip through 55 houses a day, if you want to get into Engineering, you’ve got a backgroun at Habitats for Humanity, or want to help on that front, get on the ground and help.  They need volunteers.

Downtown(Beach 20s/30s) Occupy Sandy have room for organizing and volunteers, to deliver/canvas food to people’s homes (helping vulnerable populations elderly and kids)

5-35 Briar Place is a School “fitted” to be a Recovery Center (3 days old) – For those that want to GET IN ON THE GROUND received their first hot meal 3 days ago by Rob (BBQ) and Farm2me (Solber Pupusas and RedJacket Orchards).  Need help canvasing the neighborhoods, and organizing the parking lot/school supplies.  Occupy Sandy was there the first day, the day we delivered, this maybe a Occupy Sandy organized operation now. Either way, they need help.

STATEN ISLAND

updated SUNDAY, NOV 18:

Orlando & Olympia – NEW location, literally you would help get them off the ground! NEVER HAD HOT FOOD until 11/19.  We just found them: November 17, 2012.  Need Warm Food donations!! Need volunteers to canvas.  They will have warm food from now on from us and others, including @OccupySandy and @SIRecovers, who now know they exist.  No contact on the ground.  Need help ASAP!!!

626 Midland Avenue contact Mike Loco Hoffman (dont be fooled, or think this operation is amateur) they are funded by WPIX and this is their 4th LOCATION!!!  If you want Grass Roots, it  doesn’t get any more grass roots than this.  These are locals, no “organization” and service of 500 people.  If you want a real experience, this is it.  Help them canvas food, learn how to organize new “Recovery Centers” Mike’s cell is (917)548-0523 and  another contact there is also Robert Servis.

Cedar Grove & New Dorp has been evacuated yesterday, Nov 17, and have moved across the street.  Occupy Sandy and the crew need demolition help.

192 Ebbitts *URGENT* (at Roma) is being shutdown after Thursday!  Need help driving supplies around to new location!  Also, Still need volunteers to canvas food, and help run the commissary day-to-day until Thursday 8PM.  IF YOU KNOW OF A NEARBY LOCATION, THEY ARE STILL LOOKING FOR NEW ADDRESS TO MOVE!!!!  Help during the week!!!!!

Cross Street Church – Need help with distributing/Canvassing food to the elderly. VERY GRASS ROOTS.

Mill Road and Guyon – Need help with distributing food/EMT Derek is running it.  They feed over 1,000 people, with an extensive operation, however supplies and food are constantly out the door. Need volunteers to load/unpack donations.  Need volunteers to canvas food.  Mainly children and families.

SI Recovers (1128 Olympia) – huge operation , feed & canvas medical to 2,000+ people.  Help always needed, but Red Cross operation, so volunteers are more readily accessible, especially on weekends.  Look to help during the week.

Beach 129 (St Francis Church) & Rockaway Beach Blvd feed over 1,000 people daily.  I remember when we were the only food vendors their, with Bareburger and Uncle Gussy’s, day 1.  Now they have 9 vendors donate, FEMA is present and Red Cross donates food as well.  We still deliver here, providing them nutritious food, unlike the other food that shows up, lots of organic ciders, apples, fruits, fresh breads, and hot food.  Help canvas.  Contact: Veronica.

their 4th location, they feed and canvas food to 300-500 people a day.  They need volunteers to go to vulnerable populations and help hand out food.  We are also opening a 5th location on Tuesday 11/19.  Contact The Mike Loco on twitter at @TheMikeLoco if you want to get on the ground level and impact 2,000 people directly.

This just in: Brokelyn.com tracking volunteer opportunities for the weekend by neighborhood (some opportunities in addition to those below). Read their post here.

SMORGASBURG / BROOKLYN FLEA

updated SATURDAY, NOV 3:
Relief Fund accepting food, batteries, flashlights, and cash. All collections will take place from 10am-6pm on Saturday, November 3rd.

link: http://www.brooklynflea.com/2012/11/02/brooklyn-recovery-fund/

NY BLOOD BANK

updated SATURDAY, NOV 3:
Donate blood

link:  http://www.foodbanknyc.org/

VIRTUAL FOOD BANK – Donate Today
http://help.foodbanknyc.org/site/TR/VirtualFoodDrive/VirtualFoodDrive?px=1349844&pg=personal&fr_id=1370OCCUPY SANDY RELIEFupdated SATURDAY, NOV 3: Click here for the latest volunteer information.
Occupy Sandy is a coordinated relief effort to help distribute resources & volunteers to help neighborhoods and people affected by Hurricane Sandy. They are a coalition of people & organizations who are dedicated to implementing aid and establishing hubs for neighborhood resource distribution. Members of this coalition are from Occupy Wall Street, 350.org, recovers.org and interoccupy.net. To view a list of hubs they have set up, visit http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/
or follow them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/occupysandyreliefnyc.Red Hook Initiativeupdated FRIDAY, NOV 2: Red Hook Initiative desperately needs volunteers to sort through donations, delivering meals to those are home bound, kitchen back up and clean up crews. Report to 767 Hicks at West 9th starting at 10 a.m.
The Red Hook Initiative is currently acting as the center for hurricane recovery efforts in Red Hook, Brooklyn. All donations received at this time will go to support supply distribution, serving hot meals, coordinating community volunteer efforts, and supporting Red Hook residents impacted by the hurricane.Neighbors TogetherIf you are looking for a way to contribute directly to those in need post-Hurricane Sandy, Neighbors Together could use your financial support as they repair the damage to their industrial freezer and refrigerator and recover from food loss at their soup kitchen. Help them be able to resume feeding meals to their members. Neighbors Together is committed to ending hunger and poverty in the Ocean Hill, Brownsville, and Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods of Brooklyn, one of the lowest-income areas in New York City. Donate here. Thank you for your generosity!Masbiaupdated FRIDAY, NOV 2: donations still needed
Masbia needs help feeding 600+ relocated seniors at the Park Slope Armory. For only $6 they can serve one person a freshly cooked nutritious hot dinner. Donate here. Masbia soup kitchen network is where the rubber meets the road in the fight against hunger. They feed hot, nutritious meals to hungry men, women and children. No statistics. No bureaucracy. No middleman. They deposit food in empty stomachs.Jimmy’s No. 43
Jimmy’s No. 43 has been a long-time friend and supporter of Food Systems Network NYC and other like-minded good food organizations. Last year, Jimmy’s raised thousands of dollars for relief when Hurricane Irene came through and hurt local farmers. Now, Jimmy’s, located in the East Village, needs help getting power restored to their restaurant and bar. Help them out by buying a gift certificate to the restaurant or ticket to one (or more) of their amazing fall events. Jimmy is committed to making these events happen. They’re down, but not out! To purchase a gift certificate and see a list of available ticketed events, visit the Jimmy’s No. 43 website.