US Jews count cost of Sandy
Residents of the predominantly ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of South Williamsburg slowly emerged from their houses on Tuesday morning to assess the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy, the historic storm that slammed into the north-eastern part of the country the night before, leaving at least 35 dead and millions without electricity.
Examining the debris on the street – fallen branches and signage, rubbish from overturned bins, bricks that fell off a nearby building – Moshe Klein, a member of the Charedi community, said he was thankful this part of the city was largely spared the wrath of the storm.
“Baruch Hashem, we made it through okay,” said Klein. “Last night the trees were strongly swaying and the children were frightened, but our electricity didn’t even go out once.”
So far, at least two Jewish New Yorkers have been identified among the victims, Jacob Vogelman, 23, and Jessica Streich-Kest, 24, who were killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn, while walking their dog.
In Lower Manhattan, just across the nearby Williamsburg Bridge, it was a very different story. Low-lying areas by the East River were submerged and electricity had been down since a local substation exploded the night before, lighting up the sky a bright green for several seconds before dying out. ConEd, the local electrical company, said it would take several days for service to be fully restored.
The Israeli embassy in Washington and consulate in New York were both closed on Tuesday, their websites said. So were the vast majority of Jewish institutions across the so-called north-east corridor from Boston in the north to Washington in the south. Most were expected to reopen on Wednesday, but in New York City – perhaps the worst afflicted area – it was not clear whether all would follow suit.
The Jewish Federations of North America on Tuesday launched a campaign on its website to help rescue efforts.
“The Jewish community and the Federation Movement send our support and prayers to those affected by the hurricane, and we will stand beside them during the recovery and rebuilding,” it said in a press release.
While most businesses closed during the storm, Lula Bean, a cafe in East Williamsburg owned by an Israeli, was one of the few places to stay open.
Yuky Levinson dished out hot bagels with cream, steaming cups of coffee and savoury sabich sandwiches, the Iraqi delicacy that is the house speciality, to a dozen or so patrons who braved the weather. The day after the deluge, Yossi, the jovial owner, pointed at a sign of a store dangling perilously above the pavement on the opposite side of the street.
“You see that? That can fall on anyone,” he said, pouring a cup of coffee. “It’s still dangerous out there. Many basements around here are flooded, the subway tunnels are flooded. It will take a long time for the city to get back to normal.”
GIL SHEFLER
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