Is Staten Island Hurricane Sandy's Superdome?

During Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the Superdome became a symbol of government assistance gone wrong. Images of desperate survivors begging for help and basic necessities became iconic representations of the human devastation the storm brought to the city. Now, the 5th borough of Manhattan is suffering the same type of neglect.

Investors Business Daily: Staten Island residents say their island is the “forgotten borough” of New York City. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, they say that reputation is sticking.

“They forgot about us,” Staten Island resident Theresa Connor, 42, told Reuters of the most isolated and least populous borough of New York City. "And (Mayor Michael) Bloomberg said New York is fine. The marathon is on!"

Staten Island was the hardest hit of New York City’s five boroughs, with 19 deaths, the most of any borough, according to the Staten Island Advance . There were 41 total deaths from Sandy in the city as of Friday morning.

Among the dead on Staten Island included brothers Brandon, 2, and Connor, 4, Moore, who could not be saved when their mother, Glenda Moore, tried to ride out the storm as a deadly surge of water enveloped their SUV.

"Terrible, absolutely terrible," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said while announcing that the bodies of Brandon and Connor were recovered, four days after Hurricane Sandy made landfall. "It just compounds all the tragic aspects of this horrific event."

Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro shared in the outrage over what he and other residents said was a lack of response after Sandy.

He said the American Red Cross “is nowhere to be found” in the borough. Television coverage of Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath showed Staten Island residents being rescued from their homes in boats while others had their houses destroyed by the storm or still lack power.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano was scheduled to visit Staten Island Friday along with Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator Richard Serino, according to NBC New York .

Staten Island residents were desperate for food, shelter, heat and power.

"We're gonna die! We're gonna freeze! We've got 90-year-old people!" one resident told WCBS . 2 Nov 2012 post a comment