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David Friedman / NBC News
Bob Reilly, left, and his son, Bobby, raise a flag in front of the burned-out Wedge section of Breezy Point, N.Y. on Wednesday.
BREEZY POINT, N.Y. -- A wife’s handmade pottery jars, a son’s metal fire truck, a father’s golf clubs.
Those were just a few of the items recovered Wednesday as hundreds of residents of this tight-knit seaside community returned to reconnect with friends and pick over the remains of flooded and burned homes left behind by Hurricane Sandy.
The storm delivered two punishing blows to the community founded more than a century ago by Irish immigrants. First it sent floodwaters roaring through its streets and into its homes, then sparked an inferno that claimed more than 100 houses nestled side-by-side on tiny lanes of sand.
Despite its idyllic setting, tucked between the Atlantic Ocean and a bay at the southwest corner of Long Island, Breezy Point has not escaped the world’s cares: More than 30 of its residents died in the 9/11 attacks, many of them police or firefighters. A plane also crashed further up the island in November 2001, killing everyone onboard plus a few bystanders on the ground.
Breezy Point: 'Whatever is not flooded is on fire'
“I think it’s a community where there’s tragedy and triumph,” said Fire Chief Marty Ingram, 62, whose Point Breeze Volunteer Fire Department battled the blazes from late Monday night until near dawn on Tuesday. “We’re going to get through this.”
Slideshow: Sandy slams into East Coast
The supportive nature of the community was on full display Wednesday. There were some laughs to lighten the somber mood, including a few jokes about upscaling the Sugar Bowl, a popular watering hole on the beach that was flattened in the storm. One woman rejoiced at finding her margarita mixer. Neighbors gave and received comforting hugs.
Among those who were taking stock and thinking ahead:
David Friedman / NBC News
Roland Wertz, after visiting his burned out home in Breezy Point, N.Y. on Wednesday.
Roland Wertz, 69, collected some pottery jars made by Heidi, his wife of 50 years, from the ashes of his home in an area known as The Wedge. Breezy Point was under a mandatory evacuation order, and most residents left on Sunday believing they would return home in a few days.
“We just figured, miracles of miracles, maybe (it) would be sidestepped” by the storm, he said, tears streaming down his face as he cradled the jars in his hands. Wertz, who was joined by his son and two grandsons in a search for missing keepsakes, said he and his wife felt instantly welcomed when they moved to Breezy Point nine years ago.
Panorama of Breezy Point's destruction
“I moved here and didn’t know anybody and got cancer, and people lined (up) on my door,” he said, his voice trembling. “Total strangers. The time my wife was in the hospital, people came, flowers waiting on the stoop when we came home. Hardworking, good people.”
His son, Ira Nachamie, 54, added that Breezy Point was where the extended family gathered for the holidays: “This is where we come to be a family,” he said.
But Wertz said he didn’t think he and his wife would be coming back, and that many other neighbors also may not have the will or resources to rebuild.
“In these walks, there are a lot of widows and widowers, that you know, had the Social Security, had a few bucks that they stuck away,” he said. “Like a plane, they had enough fuel to get to their destination but, you know, no return trip. … Those are the people that are going to be hit the hardest.”
David Friedman / NBC News
Kieran Burke surveys the burned-out remains of his Breezy Point, N.Y., home.
Kieran Burke, 40, was less than a mile from his childhood home that he now shares with his wife and 2-year-old son, when he saw flames Monday night. As a firefighter, and recently minted fire marshal for an engine company in Brooklyn, he felt he had to do something.
He rushed to the neighborhood, at first not realizing his own home was threatened. As the night wore on, the threat became reality: His house was in the last row of those on the southern edge to go up in flames.
Devastated NY community built by firefighters burned beyond their reach
“This is heartbreaking,” he said. “Being a fireman, it’s even more heart wrenching because, you know, you’re used to being on the other end of this, you’re used to being on the end where you help people. And even Monday night, my first reaction was to get over here and help somebody. I had no idea my house was in peril.”
A chimney is now all that remains of Burke’s home. He sifted through the charred remains, finding a few things to salvage: A memento from a trip to the Bahamas with his wife, some favorite beer from Hawaii and his son’s metal fire truck. Gone were his fireman gear and his old fire department magazines, though firefighters found a steel beam he had saved from his time at Ground Zero.
Slideshow: Surviving Sandy, twice
Burke, who recalled playing kick the can with friends as a kid on the “sand lanes,” as the walkways are called, said he is not harboring any thoughts of moving.
“I’m not leaving,” Burke said. “I firmly believe that within the next year you’ll come back here and see a rebirth. … This is the type of the neighborhood where, when it’s at its worst, it’s at its best.”
David Friedman / NBC News
Friends Laurie Klein, right, and Lucille Dwyer embrace next to the burned-out remains of Dwyer's Breezy Point, N.Y. home Klein's home, several blocks away, was outside the fire zone but suffered severe flooding.
Lucille Dwyer, 64, said she has alternated between crying, laughing and being angry over the fire that took her home of 23 years. She joked about losing her three Coach designer bags and her huge black-and-white bathroom, but she said she also is heartbroken.
“I feel better that I saw it,” she said of her home, not long after her adult son found his father’s golf balls and clubs in the rubble. “It makes me feel like closure, that I can move on.”
Dwyer said she hadn’t wanted to evacuate but her husband, Gerald, has cancer and needed to be close to medical care. They hadn’t imagined they could lose their home, so they didn’t take precious items, such as her mother’s 70-year-old dining service, with them.
Read more Sandy coverage on NBCNews.com
“Sentimental things that mean a lot to you. Furniture’s replaceable, clothes are replaceable. That’s not,” she said. “That’s what hurt. … I have no memories.”
But, she quickly added: “I’ll make new ones.”
Dwyer said she and her husband would look for temporary housing, since she believes it will be at least 18 months before they can return.
“We wanted to live here,” she said. “We loved being near the ocean and we had a lot of very good times. A lot of fun, a lot of good times, and that’s why we’re coming back.”
David Friedman / NBC News
George Donley, left, collects possessions from his flooded home in Breezy Point, N.Y., after Hurricane Sandy.
George Donley, 63, walked with his daughter, CiaraGrace Dooley, and her husband through Breezy Point on their first trip back home, towing bags they intended to fill with clothes and keepsakes to take with them to temporary housing.
Dooley broke down into tears after she couldn’t reach her home due to the devastation. Donley said another daughter, Julianna Theis, had also experienced flooding in nearby Broad Channel, with 5 feet of water filling her home.
“If you can help your kids then you at least feel good, you know. I can’t even help them,” he said.
As they later passed homes and a playground facing the ocean, Donley reflected: “This is our entire life. We did everything here.”
“I met my husband here,” added CiaraGrace, 31, a deputy chief of staff for a local politician. “We got married down here.”
When they reached her father's home, which had been flooded, they found the ground floor in disarray but the upstairs intact. They joked after finding a bottle of “Irish Mist,” a whiskey liquor, but also were shocked to see their furniture and front deck flung across the yards of their neighbors.
Donley also started thinking of the good times as he looked out a first-floor window, reminiscing about watching cruise ships pass by. He also chuckled as he recalled climbing on the roof of the destroyed Sugar Bowl bar, just in front of his home, to watch the end of summer party, Breezy Point’s self-styled Mardi Gras.
Despite the harsh new landscape confronting them, the family said they would rebuild.
“We’ll figure out a way, we will,” CiaraGrace said. “This is what we’re just going to have to deal with. … We have to have a positive mindset so we can get through it. These things are just objects but our family is safe and that’s the most important thing."
David Friedman / NBC News
Bob Reilly: 'It's only right that we hang a flag again. That's what we do down here.'
Bob Reilly, 58, hoisted a flag atop a pole on Breezy Point’s promenade, trying to add a semblance of what the community looked like before Sandy. Flags, Fire Chief Ingram said, were typically posted throughout the community in honor of the 9/11 victims.
“It’s only right that we hang a flag again,” Reilly said. “That’s what we do down here. Everybody has flags on the block. … It looks beautiful. Fourth of July is some party down here.”
Reilly found a favored stone plaque reading “Royal Irish Constabulary” in the rubble of his home, a summer place that had collapsed after being partially burned, and spoke with a neighbor who also lost his house.
“I didn’t realize it was this bad,” he said of the town he has called home for 30 years. “The homes are all in bad shape. It is beyond what I thought it was going to be. Everything is gone.”
His wife, Patti, 56, grew up next door. “There’s nowhere like this,” she said. “When everybody you know loses their home, it’s too much.”
The idyllic beachfront town of Breezy Point, N.Y., suffered through 9/11 and a devastating jet crash. But this tight-knit community is determined to carry on despite being ravaged by Superstorm Sandy. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.
More Sandy coverage from NBCNews.com:
- As National Guard comes to rescue, so do NJ residents — with power outlets
- For some New Yorkers, it's back to business as usual
- For some who stayed behind in New York, it wasn't too bad
- New Jersey investigating reports of price gouging
- Subway-dependent businesses see traffic slow to halt
- Fed up with waiting, air travelers rush rental car counters
- NY's Bellevue Hospital evacuates patients as power stays cut
- Off-duty NYPD officer dies saving his family from Sandy
- Toppled tree exposes skeletal remains, cement box
- Your Sandy photos: Show us the heroes in your life
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Leave a Comment:
Sandy really kicked butt in places.Believe me ,I feel terrible for those that lost so much.I live in upstate and we only had minor rain.I guess we're all lucky that this storm wasn't like the 1938 hurricane catagory 5 with winds of 185 mph.
If there is any good aspect to those people losing their homes in the fire, it is that it will be harder for insurance companies to deny their claims. I read that half of the homes lost to flooding did not have flood insurance, but regular insurance covers fires, which virtually every home has. So I could reasonably guess that the fire saved about half of them from total ruin.
I would have burned my own house down had this been the case.
This hurricane was no worse than the bad hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast every year. It's a tragedy, yes, but not any more so than any other.
Take a deep breath, suck it up and get to work rebuilding.
With a positive attitude, these people will rebuild stronger. The American way, stronger and better after a disaster.
Hey Jen--when was the last time a hurricane had such a far reaching effect? How about the west side of Cleveland Ohio!! . No natural disaster in many, many years has had such an effect on power. Basically, you don't know what you are talking about
I wish the residents of Breezy Point a recovery that is as quick and as smooth as possible. They've had enough 'bumps in the road' to last them a good long while.
I feel for all the people who lost their homes, but especially for the elderly neighbors who are existing on very limited income. I hope they will be able to re-establish their homes and continue to live in the community for as long as they wish.
Folks, be on the lookout for the 'disaster capitalists' -- much like 'vulture capitalists,' they prey on the weak and the distressed, with the focus on turning the disaster into big profit. They did it after Katrina; they did it after the tsunami; I would be very surprised if they didn't try at Breezy Point. It sounds like an amazing community -- don't let the creeps come in and ruin it!
I agree Gwhite - it was bad enough but surely could have been much worse if it was a cat 3 or 4 storm instead of a cat1.
As for Headhunter74 - get real man - where were you in 2005 when Katrina devastated N.O. and the entire Miss. Gulf Coast. Power was out for weeks from mid La. coast east through New Orleans - across Mississippi's Biloxi coast to Alabama???? The news talks about 2 million out of power from Sandy, try over 15 million out of power from Katrina. I am 65 miles West of New Orleans and we had no power for 18 days sleeping in the car for a/c at night.
What a great story of the real spirit of these people:
Says a lot about how people will overcome, even in the worst tragedy.
Jen: People will "suck it up and get rebuilding." I know this is no worse than any other hurricane, but for the people of NY, NJ, Conn., VA, WV this is the worst one they have seen in their lifetimes. Storms of this magnitude generally don't get that far North.
Not down playing the devastation the South sees almost every year in any way. Like dealing with the earthquakes of CA, volcanoes and tsunamis in HI, each area of the country has certain risks.
For the NY general area, hurricanes WERE a low risk. With the climate change that is happening, who knows. Hopefully this was a one time thing and we won't see another in our lifetime. Somehow, I doubt it.
This is no time for a pissing contest! Sandy and Katrina are two totally different storms. It is unimportant which was "worse." They were both pretty freaking terrible. Lets learn from the lessons of Katrina and apply them to the recovery of Sandy! If you had truly experienced Katrina or Sandy you would not be bickering but instead you'd try to give encouragement to those that are still suffering and trying to help to the best of your powers. This is not a time for selfishness!
My advice to anyone living anywhere near a body of water: "Buy flood insurance!" It is quite affordable, and saved me and my family from financial ruin in 1985. My only complaint at that time was that it was administered by government bureaucrats (FEMA) and took 9 months to settle our claim.
To those cruel nd bigoted preachers who say disasters show how much God hates gays - Breezy Point was the only neighborhood in New York City in the 1990 census that reported not a single same-sex couple. That being said this was a horrible tragedy for the residents, even if they were all straight (and probably white).
Breezy point is not Fire Island or the Village.
stfu
seggerman: does that mean the hurricane was God's way of getting back at people for not accepting gays into their neighborhood ?
Not that I believe it was, but either argument is equally ridiculous.
Since FL was spared this time, maybe its God just giving them a chance to vote for a Democrat for a change. :)
(sorry, couldn't resist.)
Together they will rebuild again. Bless them all.
I cannot compare anything that I've been through with what they are/have suffered. My prayers of Support and Recovery for the families of this devastation. Since 9/11 I told my self "I don't have any problems" It's just that the problems I do have can't be compared to those that go through sudden loss of .... well everything. Thank God for life and survival... Thank God for a chance to rebuild.... And one more thing that I want all on the vine to consider: Thank God that he protected Us... because it could be me or you @ Breezy Point.... picking up the pieces.
We are the most fortunate people in the world... I really believe that.
If you believe God is in control then you must believe he also brought all of this devastation. No way around that. God's will is God's will, right? So there must be some apparent reason God destroys the homes of the elderly and most of their possesions in an event like this? A reason God sends trees crashing down on homes killing innocents? A reason God demolishes even churches where God is worshipped? Why he destroys family homes that have existed for more than a century. They say HE moves in mysterious ways. Or maybe it's that he does't move at all?
My girlfriends family lost everything in a hurricane a few years back and that alone is a devastating experience, one that never leaves you. People say possessions don't matter but there are a lot of things that simply cannot be replaced. You lose your past and all you have is the future. And in many cases that is a short view.
The reason is that the god most people worship as "God" is actually Satan. The "real" God is beyond it all.
God is the creator (for those who believe) that he/she/it controls every action of every day in every living being AND in the Universe would be impossible to comprehend if not for the factor that each and everything ever made IS GOD. Blame yourselves for your troubles, and bless others with your Charitable Works. You're On Your Own Otherwise.
Come on ArterianMSP... don't you have something better to do?....
(Reposted for "Johnny-come-lately" Arterian from and earlier vine before he started spouting)
Comment 5
Our family has ties going back to about 1910 in Breezy Point, and seeing the devastation in the wake of Sandy has stirred up so many emotions, and we are so sad for the community. We've been remembering our summers there (see blog entry on Breezy Point and pics from the early years at Breezy Point at ). Our Breezy Point "homestead" was at 47 West Market Street. I wonder if anyone knows the status of the house at that address? Our hearts go out to everyone affected. Here's wishing you all a speedy recovery.
I just realized that these postings do not allow hyperlinks, so to see our thoughts on Breezy Point with pics from earlier years, go to "Head in the Clouds Amherst 'dot' blogspot 'dot' com".
Hello there, could you send me an email with your contact info? I'm the reporter on this story and will be following the recovery of Breezy Point: miranda.leitsinger@msnbc.com
God Bless these people. These are hard-working and decent people! Many of these countrymen of ours are my fellow Irish-Catholic Americans. I'm proud of you! Hang tough! We Irish never give up!
The destruction is massive when you consider those homes and buildings represent people's lives. The good point is that there were relatively few lives lost, considering the force of the storm and the area affected. It will take time, no doubt, but rebuilding can be done. It is too late and probably redundant to even mention the possibilities of storms along the ocean, but disaster can strike anywhere. People just pick up and go on. It is human nature.
they are going to rebuild.....with the help of the Govt?
when we got flooded in 93 the corps of engineers confiscated most riverfront property's and now even if you were spared from that, the results of our well meaning govt, the permits are nuts, most contradictory and others just plain old fashioned stupid, flood insurance below the "200 year flood plain" is completely unattainable to all but the mega wealthy, many places are barren wastelands because people are not allowed to be there. tax's and leases are astronomical, the rules and regulations are asinine the list goes on and on
Hope you have better luck rebiulding with govt " help " then we did,
Just like building along the Mississippi river. Beautiful setting, peaceful and idyllic until a 100 yr. flood or a five year flood. If you choose to build on the levees the ocean front etc, bad things are going to happen at some point in time. That's the gamble you take for where you choose to live. If developers weren't aloud permits to build over the delta in New Orleans or the beach fronts on the outerbanks etc. we wouldn't have to face these hardships. We had a whole town wiped out by the flood of '93. People were given a one time buyout if they chose to move since these floods happen more often now, and some still decided to stay put. They will not get another buyout. As hard as it is to face, the government can't help individuals over and over if they choose to build in risky areas., and I'm sure insurance companies say the same things. These disasters require us to have a lot of patience when it comes to rebuilding. We still have areas of our state that are recovering from the 2008 floods. The midwest is praying for you all. We've been there too just in a different type of weather sometimes.
"Eh'...All liz' zi' know wiz' wear gunna be gettin a @!$%#t load of insurance muny when this iz ova'..Eh yo Karen..this couldn' dove come atta' betta time is zall I'm sayin..In a few weeks the alect shun' will be yova', the mooley will finally be outta' office and good times ah ahead faw' rus babe..I mean camon' we was zat the brink of fawclosure' before this!.. Sandy saved aw' ass..Time zar good babe..times zar' good..."
There's a Slow Train Comin'... and a slower mind a'postin. Even if you speak Cajun you know how to write in English.
That was supposed to be a NY Guido "Sapranos" Italian...Pretty good hugh?
Obviously you have never experienced any kind of major disaster or you would know that insurance does not begin to cover your full loss. Even if it did, it still wouldn't be worth it. Been there, done that.
I hope when they rebuild it will not be in the sand.
To lose your house and belongings would suck so much. Count your blessings if this did not impact you.
Tough luck folks, I'll pray for all of the folks devastated by this storm. But you know you accepted this calculated risk by making your home on the ocean front or the beach.
You get my prayers but as for sympathy not so much. You get about the same amount of sympathy as a motorcycle daredevil who is crippled by one of his stunts that go wrong. You didn't have to live there; you wanted to. You chose to live in harms way, so you just need to suck it up.
I hope you never have a tragedy happen to you. How unkind and unfeeling you are.
It would be unfortunate if you got cancer or had a heart attack, but I'm sure you'd realize it's your own fault, Olde Yankee-3166045, for being born, breathing and eating. No sympathy for you or your kids/family who made the mistake of being in your family and knowing the risks that entailed.
This is NEW YORK CITY, not New Orleans. The citizens say "we're going to get through this!' "...they do not say "...what are you going to do for me???...". By the way, where were all the looters carrying TVs and microwaves??? Oh that's right, this was an Irish, German, Polish neighborhood!!!!
I refrained from saying the same although I thought it.
Arterian, Not sure why you are commenting about Medicare. Are you saying you will turn yours down? Paid into it , it is NOT free.
All the TVs, microwave, etc. which could be looted are under water, which is where you should put your obvious racism.
"Oh that's right, this was an Irish, German, Polish neighborhood!!!!"
What the heck does that mean gramps? I am sure you are not trying to imply that nationality, much less race, has anything with it.
It is tragic that they lost everything, BUT they had been told for a week that this was coming - there is no excuse for not taking photographs and irreplaceable heirlooms with you when you leave your home. Did these people sleep through the Katrina coverage, not to mention all the hurricanes that Florida, Georgia and North Carolina have weathered? I live in Florida - during hurricane season, all my important papers and irreplaceable photos, are kept in one place so they can be packed up and they go with me when I evacuate. I haven't had to evacuate yet, but I won't hesitate to go when they tell me. These people did not take the storm seriously and it kicked their butts. It appears they were hardheaded and/or arrogant and thought it wouldn't happen to them.
New Yorkers make me sick. They think they are so much better than the rest of this country. I'm sorry for their loss and am sympathetic, as I lost my own home in a fire a decade ago. But this attitude of "we are better hurricane survivors than those Southerners" is enough to make me care a little less. Oh, and I just finished an article where residents of Queens were complaining that no one was helping them and the help they were getting was too slow. Excuse me, but last time I checked , Queens was in NEW YORK.
There's only a handful of people who know for a fact the reason this thing struck where it did and with such a vengance..
Snookie, Jay-Wow, Angelina, Deena, The Situation, Pauly D, Ronnie and Vinnie
This is what you get when your parade your proud Italian/Puerto Rican/Spanish/Polish/Chilian olive skinned lives as one can stand on reality TV. A lifestyle of ego inflated tanning booths, hair gel/moussed, steriod injected work outs with the "Guidettes" past times being goin to the club and starting drunken cat fights to the "Guidos" pickin fights with anyone who has a tighter wife beater shirt or better tan than they have. Had another season of The Jersy Shore not been approved God never would have cast such a vengence on New Jersey. One can only take so much "GUIDO" and til he had to step in and say "OK Enough is enough!"
I lost my home and car in the Floyd flood of 1999. My daughter and I went back to the adjacent fields of my lost home for months after the flood. My deligence was rewarded by finding two china tea cups that were my mother's when she was a child. (Lost her when I was eleven.) Please hang in there, know that God will see you throught this.