A relief center for storm-ravaged residents of Staten Island, New York, was vandalized and looted overnight on Christmas by thieves who stole donated supplies and destroyed items intended for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
The Midland Beach center on Midland Avenue has been an oasis of hope for those who lost their homes in the storm nearly two months ago. The supplies are housed under a tent, which is blocked off with barricades and manned by volunteers, but the workers left the center unattended on Christmas night.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Thieves made off with baby gear, baby blankets, baby clothes, winter clothing and warm bedding.
Read more stories at NBCNewYork.com
Losing those items is "a punch in the stomach," said Mike Hoffman, who heads up the Staten Island volunteer team known as Boots on the Ground.
"I had a couple leftover propane stoves that were donated," Hoffman said. "One was just ripped open, they didn't even take it. They just ripped it open and destroyed it. So that's one less family now that can cook a warm meal."
And with a winter storm hitting the area again on Wednesday, the center had been stocking crucial supplies.
"People are here struggling, suffering," said Erick Slick, a victim of Hurricane Sandy.
Staten Island official critical of response to hurricane
The people who broke into the center stole supplies from the shelves, ripped open bags of dog food and swiped jackets off hangers.
Volunteers running the site say they think the thieves plan to return the merchandise to stores for money.
The volunteers are now looking to relocate the relief center indoors.


How absolutely disgusting and atrocious that there are individuals so pathetically heartless, to take away from babies, toddlers, homeless children, women and families who lost everything, just to profit in anyway, off the suffering of others. This is as bad, as if they had literally stolen these right out of the hands of the victims themselves. As if they had ripped these from all those who donated and gave money, so the helpless could be helped in their worst hours of darkness.
To those who have committed such evil deeds, I can promise you this.The consequences for your actions will follow you. Good things never happen to those who commit evil in this world. Call it karma if you will, but what goes around, comes around. You will reap what you have sown. Those who commit evil against the innocent, never find peace in life, nor know true happiness. You better start looking over your shoulder. What you have started, will taint the rest of your life. As for the Sandy victims, others will step forward to assist once more, so many in need. Demonstrating you can't stop goodness in others by your evil, spineless deeds.
Just like New Yorkers...all the self serving media attention on the poor Yorkers who lost their homes sob sob sob to a storm that was minor compared to what has hit other areas of the country. You built substandard housing where you shouldn't have been building and the storm that hits which is barely a tropical storm and it's the storm of the century sic. What a bunch of whining thiefing scum live in New York. They steal politically and financially (Wall Street sic) from the rest of the country and now when they steal from each other it's such a terrible crime. Everyone hates you New Yorkers don't you get it. We don't care about you...go cry somewhere else and stop picking OUR pockets. You just got a taste of what you do to everyone else.
Windancersong, you are absolutely right. There are so many evil people in this world. For the life of me, I cannot understand why some people do such horrible things. Talk about the "Grinch Who Stole Christmas", this is a classic case.
please dont put all of america into the term hate because I have compassion.
Nice commentary. How many NYérs have donated money and aid to other parts of the country when disasters struck?
Hate much, Ron?
can't believe some people can stoop so low. but as I was taught, what goes around comes around. yes, karma is a bitch....it'll come back and bite those losers right on their asses.. yes, it will..
It never ceases to amaze me how low people can go, and just when you think you've seen the worst, things like this happen. Of course, trolls like Ron-975213 have to get their licks in on the vine, hating on all New Yorkers. Judging from the vitriol he spewed forth here, I guess his sister turned him down for sex. Again. Hey Ron, you really need to get some help in managing your anger and hatred. But we know that you won't. Have a nice day.
Sounds like Hurricane Grinch was right on time this year.
Scumbags....
Ron,
Educate yourself before posting.
You're clueless man. You've got a lot of balls to post such BS knowing you're going to get flack for it. Guess you're one of those 40% who needs attention even if it's "bad" attention.
Karma brotha'. Sleep with one eye open.
Have a nice day...
I think it was a more localized storm, unique to the area: Hurricane Whatde@!$%#youlookinat?
LOL, denver bill 2, a hurricane with an attitude. That's a keeper.
Ron-975213 must be from New York.
babs-3809719
can't believe some people can stoop so low. but as I was taught, what goes around comes around. yes, karma is a bitch....it'll come back and bite those losers right on their asses.. yes, it will..
Dream on babs. If you can't believe people can stoop so low you must be a lib for one thing and totally naive for the second. This country is full of scum exactly like the perps that did this. They can return the items to stores for refunds. Look at a large city newspaper any day of the week and you see their pictures..............try living outide of your bubble for once in your life.
Probably from FLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Dale,
It takes one to know one dude.
babs,
Relax and have a nice day...
CD
maybe this was done by someone who needed it but was being ignored??? just a thought
I'm never surprised at the depth of human depravity. Some people are a lot worse than roaches.
It doesnt surprise me. In a society with hostility towards the belief of God, and being taught there is nothing out there, no reason for life, no higher authority to be held accountable to , then why not act like what we are told we are. Just animals no different than those around us.
Special place in hell for those who did it
Whomever did this is real "winners" among the human race, way to go, you scored...now Job 4:8 says "As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it" - God is not mocked - He cannot be imposed on, or mocked. He knows what our real character is, and he will judge us accordingly! It is time for all Americans to stand up against this type of behavior, it is sickening and individuals that commit these crimes do not belong among decent human beings!!
Job
4:8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble
reap it.
Job
4:8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble
reap it.
Let's not get one sided here, there are those who profess they believe in God, yet are willing to wreck havoc on others in the name of God. Bottom line evil begets evil no matter what side you're in. Very sad and very pathetic. HATE IS A VERY BAD THING - let us try to eradicate it.
What is the US government doing to help these poor people? Absolutely not a thing. Just like the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We pay into our system and get nothing back. We are on our own folks.
I have $100 that states it was juveniles. You see, adult criminals take merchandise they can sell/use and leave the rest intact, children do not.
"Whomever did this is real "winners" among the human race, way to go, you scored" Is that even English? You don't you whom to refer to the subject of the sentence.
Sorry Dogs are everywhere. I will admit however that I'd think not having this stuff locked up in a secure place was not a smart move. What's the ole saying "an ounce of prevention---". I do feel sorry for anyone who lost their home at the hands of Sandy. I do not however believe we the people should be on the hook for rebuilding these houses by the sea. Federal flood insurance should pay only one time per address. You choose to rebuild after your home is washed away then it's on you next time , not the tax payers.
Even worse than the items that were stolen is the items that were simply destroyed for no reason. If the items were taken by someone who needed them it would still be wrong, but somewhat understandable. I somehow doubt that is the case here and most likely the items were stolen by people who plan on trying to sell them to make money or return them to the stores if they can in order to get cash. It is really low for someone to steal items that were donated to help people who literally lost everything. Anyone who would do this is truly beneath contempt. But what really infuriates me is the destruction of items just for the sake of destroying them. This is the absolute worst of all of it. This serves absolutely no purpose and the perpetrator gains nothing from it while simultaneously depriving others of much needed help. While I hope they catch the people responsible, I know that the odds on that happening are pretty slim. However, as other have said, karma is a bitch and I hope that it catches up with the a-holes responsible for this despicable act.
Fre-24-27-257,
Really?! All peace wrote was;
And missed the "are" where he/she wrote "is" and you come back with;
And you call "that" English?! OMG man. Heh heh... Bet you were hoping nobody noticed since you were throwing peace under the bus to begin with. The man upstairs works in mysterious way man and obviously was on peace's side when you posted.
FYI... there is this little "Edit this comment" button at the bottom of your post giving you a few minutes to re-do anything you missed during proofreading of your post before hitting the post button. You may want to use it before your mouth fits a size 12 again man.
Very charitable to close down the donation center on Christmas.
Yeah, we'll be happy to punch up our community volunteer resume so long as it doesn't mess with our Christmas dinner.
Brian, Were you there? What hours did you offer to work there?
The center was staffed by VOLUNTEERS. Since no one volunteered to staff the place on Christmas, it was left unattended. I guess a request for police to keep an eye on things would have been a good idea but theft and vandalism wasn't exactly on anyone's mind...
Is this disgusting? You bet! Does it come as any surprise to me? Hardly. The way all this product was stored, basically out in the open, says "opportunity" to society's bottom-feeders. The propane grills were most likely targeted for the tanks. Clothing, bedding or anything of that nature is not going to resurface anywhere as a return. Any baby formula or laundry soap will probably find its way to a neighborhood store somewhere, hocked for $.25 on the dollar. Anything they can't use, they destroy. Here's a thought on people who raid and trash a relief camp: you haven't seen the worst out of them yet. Just think of what they'd be doing if this was full-blown SHTF.
"Just think of what they'd be doing if this was full-blown SHTF."
Dying. By the score. If or when the SHTF, militia will mobilize, and looters will be shot on sight.
Think the thieves might be from the 47% tribe...?
47% who needed money for the next day fix,lot of heroin addicts out there.
Tribe? Heroin addicts? The two of you also need to find help, and fast. To take an act pure evil like this, and try to turn it into an anti-Obama voter rant is telling proof that neither one of you got past the fifth grade.
Mymom,
I don't think they were insinuating politics here. Scroll up to my #1.7 - Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:46 AM EST and if you ask me, they fall right in line with Ron. But then again, we all have a right to post whatever we want and that's what his vine is for so don't let anyone get under your skin.
Have a nice day...
The fact that you are the first to name Obama in a post is also telling.
You aren't ashamed of your stupidity, are you gordo?
Nope...Theres more truth in what I wrote.. than the BS your trying to sell...
Have a great day, and take off the rose colored glasses...
Folks, this has nothing, yet everything, to do with politics. I hate to say it, but our political system is basically at fault for the crime and discontent we are inundated with, especially in the major cities.
There are many highly visible people, with all kinds of good stuff, while there are so many with little or nothing, and then there are the scuzbuckets that figure they are "owed" everything, while having to do nothing to earn it. Until we can control the latter, this type of activity will continue, and probably get worse, until such time as the judicial system actually does something constructive with these people.
Have you people who are quick to judge ever wonder that when the baby needs were taken that it might have been a mother or father trying to provide for their babies. Maybe they were part of the worn torn hurricane tragedy and for some reason were ignored because the more promient people were taken care of first??? Or the people who were in charge of distribution of these items may have overlooked these people because they were making sure that their"people" received the necessities first? Now, for those who damage property, that was just plain evil and will be punish-God's way.
nah !its most likely italian americans in that neighborhood ,they steal from eachother and $hit where they eat,most likely there punk ass fist pumpin guido kiddies who did this
4evephillyfan
If these were needy folks taking what they needed, why destroy and vandalize the other goods in the place? I'm not buying it. Just punk b!tches doing what they do.
Amazing. Tragedies can bring out the best in people..............and the worst. A big thumbs down to the d'bags who did this.
When they catch the filth who did this, they should just turn them over to the Sandy victims who needed some of these items, and let them beat them like a carpet.
Not Sure they could do that momoffools....?
Then the victims might be labeled racist for beating on the thieves ...
Just a thought...? lol
Here is the problem MyMOM; when they catch thieves, they usually just slap them on the hand. MY ATM card was used, and the bank decided it was such a petty crime, it wasn't worth pressing charges. I had no say in the matter.
Mymom, what if the so called thieves are "sandy victims" themselves and were neglected from the start in the distribution of these items? Just wondering?????
Ron, you're not a lot better than the thieves! What a bunch of BS!!!
Tweakers can justify anything, but instant karma is always waiting for this kind of dirt bag.
There is a special place in he*l for people like this.
An armed guard could have prevented this..
well,to some extent ron is right.the area is awash with bad people and unfortunately this story just proves it.i'm a bit surprised that there wasn't at least one volunteer standing guard.after all it is nyc.i'm sure the good people of this country will continue to contribute to those unfortunate citizens.it's what we do.i will continue to contribute thru the red cross.and i believe what comes around -goes around!
I no longer wonder how low a person can go. I just hope this person or persons will never forget this crime.
Should have had an armed guard.
While I do not condone, in any way, the thefts I do understand the thought behind the deed. What is off the board is the damage done to items, some of which could have been sold. To those who did this do you feel better now? Hopefully, not for long. Dirtbags.
There shouldn't be a need for security to "guard" the donations. However, we are working on 2013 and as everyone knows in this day & age people are getting more disgusting & "me, me me" by the second. Sorry organizers but you should take a small part of blame for this. You should've realized there are scumbags out there who will do this kind of thing & announcing how much stuff was donated was a big neon sign saying "come get me".
I see the glass 1/2 empty for a reason. I work in a prison.
That's OK....what goes around comes around. Karma is a B**** and these people will get theirs some day.
True, Obama promised and said so! Free everything!
How horribly freakingly Unbelievable!!! It's cold everywhere. People are hungry everwhere. People need clothing everywhere. ONLY in America do we do this to our own. I am sure someone is going to start talking about how the poor did this, or how it had to be a minority group, or that this had to be gang related. Maybe it is all of that more or less. But these morons just cut their own throats. Do they not realize that now no one will send supplies, no one will donate any more money? One blanket can mean the life or death of an infant. One bottle of milk can prevent that same infant from starving to death. Hopefully, security cameras were working.
Um... You don't keep up much with world events, do you?
The New Yorkers did not ask for the storm and no one had to donate. Amazing how something like this happens and nothing but people throwing words at each other. That makes me just as sad as the people that actually broke in and stole and damaged items.
shalyse17 is right. You tell everyone where the goodies are and you don't think of protecting it. Why wasn't it already distributed? Were you waiting for, next Xmas? The people/organizers have the right motive but too bad they hadn't any common sense.
republicans no doubt,..
Considering NYC is majority democrat! Always has been! Just another day in the city of NY. Murder, rape, vandalism, drugs...and great Obama supporters!
guardian-2367542
That would be an very eyeopening statistic for you libs.....to realize that 99% of the scum out there would support dems if they could vote.
Dale,
Proof please. But I concede that the thieves were likely not Republicans. Republicans generally do their stealing behind the scenes with much greater profits. Like millions.
Urban New Yorkers showing their true colors...me, me, me!!!
God bless us, everyone.
It's things like THIS are why I think our justice system is waaay too lenient. These thieves have no fear of consequences IF they're caught! What will happen to them if they're caught; they'll get FREE food, free clothes and FREE healthcare!! All at the expense of the taxpayers/VICTIMS!
Aaand while there are a lot of people that'll think this it too much maybe even barbaric, maybe some of the foreign countries have the right idea.... If your caught stealing, you lose a finger or a hand (depending on what and/or how much you stole). These thieves took things that were for BABIES! Even if "they" have babies themselves, I'm sure they could've gotten items for the babies for free but I'm pretty sure that these thieves were just "thugs" stealing & vandalizing for personal gain and gratification! All at the expense of "Sandy" victims/survivors.
When are we as hard working American taxpayers going to wake up and say enough? How many people go to prison only to laugh in our face when they come out and steal from us AGAIN! And again, IF they get caught, no biggie.... FREE food, clothing, lodging, and healthcare. Even better healthcare than the average working American!
It's disgusting! People say you shouldn't shoot someone for stealing "property", that property is not worth "killing" for... So what do the thieves have to worry about?? I say if someone is stealing from you, they should be fair game. You work hard for what you have, only to have someone come and try to take it and your suppose to stand-down and let them have it and worse IF they're caught by the cops, you can now pay for their attorney, their food, their clothing, their healthcare and shelter them while their being "punished".....
Yes, I know that I'm getting a little off topic now but how many people do you have to murder before society see's fit to put you down like a rabid dog? Guy in Colorado, 12 died and like 50+ wounded? What's he going to get, 12 life sentences? Really??? So, we'll be paying for his a$$ for the next 20+ years.... He's not alone, the prisons are FULL of KILLERS that we taxpayers/society/VICTIMS are paying to take care of for the rest of their miserable lives!
Newtown Ct. parents.... My heart goes out to them... I'm truly sorry for their losses. But had the shooter not taken his own life, sadly these parents and loved ones would've been paying for his (the MURDERER's) welfare... And since he obviously had mental problems, he would've been put away for the rest of his life, being taken care of and paid for by the very people who had they children taken away....
The system is seriously flawed... I'm afraid our society is going to get a lot worse before it gets better unless we start weeding out the leeches of society.
You are correct Joe. Unfortunately, you and I won't live to see them weeded out since there are always excuses being made for them. Some folks can live with roaches long time before calling in the exterminator.
I do not live in New York. I have been there for work and I have a difficult time with all of the self promoting hoopla that is generated about it. It's just another city in a great country. I think that self promoting is part of the reason some folks are a little harsh on NYC.
I was born and raised there. It's a sh*t-hole with self-serving, arrogant people!
Well stated! Nice to read a post that is not political or full of hatred. Thank You!
Just NYC democrats taking what they think they're entitled to!!!
I am glad to see that people like Tony-718913 has a living wage job. Social Security is not an entitlement! I worked for AT&T for almost 20 years until my job got shipped to Korea back in the 1986. I then worked minim wage jobs in which I continued to pay into social security.
Now I am disabled and on SSDI for which I paid for. I pay Medicare premiums off the top of my check every month just like people that can afford private insurance do. I have to pay the 20% out of pocket to see a doctor just like people with private insurance do!!!
Try living on minim wage or having to work 80-90 hours a week just to pay rent and put food on the table for your kids. That is if you can get 2-3 minim wage jobs to get those kind of hours to work. People that work a minim wage job only that the same deductions on their taxes that you people that are lucky enough to have a job that pays a living wage! They take the personal deduction just like you do, they take the standard itemized deduction that you take! When you make less than $15,000 a year that doesn't leave much to tax!!! Just how much do you think is left to save for retirement or to send your kids to college when all you can get is a minim wage job??? Here in Colorado if you don't speak Spanish you can't even get that minim wage job in a fast food place.
I am sure that all you good Christian republicans practice what is taught in your bibles!!! You spit in Jesus' face every time you spew this crap about poor people being takers and just wanting something for free. What the unemployed want are jobs, that is why we have the unemployment numbers that we have!! If people weren't looking for work and just expecting others to support them than our unemployment numbers would be way down.!!
Why don't you blame the people that are responsible for the job losses in this country? Why don't you blame the big corporations that ship our jobs to China? Corporations are paying people cheap wages in China and the prices for those products keep going up putting more money in their pockets. Do you think for one minute that I asked for my job to be shipped to Korea? I believed that I would work for AT&T for at least 40 years and then retire. I was committed to working for a company and I got s^%%$# for my loyalty.
So New York!
"Blocked off with barricades, under a tent, volunteers left tent unattended". What did you think was going to happen? Christmas season and thieves take a holiday?
It is a shame you can't leave things out and have a group of scum take it just because. I have to wonder would it not of been a good idea to at least call the NYPD and tell them that this tent would be unguarded? I don't think it takes a genius to figure this out. Either way, it is the fault of the thieves that stole these goods. I feel for the families.
Sh*t, it's NYC...it doesn't matter if it's under lock & key, it's as good as gone! NY-er's
helping each other,uhhh, helping themselves!!!"I have to wonder would it not of been a good idea to at least call the NYPD and tell them that this tent would be unguarded?"
Yeah right, like they would give a good hoot in hell? They would have probably stolen it themselves.
ha! the NYPD would have just raided it all for themselves !