Come hell or high water
What started as neighborly help could grow into citywide emergency preparedness network

by E. Assata Wright
Reporter staff writer - Nov 25, 2012

The next time a superstorm decides to flood Jersey City streets and homes, knock out power to thousands of residents for days, and cripple the local transit system, the folks behind Jersey City Sandy Recovery say, the residents will be ready.

By now, the all-volunteer group founded by Dana Shilling, Candice Osborne, and Tiby Kantrowitz has become somewhat legendary for its response to Hurricane Sandy in the early days of the crisis. Aware that their neighbors downtown were in need of everything from food to furniture removal, the women began posting hand-written signs in public spaces telling people to gather each day at noon at City Hall.

Through these informal gatherings, folks who were able to offer help were paired up with residents who were in need of help.

Now that the worst of the crisis is over, Osborne, Shilling, Kantrowitz, and other residents who have joined Jersey City Sandy Recovery are already preparing for the next superstorm. Drawing from the lessons learned from Sandy, the group plans to formalize itself, pull in more members, and fan out across the city.

Learning as a community

?One of the things we?re going to have to do as a community is learn who our vulnerable residents are,? said Shilling. ?We may need people on every block, or almost every block, who know who the elderly residents are, who the physically challenged people are, who?s sick. This way, when something happens, like a blackout, we can check on those residents quickly and communicate with the Red Cross, the city, or other agencies to let them know that there are people who maybe need water, food, or medication. They may need to be evacuated. This needs to be formalized so that help comes faster for these residents.?

Days after Sandy hit the area, it was discovered that there were several senior buildings that had no power, no elevators, and no heat. Volunteers from various groups eventually donated water and other supplies to the residents of these buildings. But it would be better if neighborhood groups could anticipate these needs before a disaster strikes, Shilling said.

Developing lines of communication so that residents can share needs and resources are something else that needs to be created before the next superstorm comes our way. For example, the need for carpools has been apparent given the ongoing disruptions to mass transit system, said Shilling.

?We need to have a mechanism that allows residents to say, ?I need a ride to my office in Newark. Can I carpool with someone?? Obviously, there were gas shortages that added to the situation. So, encouraging people to carpool when we can?t rely on mass transit is going to be important,? Shilling added.

Thinking big, thinking small

The founders of Jersey City Sandy Recovery admit that this level of organization is going to require deep commitment and a level of community that will take a certain amount of work to sustain long-term.

?In a time of crisis, people don?t leave their homes,? said Osborne. ?We were successful in reaching people because we used social media to reach people through Facebook and Twitter. But we also combined that with pretty extensive canvassing, just going door to door talking to people about what their needs were.?

At the height of the crisis, Osborne said, Jersey City Sandy Recovery was able to assist residents of public housing developments who had been told by their landlords that they couldn?t remove damaged, waterlogged furniture from their homes. The volunteers are now assisting residents ? including seniors and those with limited English-language skills ? navigate the application process from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Moving forward, she said, communities may need to help residents prepare emergency plans for each household.

?We have to think big, but we also have to think small, too,? said Osborne. ?We may need to have days where we encourage people to buy flashlights, buy batteries, buy canned food, because unless they have that encouragement, some people won?t make this a priority.?

But this isn?t to say the group does have big plans as well.

They are looking into the possibility of buying light towers that can be posted around town in the event of another mass power outage and they have already bought generators as well, although it is unclear whether the city will let neighborhood groups use them.

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Grassroots group helps Jersey City recover from Hurricane Sandy

By Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal
on November 09, 2012 at 3:54 PM

With government agencies stretched too thin to help individual victims in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, a group of Downtown Jersey City residents came together to take responsibility for helping fellow residents.

Based out of Barrow Mansion at 83 Wayne St., members of Jersey City Sandy Recovery -- as it has become known -- has been accepting donations of cleaning supplies, clothing and other needed items between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

With the help of at least 100 volunteers daily, the group has been making deliveries to the homes of victims in some of the worst-hit areas, including Downtown and Country Village.

Each day volunteers have been going door to door to compile lists of what people say they need most.

Coordinators have been meeting volunteers daily on the steps of City Hall since Friday Nov. 2, where they have been issuing tasks such as schlepping deliveries to homes and helping gut water-damaged apartments.

Last Saturday the group filled 15 dumpsters and made 100 deliveries of batteries, cleaning supplies, bleach, work gloves, masks, clothing and garbage bags. The following day the group made 300 deliveries.

They are also looking for volunteer plumbers, electricians and contractors to provide skilled work, and they seek donations such as water pumps, tools, vehicles and generators.

Founders of the group came together after wandering York Street, Van Vorst Street and Sussex Street and seeing basement and garden apartments flooded with several feet of water.

One of the founders of the group, Candice Osborne, of Morris Street whose basement flooded to 8 feet of water, said she found very little official information online regarding help for Sandy victims, she said.

?I realized they are going help these people in specific apartments,? said Osborne, a candidate for the Ward E City Council seat in next year's city election. ?I thought, 'I am going to help individual people.'?

Another like-minded volunteer, Tiby Kantrowitz, said she created a Facebook page ? which has picked up more than 2,000 members ? to post information people were exchanging on social media but could not finding on official websites.

?The city website was not telling people where to go or who to call so I created a Facebook page and Twitter account where people can post information,? Kantrowitz said.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said the Mayor's Action Bureau had been working 24 hours a day from a Summit Avenue city office until Wednesday, when hours were scaled back to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"There have been a significantly high volume of calls, and the staff has been attempting to be as helpful as possible under the circumstances," Morrill said.

And now help has been coming from all over the country.

One Jersey City Samaritan took the group on a $3,000 shopping spree at BJ's, while other donations include apples from Dolan's Farm Market in Wallkill, NY; bread from Arnold's Bakery Outlet, and a mini-van and a party bus full of donations from Westfield, MA.

For more information on Jersey City Sandy Recover, visit them on Facebook or on their website, or call (201) 589-1716

Donations by check can be made out to "St Matthew's Lutheran Church" with "JC Sandy Recovery" in the memo line and sent to Jersey City Sandy Recovery c/o Barrow Mansion, 83 Wayne St., Jersey City, NJ 07302

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FEMA to answer questions at two Jersey City town-hall meetings

By The Jersey Journal
on November 08, 2012 at 12:24 PM

Federal officials will participate in two town-hall meetings in Jersey City on Saturday to explain how to apply for federal disaster aid in the wake of destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Federal Emergency Management Officials, at the request of Mayor Jerramiah Healy, will appear at the Moose Lodge, 60 West Side Ave., at 11 a.m. and at City Hall, 280 Grove St., at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10.

FEMA will be joined by the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other experts.

The city will provide bus service to the Moose Lodge from Society Hill, which was without power for more than a week after Sandy hit, and from Country Park. Buses will arrive at 10 a.m. and depart at 10:30 a.m.

"We have been working closely with FEMA during the storm and its aftermath and asked for any and all assistance that they can provide," Healy said in a statement. "As we continue to return the city to normalcy and begin the rebuilding and restoration process, we know there are going to be many questions and concerns and we will continue to work side by side with FEMA to bring our residents the answers and assistance they need."

FEMA has opened a disaster recovery center at the Jersey City Museum.

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