Brooklyn Skillshare

Hey guys. For the next ten days, I’m going to be dedicating HONY to raising money for Hurricane Sandy. We’re going to try to do this in a HONY-like way. All of the blog’s content will be dedicated to telling the stories of people affected by the storm. Sandy left behind a lot of sad stories, but also some happy ones. We’re going to try to tell them all. The good people at Tumblr have stepped in to cosponsor the fundraiser, and they are going to be promoting these stories through their channels. We will simultaneously be holding an Indiegogo campaign. I’m excited to announce that 100% of proceeds will be going to relief efforts: Indiegogo is waiving fees. Paypal is waiving fees. Tumblr is providing goodies. And I’m covering the cost of the photographs. We found a damn good charity too. The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is a family-owned charity in Staten Island, located right in the heart of one of the worst hit areas. They’ve been doing amazing work the last couple weeks, and have been endorsed by many government officials. 

Large parts of the East Village appear to be back to normal with cafes open and young people back on the streets.  But at a public housing development on Avenue C, the desperation was palpable.

About 700 people live at Campos Plaza I, a tattered public housing development at the edge of the East Village. After Sandy, residents said floodwater filled the lobby of some of the buildings, reaching the raised first floor.  Ruhith Ahmad lives on the first floor with his mom. The two have electricity and gas. But no heat or hot water. The 13-year-old said his family has been boiling water to keep warm.

“We have little Poland Spring water bottles and we’re filling them up with hot water and then we just put them in our blankets and stuff so we just surround ourselves with it,” Ahmed said.  “It doesn’t help that much but it’s better than nothing.”

At another building nearby volunteers with the group Good Old Lower East Side climbed up dark stairwells carrying bags of food. On the 17th floor they encountered Angelina Solano. The 71-year-old had just lugged up 4 gallons of water and was out of breath. She could barely speak.

“I no got water. No steam. I’m a sick person. I got problems,” she said through tears. “My daughter she is not healthy. My husband is sick, too. This is terrible.” 

I know other states were massively affected by the storm as well.  If you know of similar ways to help in these other areas, please post, hashtag #SandyRelief and I’ll reblog.

Thanks again,

This needs to be shared. It’s from a mom who’s son is in a school in my district. The neighborhoods that she’s referring to are places I have friends, places I’ve grown up in. Places you probably haven’t seen on tv because they’re not Manhattan where all the rich people live, or trendy like Red Hook or Greenpoint.

Please reblog this post. Share on your Facebook pages. Tweet it. We can’t let working class Brooklyn be ignored. The city workers who saved us this week- FDNY, NYPD et al- none of those people live in Manhattan. They live in places like Breezy Point and Sheepshead Bay and Staten Island. And 3 days later help still hasn’t showed up in those places.

*If you followed the Mikey story and wanted an update: his family lives in Rockaway. Their house and everything they owned has been destroyed.

From: viktoria <[email protected]> Date: November 1, 2012 12:57:16 PM EDT To: 'Ella' <[email protected]> Subject: hurricaine sandy bsi kids need your help Dear fellow BSI parents: As I write this my 1st grader, Ethan, has lost his home. I am willing to bet he is far from the only child at BSI. Their possessions, lives, trophies and art projects are under dirty sewage water and ruined. All our stuff is gone, and what is left is unusable. He asked me to go trick or treating yesterday and I finally broke down and cried. His costume was of course under water but he still hasn't processed that he can't go home, can never see his room again and won't get to be ninja for Halloween. Our neighborhood of Sheepshead bay looks like a war zone. Manhattan and Brighton beach neighborhoods looks like a bomb went off. Seagate looks like a nuclear explosion. Yet when you turn on TV you are very unlikely to hear words such as Sheepshead bay and Manhattan beach. Many of you might be completely unaware of what is happening down here. We have been ignored, abandoned by the media and the powers that be. Street intersections have NO police officers regulating traffic. Drivers are frustrated and dangerous it is very scary to walk around with your child. Yet in midtown Manhattan there are police officers on every corner even though the traffic lights are working. Our neighborhoods, whatever is left of them are being looted. Yet I received an image from the upper east side of dozens upon dozens of national guard trucks being WASHED by the national guard soldiers who could instead be protecting our ravaged neighborhoods. I have seen 1 news team in 4 days in sheepshead bay, it was from channel 12. (Editors note: nobody watches channel 12. I don't even know what cable system its on) Here comes the ask for help. I have friends to stay with, clothes for my children and toys. What I don't have are fema trucks, con edison trucks and national guard. What I need are patrol officers regulating our very dangerous streets. If you know powers that be, please please please get in touch. Please someone do something before this situation is worse. I am including my facebook page at the bottom of this email. My friends and I have been posting and reposting videos and pictures taken from our ravaged neighborhoods. Please pass this letter along to other bsi parents. I know that there are people at BSI who can help. Your kids classmates are in real, physical danger if not from the looters then from dangerous unregulated streets. http://www.facebook.com/viktoria.tralala - writing from lower 9th ward (aka sheepshead bay) circa 2005

For those of you outside of NYC who want to help- the moment I find an online donation site that is actually giving money to the most heavily affected neighborhoods and not to administrative costs or photo ops, I’ll let you know. But it sure as hell is not the Red Cross.

For those in Brooklyn, we’ve organized a children’s drive with the assistance of State Senate Candidate Andrew Gounardes & Councilman Vincent Gentile.  Drop off all gently used toys, books and children’s clothing to either 7321 15th Avenue in Dyker Heights, or 351 87th Street in Bay Ridge. Goods will be given to children in Gerritsen beach et al who have lost everything.

WHAT: The Project Collective, Art & Music Fundraiser $5 suggested donation for art/music activities WHERE: Dekalb Market 138 Wiloughby Street (@Flatbush Ave) Brooklyn, NY 11201 Directions: G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn B,Q,R to Dekalb Ave A,C,F & R to Jay St/Metrotech WHEN: June 2nd, 10am-10pm (activities start at 10am, music showcase starts at 6pm) WHY: Brooklyn-based community organizers, The Project Collective, plan curated art and music events in efforts to promote dialogue and awareness, while supporting local Community Based Organizations. Over the past month, Project Collective has been building their presence at the Dekalb Market through gradual art installations from Andrea Burgay and Mano-Gray as well as hosting their Saturday market table. These efforts have been building up for an official opening and fundraising event for UpRoar Art taking place Saturday June 2nd. It is a full day event with a variety of children and adult activities (10am-6pm), leading up to musical showcase (6pm-10pm) to celebrate UpRoar Art, The Project Collective and our host The Dekalb Market Proceeds from the event will go to UpRoar Art, a non-profit working very hard to bring free or low-cost art education to Brooklyn Public Schools and other arts organizations. ACTIVITIES (10am-10pm) Art Activities - UpRoar Art will provide free art activities for children (10-6pm) Newspaper Planting Pots - Fold newspapers into small portable plots, plant a seedling of your choice and transport home! (10am-6pm) Tarot Card Readings - Multi talented Clara Bizna$$, reading tarot cards for donations (3pm-10pm) Nail Art - Local Brooklyn nail art hero Ria Lopez will be proving nail art for donations (6-10pm) ART Andrea Burgay | Collage Installation http://andreaburgay.com/ Jo Q. Nelson | Installation http://joqnelson.com/ Manoela Mandera and Gray Edgerton | Picnic Table Murals http://manoelamadera.com/ http://www.grayedgerton.com/ Maria Builes | Live Art Performance http://www.tigermilkfilms.com/ MUSIC SHOWCASE (6pm-10pm) by Supercrush *$5 suggested donation Marigold - http://s0ap.bandcamp.com/album/marigold Raquel Bell - http://www.babynorden.com/raquelbell/ Il Abanico - http://ilabanico.bandcamp.com/