"Day of service" held in Coney Island for Superstorm Sandy anniversary
NEW YORK -- Dozens of kids walked along Mermaid Avenue with trash bags and gloves on Thursday as part of a day of service in memory of Superstorm Sandy. The event was organized by the Coney Island Beautification Project.
President Pamela Pettyjohn said residents in the areas are more prepared, but the neighborhood is still in danger from future storms.
"Coney Island is a peninsula which is only three blocks wide so we are surrounded by water and now the water is rising even higher," she told CBS2's Hannah Kliger.
Many remembered just how much destruction Sandy left in this coastal community.
"For many, many years this community was ignored by federal, state, city governments in terms of investments, funding, attention," explained Ari Kagan, Brooklyn Councilmember of the 47th district, which includes the neighborhood.
"Many of us were displaced. I for one, FEMA had to put me and my family in a hotel for four months and every single person here can tell you a similar story," said state Assembly member Mathylde Frontus.
Some of the student volunteers weren't even alive yet during Sandy, but were working to make their community a better place.
"We're not going to give up on Coney Island. We are going to show that we care," said fifth grader Fatma Almahtar.
"I was told that it was a very big flood that really hurt New York," added Laron Summers, who was a newborn during the storm, and is now 10 years old.
For hours, the group cleaned trash from tree beds, many of which have been replanted since the storm.
"We planted about a thousand trees since Sandy ten years ago in this zip code," said Jennifer Greenfeld, deputy commissioner of environment and planning at the NYC Parks Department.
They cleared catch basins, handed out free flood barriers to local businesses, and planted daffodils, all an investment in a more beautiful future.
The Coney Island Beautification Project was created in 2014 to encourage community involvement and education about resiliency as the city recovered after the storm.
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