Every Home In Broad Channel, Queens Affected By Sandy
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The storm surge from Superstorm Sandy that hit Broad Channel, Queens flooded the entire island and every home on it, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported Thursday.
The island sits in the middle of Jamaica Bay.
"We lost a ton of stuff. The whole downstairs we had six feet of water in the house. I had put stuff up about five feet but it didn't make it," one resident told Diamond. "We'll survive. A month from now, all of this stuff will be gone and I might opt to move inland."
WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports
Podcast
The storm surge also tossed boats onto Cross Bay Boulevard and tossed cars around like toys, Diamond reported.
"We were pushing boats out of our windows," a resident said.
WEB EXTRA: Interactive Crisis Map
"We've had other floods but never something like this. This is definitely devastation," a pizza shop owner told Diamond.
Residents whose homes were inundated spent Thursday throwing away furniture and other water-logged possessions.
"It's starting to smell bad. Everything has sewage in it and so everything, even things I thought we could save, we can't," one resident said through tears.
The nearby Resorts World Casino provided many residents with their first hot meal in days.
"We're right across the Belt Parkway over in Queens right here. They're neighbors, they needed some assistance and so we stepped up to the call," casino security director Tim Pearson told Diamond.
MORE: Disaster Relief Information
New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio toured Broad Channel on Thursday and met with residents.
"It's a very strong community but people have never seen anything like this," de Blasio told Diamond.
Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below ...
