Breezy Point, Queens, reels from hurricane-caused inferno [VIDEO]

Breezy Point, Queens, reels from hurricane-caused inferno [VIDEO] | Grist// Chartbeat start pointvar _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime();//Global Grist objectvar GRIST = {};/* Google Custom Search */(function() {var cx = '009531412045486468634:n9zg1xw79ee';var gcse = document.createElement('script'); gcse.type = 'text/javascript'; gcse.async = true;gcse.src = (document.location.protocol == 'https:' ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//www.google.com/cse/cse.js?cx=' + cx;var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(gcse, s);})();//Google Analytcicsvar _gaq = _gaq || [];_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-191816-1']);_gaq.push(['_setDomainName', 'grist.org']);_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);function recordOutboundLink(link, category, action) {_gat._getTrackerByName()._trackEvent(category, action);setTimeout('document.location = "' + link.href + '"', 100);}(function() {var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);})();//End Google Analytics//Grist Evil Robot Detectionvar category = 'trafficQuality';var dimension = 'botDetection';var human_events = ['onkeydown','onmousemove'];if ( navigator.appName == 'Microsoft Internet Explorer' && !document.referrer) {for(var i = 0; i var hellobar_nonce = '9f993d94bc';var hellobar_email_form_action = 'http://grist.org/subscribe/'; /* */GRIST.trending_enabled = 1;try{Typekit.load();}catch(e){}Skip to contentSkip to site navigationRobot Romney tries to grin away climate changeAfter Sandy, food trucks aren’t just a novelty anymoreIn wake of Sandy, media finally talks climateSupport Grist's nonprofit missionFollow GristMore email choicesNews / gristmillCool / gristlistTopicsClimate & EnergyFoodCitiesLivingPoliticsVoicesDavid RobertsAsk UmbraEditor's BlogGuest Contributors AboutContact

 Comments

31 Oct 2012 1:42 PM

Breezy Point, Queens, reels from hurricane-caused inferno [VIDEO]By James West, Brett Brownell, and Tim McDonnell

“I think we all can agree we’re seeing complete and utter devastation,” Brendan Gallagher says, standing in front of the charred remains of his childhood home.

Just a short drive from New York City’s famous Rockaway beaches, Breezy Point, Queens, is a quaint seaside hamlet where many cops and firefighters come to retire. It’s a place known for charming historic bungalows and sweeping ocean views, but on Monday night, it quickly became the setting for some of Hurricane Sandy’s most terrifying damage.

As a massive storm surge swept in with the gale-force winds, an as-yet-unknown source sparked a fire that, according to New York City Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano, ultimately leveled more than 100 homes — luckily, most residents heeded early evacuation warnings and no one was killed. Today, locals waded back in through still-receding flood waters to assess the damage while firefighters — some off-duty, picking through the wreckage of friends’ and neighbors’ homes — tamped down the smoldering ruins.

This story was produced by Mother Jones as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Brett Brownell is the multimedia producer at Mother Jones.James West is a producer for the Climate Desk. He wrote Beijing Blur, an account of modernizing China’s underground youth scene. After completing a masters in journalism at New York University in 2007, James returned to Australia, where he worked as the executive producer of the national affairs program Hack. He has produced a variety of Australian television and radio programs, including the debate show Insight on SBS TV.Tim McDonnell is a Climate Desk fellow. Read more of his stories here or follow him on Twitter.Read more: Climate & Energy Also in Gristvar OB_langJS = 'http://widgets.outbrain.com/lang_en.js'; var OBITm = '1322003100161';var OB_raterMode = 'none';var OB_recMode = 'strip';var OutbrainPermaLink='http://www.grist.org//climate-energy/breezy-point-queens-reels-from-hurricane-caused-inferno-video/';if ( typeof(OB_Script)!='undefined' )OutbrainStart(); else { var OB_Script = true; var str = unescape("%3Cscript src=\'http://widgets.outbrain.com/OutbrainRater.js\' type=\'text/javascript\'%3E%3C/script%3E"); document.write(str); }AdvertisementMost ViewedWatch Romney grin awkwardly as his audience shouts down climate activistThe most stunning images from monster storm Sandy‘Hope’ and ‘pray’: New York subway’s defense against SandyGOP candidate: ‘My opponent believes in global warming and has been to other countries, he is basically a monster’This teen built his own tiny home so he could move out of his parents’ houseAdvertisement Most CommentedAdvertisementSkip to contentGristmill [news]Grist List [cool]TopicsClimate & EnergyFoodCitiesLivingPoliticsBusiness & TechnologyVoicesDavid RobertsAsk UmbraEditor's BlogGuest ContributorsaboutadvertisedonatejobslegalGrist Labscontact© 1999-2012 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Gloom and doom with a sense of humor.® Grist is powered by WordPress.com VIP

var my_sections="Article,Climate & Energy"; var my_authors="James West,Brett Brownell,Tim McDonnell";var _sf_async_config={};/** CONFIGURATION START **/_sf_async_config.uid = 16082;_sf_async_config.domain = 'grist.org';_sf_async_config.sections = typeof(my_sections) === 'undefined' ? '': my_sections ;_sf_async_config.authors = typeof(my_authors) === 'undefined' ? '': my_authors;/** CONFIGURATION END **/(function(){function loadChartbeat() {window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime();var e = document.createElement('script');e.setAttribute('language', 'javascript');e.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript');e.setAttribute('src',(('https:' == document.location.protocol) ? 'https://a248.e.akamai.net/chartbeat.download.akamai.com/102508/' : 'http://static.chartbeat.com/') +'js/chartbeat.js');document.body.appendChild(e);}var oldonload = window.onload;window.onload = (typeof window.onload != 'function') ?loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); };})();/** LOAD CRAZY EGG **/setTimeout(function(){var a=document.createElement("script");var b=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];a.src=document.location.protocol+"//dnn506yrbagrg.cloudfront.net/pages/scripts/0013/0196.js?"+Math.floor(new Date().getTime()/3600000);a.async=true;a.type="text/javascript";b.parentNode.insertBefore(a,b)}, 1);_bizo_data_partner_id = "1364";(function(){var b,a,u;a=document.createElement("script");a.type="text/javascript";a.async=true;u=(window.location.protocol==="https:"?"https://sjs.":"http://js.")+"bizographics.com/insight.min.js";a.src=u;b=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];return b.parentNode.insertBefore(a,b)})();var _qevents = _qevents || [];(function() {var elem = document.createElement('script');elem.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://secure" : "http://edge") + ".quantserve.com/quant.js";elem.async = true;elem.type = "text/javascript";var scpt = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];scpt.parentNode.insertBefore(elem, scpt);})();_qevents.push({qacct:"p-9dkMAEV1tu_LE"});jQuery(document).ready(function($){ Gravatar.profile_cb = function( h, d ) { WPGroHo.syncProfileData( h, d );}; Gravatar.my_hash = WPGroHo.my_hash; Gravatar.init( 'body', '#wp-admin-bar-my-account' ); });

Tweet