Oct. 29, 2013 6:04 a.m. ET
People hold hands during a remembrance ceremony along the beachfront damaged by superstorm Sandy in the Rockaway section of Queens Sunday. Reuters
Superstorm Sandy crashed into the coast a year ago Tuesday, killing 147 people, leaving millions in the dark and wrecking thousands of homes and lives.
Throughout hard-hit New York and New Jersey, survivors, politicians and others are commemorating the anniversary of the storm by attending somber ceremonies or volunteering. Some have chosen to commemorate the occasion in private ways.
Residents of Breezy Point will gather at St. Thomas More Church, just as they did a year ago when they fled the fire that destroyed many homes in the neighborhood. After the storm, the church became a shelter, with people sleeping in the choir loft since the rest of the structure was flooded. To remember the anniversary, the church will host a Mass with Scripture readings and a sermon.
Along the Jersey Shore, hundreds of storm victims are expected to lock hands Tuesday night around 6 p.m. and shine flashlights on the ocean waters that surged into their homes in Seaside Heights, Point Pleasant Beach, Brick Township and other towns.
"Last year, we were completely in the dark. The wind was whipping, the storm was coming, we were evacuating, we had no electricity," said Sheila Whiting, an organizer in Brick Township. "It's just a way to shine our light up and down the Jersey Shore."
Politicians are marking the occasion in different ways. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will appear at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian at 10 a.m. to make announcements about the storm, before touring the South Ferry Subway Station, the World Trade Center Memorial and La Guardia Airport.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to tour the city and see resiliency measures in progress, including a dune installation in Staten Island, and bulkhead repair and tidal gate installation in the Rockaways and the Coney Island Creek.
Throughout New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie—who was in some ways the face of Sandy recovery after the storm—has scheduled 10 stops throughout the state for Tuesday.
Some ceremonies, though, will be low-key. Two Toms River, N.J., firehouses are planning candlelight vigils. Ortley Beach isn't having an official service—people will dangle painted stars on the boardwalk.
"We didn't really want to commemorate or celebrate the anniversary," said Debbie Winogracki, a spokeswoman for Toms River. "It's not something to celebrate."
Brick Township Mayor Stephen Acropolis also said the town has no official remembrances planned. For weeks after the storm, he lived with nine other storm refugees in a nearby friend's crowded house. On Tuesday night, most of them plan to gather for dinner and grasp hands around the table, just as they did a year ago.
[h=4]After the Storm[/h]
Some people plan to mark the anniversary by volunteering. New Jersey is hosting a statewide Sandy Service Day that includes events such as clearing debris from neighborhoods and beautifying parks. The New York Mets will remember the anniversary by painting, landscaping and assembling new furniture for the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield, N.J., which was damaged in the storm.
Sean McGarr was in Rockaway Monday with colleagues from his bar and restaurant company Funbars.com helping rebuild homes for Sandy victims. He said that volunteering with Friends of Rockaway, a nonprofit agency co-founded by his business partner Michael Sinensky, was his way of marking the anniversary of a storm that flooded the Village Pourhouse in Hoboken, one of their bars.
"I would say what we're doing is we're actually out here volunteering, we're on the street, doing something," Mr. McGarr said.
Danielle Gold, 27, was also volunteering with the group Monday, to "return the favor" to a community that has been a great help to her and her family. Her father, Richard Gold, 67, died in the storm in his Rockaway home.
"It feels like I've been living in a movie, but I love where I grew up, it's a really special community," said Ms. Gold, who lives in Roslyn Heights.
People hold hands during a remembrance ceremony along the beachfront damaged by Sandy Sunday. Reuters
Jimmy McGovern, deputy chief of New York City's Sanitation Department, who oversaw the clean up in the Rockaways, is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., attending an exhibition of his niece's photography that includes images of the storm. Shortly after the Sandy hit, Emilee Rose McGovern came to the Rockaways with a other family members to volunteer.
"She was afraid on the first day to take any pictures because she was afraid to step on people's toes," Mr. McGovern said. "Until she started to talk to people, and realized she's not just there to take pictures but to tell the outside world the story that's going on in Rockaways."
For some, the anniversary created a moment of personal reflection. It convinced Long Beach resident RoAnne Gatt to see a counselor Monday, a move she'd considered but rejected since the storm.
Ms. Gatt escaped her basement apartment during the storm as water surged up to her calf, saving only a handful of possessions. She lost her job and struggled to sleep, dreaming of the storm's wreckage. "Once the storm happened, I just fell apart basically," the lifelong Long Island resident said.
Ms. Gatt moved from Long Beach but plans to return Tuesday night for a ceremony near City Hall. She said her return to the area and her meeting with the counselor were steps toward a return to normalcy.
"I let my life go for too long. I allowed myself to wallow," she said. "It was just time for me to start moving on and trying to find my place in this world again."
—Jackie Bischof contributed to this article.
People hold hands during a remembrance ceremony along the beachfront damaged by superstorm Sandy in the Rockaway section of Queens Sunday. Reuters
Superstorm Sandy crashed into the coast a year ago Tuesday, killing 147 people, leaving millions in the dark and wrecking thousands of homes and lives.
Throughout hard-hit New York and New Jersey, survivors, politicians and others are commemorating the anniversary of the storm by attending somber ceremonies or volunteering. Some have chosen to commemorate the occasion in private ways.
Residents of Breezy Point will gather at St. Thomas More Church, just as they did a year ago when they fled the fire that destroyed many homes in the neighborhood. After the storm, the church became a shelter, with people sleeping in the choir loft since the rest of the structure was flooded. To remember the anniversary, the church will host a Mass with Scripture readings and a sermon.
Along the Jersey Shore, hundreds of storm victims are expected to lock hands Tuesday night around 6 p.m. and shine flashlights on the ocean waters that surged into their homes in Seaside Heights, Point Pleasant Beach, Brick Township and other towns.
"Last year, we were completely in the dark. The wind was whipping, the storm was coming, we were evacuating, we had no electricity," said Sheila Whiting, an organizer in Brick Township. "It's just a way to shine our light up and down the Jersey Shore."
Politicians are marking the occasion in different ways. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will appear at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian at 10 a.m. to make announcements about the storm, before touring the South Ferry Subway Station, the World Trade Center Memorial and La Guardia Airport.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to tour the city and see resiliency measures in progress, including a dune installation in Staten Island, and bulkhead repair and tidal gate installation in the Rockaways and the Coney Island Creek.
Throughout New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie—who was in some ways the face of Sandy recovery after the storm—has scheduled 10 stops throughout the state for Tuesday.
Some ceremonies, though, will be low-key. Two Toms River, N.J., firehouses are planning candlelight vigils. Ortley Beach isn't having an official service—people will dangle painted stars on the boardwalk.
"We didn't really want to commemorate or celebrate the anniversary," said Debbie Winogracki, a spokeswoman for Toms River. "It's not something to celebrate."
Brick Township Mayor Stephen Acropolis also said the town has no official remembrances planned. For weeks after the storm, he lived with nine other storm refugees in a nearby friend's crowded house. On Tuesday night, most of them plan to gather for dinner and grasp hands around the table, just as they did a year ago.
[h=4]After the Storm[/h]
Some people plan to mark the anniversary by volunteering. New Jersey is hosting a statewide Sandy Service Day that includes events such as clearing debris from neighborhoods and beautifying parks. The New York Mets will remember the anniversary by painting, landscaping and assembling new furniture for the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield, N.J., which was damaged in the storm.
Sean McGarr was in Rockaway Monday with colleagues from his bar and restaurant company Funbars.com helping rebuild homes for Sandy victims. He said that volunteering with Friends of Rockaway, a nonprofit agency co-founded by his business partner Michael Sinensky, was his way of marking the anniversary of a storm that flooded the Village Pourhouse in Hoboken, one of their bars.
"I would say what we're doing is we're actually out here volunteering, we're on the street, doing something," Mr. McGarr said.
Danielle Gold, 27, was also volunteering with the group Monday, to "return the favor" to a community that has been a great help to her and her family. Her father, Richard Gold, 67, died in the storm in his Rockaway home.
"It feels like I've been living in a movie, but I love where I grew up, it's a really special community," said Ms. Gold, who lives in Roslyn Heights.
People hold hands during a remembrance ceremony along the beachfront damaged by Sandy Sunday. Reuters
Jimmy McGovern, deputy chief of New York City's Sanitation Department, who oversaw the clean up in the Rockaways, is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., attending an exhibition of his niece's photography that includes images of the storm. Shortly after the Sandy hit, Emilee Rose McGovern came to the Rockaways with a other family members to volunteer.
"She was afraid on the first day to take any pictures because she was afraid to step on people's toes," Mr. McGovern said. "Until she started to talk to people, and realized she's not just there to take pictures but to tell the outside world the story that's going on in Rockaways."
For some, the anniversary created a moment of personal reflection. It convinced Long Beach resident RoAnne Gatt to see a counselor Monday, a move she'd considered but rejected since the storm.
Ms. Gatt escaped her basement apartment during the storm as water surged up to her calf, saving only a handful of possessions. She lost her job and struggled to sleep, dreaming of the storm's wreckage. "Once the storm happened, I just fell apart basically," the lifelong Long Island resident said.
Ms. Gatt moved from Long Beach but plans to return Tuesday night for a ceremony near City Hall. She said her return to the area and her meeting with the counselor were steps toward a return to normalcy.
"I let my life go for too long. I allowed myself to wallow," she said. "It was just time for me to start moving on and trying to find my place in this world again."
—Jackie Bischof contributed to this article.