#hurricansandy

[soggydogdesigns]

I don’t know why, but I have always had a deep appreciation for my cars. Old VWs are a family fave but I’m also extremely fond of Bessie, our ol’ ‘Burbn who devotedly takes us from place A to place B and many many places in between. She hauls photo gear, sports equipment, my kids, your kids, even a full load of donations from ME—->NJ after #hurricansandy This week I took some pics of Bessie at our adventure places during the kids’ spring break - the Statue of Liberty (she’s tucked in the trees behind her!), appreciating the view of The Freedom Tower, at a new huge #Wawa we discovered on our way home, on the side of the NY State Thruway where she decided it was time for a nap, being towed by Kyle, the world’s nicest tow mechanic, and now resting at a hotel while we await a rescue by @jungrestoration Through good times and exciting times, Bessie shall endure, with #nofilterneeded. Here’s to Bessie getting home, fixed up, and back on the road again! #sogdog #bessieforever #jungfamilyantics #forealife #photographyforealife #soggydogdesigns #forcedfamilyfun #adventures #familyadventures (at Liberty State Park)

[withlovefromjosh]

 This photograph (30 second exposure) still gets me. Hurricane Sandy (2 years ago) as it hit our house. The foreground are bits of disintegrated trees smacking against the glass deck door at 100 mph or higher. That orange glow in the background is Breezy Point, Queens, ablaze. Other florets of light are electrical transformers exploding. The air pressure inside the house as I took the picture was many times what you feel on a plane's takeoff. Dramatic! © Josh Levine Photo

[robinhoodnyc]

Last week Robin Hood staffers and interns joined Mick Munoz, the Director of Transitional Jobs at the Center for Employment Opportunities, to visit a work crew repairing homes in Rockaway Beach damaged by Hurricane Sandy.  The Center for Employment Opportunities provides life skill education, transitional employment, job placement, and post-placement services to men and women of all ages returning from incarceration.  

The work crew pictured above is part of the transitional job program, which provides daily work and, importantly, a daily paycheck to each participant.   This particular crew has been attending to this house for months, taking out damaged floorboards, walls, studs, and plumbing to ensure the owner (who has been displaced since Hurricane Sandy) would return to a safe home. Other transitional jobs include event cleanup (such as after the Great GoogaMooga food festival in Brooklyn), supplemental maintenance through the City of New York, and even keeping the state's courthouses clean.  

Mick also practices what CEO preaches, hiring exemplary former-members of the CEO program to become site supervisors, providing connections to OSHA certification courses and enabling union membership. Knowing that CEO looks to its own graduates motivates the crew members to learn quickly and well, in order to move up and out of the CEO training program and into the New York City workforce.

With criminal records that hinder getting certain full-time jobs, either from stigma or legal restriction, recently released convicts turn to CEO to act as a steward, guiding participants towards industries that have high growth potential and will, as one man put it, "Just let you show that if you work hard, and you do right, the employers will know you can accomplish things.  It's just up to you to show up and show them you want a better life."

[fivespicenyc]

The Calm After the Storm - Wedding at The Green Building during Hurricane Sandy's Aftermath

We were preparing for this wedding when there was still no electricity in lower Manhattan; our home base and the home base of all our major food vendors. It was a tough week but, fortunately, nothing was compromised.  Not the cheeses we love. Not the make-your-own-taco bar.  

[nrdcnewyork]

Prepare for Climate Change Now or Pay the Consequences Later