Too Soon to Forget

Superstorm Sandy has remained on the minds of many, since the day she tore through New York's tri-state area, taking lives and leaving several communities in shambles.  It's impossible to forget the horrific footage of angry tides crashing into homes, destroying businesses, tossing vehicles around like match box toys and ruining countless lives.  In the immediate aftermath, we were astonished by the destruction and perplexed by images of subway stations submerged underwater, a roller coaster sitting in the Atlantic Ocean, a 700 ton tanker partially transplanted on a residential street and communities that were blanketed in darkness.  The multitudes who suffered through this catastrophic nightmare were left to rebuild their lives.  Many of the unaffected would occasionally think about the storm... others continued to work on assisting the victims... but, most just moved on.

6 months after Sandy, I was in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn and noticed that a nearly century old community staple was boarded up.  I stood on the corner of Surf & Stillwell puzzled by the sight of a lifeless shell that looked like the Original Nathan’s Famous hot dog eatery.  Anyone who was familiar with that flagship restaurant knew that it remained open for business 365 days a year, since 1916.  And, now it was closed!?!?!  Did I miss something?  Did they just go out of business?  As the endless questions raced through my mind, it never occurred to me that the iconic eatery was one of Sandy’s victims. Nathan's boards reminded me that it was too soon to forget Superstorm Sandy.

Desolate shell of Brooklyn's iconic eatery.

 

Busy scene that we remember and hope to see again...

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