The hurricane of 2012 known as Hurricane Sandy, can arguably be one of New York’s greatest tragedies. Hurricane Sandy devastated the city and left many people homeless and nowhere to live. As a result, Brooklyn Technical High School opened up as a shelter to take in people in need. Brooklyn Technical High School is a 12 story building that covers over half a city block. Each floor is divided into North, South, East, West and Center sections to better help identify rooms. The first floor of the building is filled with classrooms and it’s also where the renowned auditorium of Brooklyn Tech is located. Every floor from the 2nd to the 6th is filled with numerous classrooms and the 7th floor of the building is used as a cafeteria for students. From October 29th,2012 to November 12th, 2012, Brooklyn Tech housed over 300 patients from the adult homes Surf Manor and Chai Home. Many of these patients were of special needs. Although both students and patients staying in the shelters were impacted greatly by Hurricane Sandy, the effects were vastly different.
Brooklyn Tech became a full time shelter on October 29th 2012 and took in over 300 people from Surf Manor Adult Home and Chai Home Adult Home. These two adult homes were terribly flooded and the patients living there had to move away. These patients stayed in the first floor of the school and gym and were allowed access to the 1st floor, 7th floor and the 3rd floor for cleaning purposes. According to Daniel Vladu, a volunteer for the shelter, “The shelter also provided cots, blankets, medicine, pet supplies, diapers, baby formula, and numerous other supplies. A clinic was also set up to treat people and deal with medical emergencies.” However, the patients were not monitored carefully. ” A schizophrenic refugee from Hurricane Sandy has disappeared from a temporary city-run shelter set up at a Brooklyn high school,” according to an article in the NYDailyNews. Some patients roamed free without any supervision and some were rumored to use the walls of some floors as restrooms. The patients that lived at Brooklyn Tech during this time had a horrible experience.
Brooklyn Tech announced on November 5th, despite patients still living there, that students were to return to school the following Wednesday. Students of Brooklyn Tech had a mini vacation because of this storm. Students received eleven days off from October 27th to the Wednesday of November 27th. Brooklyn Tech, being a specialized high school, is known for its harsh curriculums that students must follow and Hurricane Sandy relieved students of this workload for over 11 days and more. “After w e returned, we barely got any work for the next week” said Brain Li, a current Brooklyn Tech Senior. The class periods for the next week were also cut by a third of its time and classes started much later than usual, allowing students to catch up on much needed sleep.
The Hurricane of 2012 was a terrible storm that vastly affected New York City but for the students of Brooklyn Tech and the people in the shelters, the effects were much different. The special needs patients that lived in the adult homes of Surf Manor and Chai Home literally lost their homes. Patients were not monitored carefully during this time and a schizophrenic patient had even gotten lost. The effect this storm had on students of Brooklyn Tech were the opposite. This storm was a blessing in disguise to many students. This storm gave students a work-free 11 day vacation and because this storm was so close to college early application deadlines, ” National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) was working with colleges to grant extensions to students in the hurricane zone.”(School Library Journal article.) The one bad thing that resulted from this storm for students were the disgusting smell that emitted from the 7th floor cafeteria, where the patients were staying. However, Brooklyn Tech students only had to deal with this smell for a few days where as the patients had to live with it for over two weeks. Even the misfortunes of the students were much worse than those of the people in the shelter.
Hurricane Sandy affected New York City greatly but the effects on certain individuals were very different. The special needs patients staying in Brooklyn Technical High School from October 29th to November 12th had a terrible experience. The living conditions were terrible for these patients and they had no choice but to live with it. The students of Brooklyn Tech took one of the greatest storm in the history of New York City to be a boon. Students got days off, less work, less class time and more time to work on college applications. In fact, physical education classes were even cancelled the week of returning to school. Despite the storm devastating the people at the adult homes of Chai Home and Surf Manor, it helped the students of Brooklyn Tech more than it hurt.
Work Cited
Shapiro, Julie. “All City Schools Reopen for Class, as Some Kids Share Space with Shelters.” DNAinfo.com New York. 7 Nov. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013
SMITH, GREG B. “Mental patient disappears from a Hurricane Sandy evacuation shelter at a Brooklyn high school.” NY Daily News. 7 Nov. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013
Vladu, Daniel. “Http://www.bthsnews.org/2012/12/15/hurricane-sandy-an-interview-with-a-volunteer/.” Interview by Linda Nguyen. Http://www.bthsnews.org/. 15 Dec. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013
MONIHAN, Rachel. “With transit down and many schools damaged, New York City kids won’t be back to school until Monday.” NY Daily News. 2 Nov. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013
Bayliss, Sarah. “Many Return to School in a Landscape Altered by Hurricane Sandy.” School Library Journal. 6 Nov. 2012. 19 Nov. 2013
Li, Brain. “Brooklyn Tech Sandy days.” Online interview. 16 Nov. 2013
