Fire Island after Sandy

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 17:00:00 +0000

The November ferry to Fire Island was nearly full, like on a summer weekend, but instead of beach toys and sun hats the passengers brought mops, shovels, buckets and bottles of cleaner. In the roped off cargo area, a pyramid of suitcases piled up, ready to be filled with whatever could be salvaged. I sat with my mother on a bench, like most of the other passengers wondering how well our house had withstood superstorm Sandy.

Fire Island is a filigree of land about thirty miles long and less than a mile wide off the south shore of Long Island. On a map it resembles an eastern expansion of the Rockaways. But unlike that diverse and vibrant section of New York City, Fire Island is a summer resort of only a few hundred permanent residents. There is minimal infrastructure and no real roads, part of the charm for the tens of thousands of visitors each summer.

Following the storm my mother had received a series of emails about conditions on the island, but it wasn’t until mid-November that most homeowners were allowed to visit and conduct their own inspections. Until then they watched dire YouTube videos and read assessments like this from the Ocean Beach Association:

Is Anthony Weiner back on Twitter?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:22:00 +0000

After a sexually explicit photo on Twitter landed former Rep. Anthony Weiner in a sexting scandal (dubbed "Weinergate" by the media) the New York representative resigned from Congress on June 16, 2011. His Twitter account has, unsurprisingly, remained inactive since then.

That is, until today. Perhaps inspired by the dire need for relief from Hurricane Sandy, Weiner tweeted a link to a video called "Rockaway needs us" to his followers:

[embed_tweet id="266192356708077568"]

Although it might signal nothing significant for Weiner, the Observer points out that the tweet could be "an attempt to dip his toe into the water for a return to the public eye," as some believe he may eventually seek to reboot his political career.

Salon.com > rockaways

Fire Island after Sandy

Is Anthony Weiner back on Twitter?