Speech given: by Renee Alleyne, Town Supervisor
Introduced by: Mayor Robert Kennedy
Location: Freeport Fire Station
Date: October 29th 2016
Event: Annual Festival Celebrating Freeport’s history
Audience: local residents of Freeport and neighboring towns
Audience count: Approximately 300 people
Transcript
Thank you Mayor Kennedy and Deputy Mayor Jorge Martinez
Also, thank you to the Police force, firemen and sanitation workers of the village of Freeport
Thank you neighbors, for having me here today
The Bible says “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace…will himself
restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (Peter 5:10)
Four years ago today, this community, along with a large majority of the United States and the
Caribbean faced the angry wrath of Mother Nature. Super storm Sandy was formed on October
22nd 2012 and dissipated on November 2nd 2012, leaving behind an endless barrage of
destruction and sorrow. Here, in Freeport, She ransacked our homes, stole our possessions and
took our loved ones. We were not prepared, but we persevered.
Some of us evacuated, only to return to devastation, others stayed to weather the storm, and
soon regretted it. Ashley Jackson, a 55 year old home owner and mother of two evacuated to a
friend’s house away from the coast with her children. The flood waters rose five and a half feet
in her house, reaching the circuit breaker which shorted. This sparked a fire which, despite the
rising water, consumed her house. The fire truck was unable to reach the house because of the
raging river in the streets, therefore leaving the house to burn to ashes. Ashley returned home
to nothing. No furniture, no clothes, no pictures, no house. Ashley was not prepared, but she
persevered.
Michael Smith, a sixty year old man, whom some may call “stubborn”, decided to stay home.
He was determined not to let Sandy chase him from his home. The water rose so rapidly that he
barely had time to make it upstairs. The tree in his backyard, which had stood proudly for over
twenty years, collapsed onto a portion of his house. He was quickly caving in. In desperation, he
climbed to the roof and called 911. However the police could not rescue him with the raging
river in the road. He had to wait out nightmare of Sandy until the water receded. Michael was
not prepared, but he persevered.
These are just two stories of thousands that I have come across of people who experienced
terror during Hurricane Sandy. Despite the warnings on the weather channels, and the stock up
of groceries, none of us were ready for Sandy’s fury. We were not prepared.
The days after Sandy departed did not alleviate the circumstances. It fact, the aftermath was
worse. For days, and for some of us, even weeks, there was no electricity, no hot water, no heat
and no gas. Winter came early for us that year. Lines at gas stations were hours long, many
even running out of gas. An endless amount of garbage piled up in the streets. Houses reeked
of wet mold. Transportation systems were shut down. Our local businesses were closed. The
Nautical Mile which brings thousands of tourists from all over New York each year was
devastated. Despite these circumstances, the people of this community were resilient. We
came together; shared blankets and generators, helped clean debris from each other homes,
and prepared meals together. We kept our faith knowing that eventually we would build the
community back stronger than before, and we did.
Today, this town stands stronger and better than ever. The heart of this town, the Nautical
Mile, has been restored to be even better than before. Our homes have been repaired, or in
Ashley’s case, rebuilt, and our hearts have been mended. The local government has provided
grants to those willing to invest in raising their homes to prevent this destruction from
occurring again.
God brings us to trials and tribulations, but ensures that we make it through. He never leaves
our side. Our faith does not waiver. In these four short years since Sandy left her ugly mark, we
grew stronger as a community. We persevered. Our lost loved ones will never be forgotten.
Sandy was an anomaly; a perfect combination of the worst weather conditions imaginable. As a
community, it is our duty to ensure that Sandy does not become the norm. Climate change is
not a myth, it is a reality. This is why Global warming is so important. It is not just impacting
future generations; it is impacting us here and now. This matter is urgent. We must make sure
that our elected officials work with global partners to make policies to reduce the impact of
Global warming. We cannot let them neglect this issue any longer. The government also needs
to continue to proactively prepare our coastal community for storms like this in the future. We
need our streets raised. We need our sewer systems renovated. We need our canal walls
restructured. We need larger grants to raise our homes.
As stated by Mayor Bloomberg in the immediate aftermath of Sandy, “we are a city of
survivors; we are a city that believes.” We have proved that time and time again and we will
continue to do so. However, our fight is not over. We still have to protect this community that
we worked so hard to rebuild.
Thank you all again for joining me today. I hope you all have a great day and may God bless us
all.