Staten Island's Storm Victim Town Hall Turns Into Yelling Match

By ERICA PITZIpix11.com | @erica_pitzi11:14 p.m. EST, November 29, 2012


STATEN ISLAND, NY (PIX11)—

"I have a question!" yelled a man from the crowd in the back of the New Dorp High School auditorium.

"If you have a question, write it down on a card," retorted a government official from the stage.

Tensions between those onstage and off rose quickly.

FEMA explained that they have more than 18,000 Staten Islanders registered for help; and they say they have given out more than $41million toward home repairs.

But inside the packed auditorium, where there was standing room only, the storm victims did not want to hear it.

"Lies!" yelled people from their seats.

An hour into the Town Hall Meeting, it turned into an all out yelling match.

"No one is doing what's right for us!" screamed one woman fromNew Dorp Beach.

"You're a piece of crap!" yelled another man in the crowd.

As the meeting got out of control, Staten Island Borough President Jim Molinaro lashed out at the crowd.

"You wanna shut your mouth?" Molinaro chastised into the microphone, adding, "before your brain is engaged?"

The crowd yelled back at him an emphatic, "No!"

At that moment, question cards were tossed as people got up from their seats and lined up in the aisles for their chance at the microphone.

"You say, we are all family. Well, we need you to stick with us. Don't run around and pass the buck, from the FEMA guy to Department of Buildings guy. Help us, answer our questions," begged one New Dorp Beach woman.

Emotionally exhausted, hundreds of people turned out for the meeting, some even took off from work. They came to the meeting with so many questions still unanswered one month afterSuperstorm Sandy slammed into Staten Island.

PIX 11 met Scott and Deirdre McGrath shortly after they gutted their New Dorp Beach home to protect against mold caused by the storm.

"I'm homeless," Deirdre said when it was her turn at the microphone, adding, "My home has no gas, water, sewage, but yet I'm still sleeping in there. I have dust and mold that he [Department of Health NYC] is telling me to avoid, where am I supposed to go? I've gone to FEMA, SBA, apartments.com, Robert Defalco Realty. I've gone to news, I still cannot find an apartment, where am I supposed to live?"

The FEMA rep told The McGraths, they have to look at their specific case.

A likely response, say many of these folks of an agency they say, has been less than responsive in Sandy's aftermath.

After their private meeting with FEMA, the McGraths told PIX 11 that they didn't make any progress.

"They gave us a list of apartments on Staten Island. Just paperwork was all they gave me. No answers. So, we are still in the same boat," said Scott, shaking his head.

His wife Deirdre said simply, "I feel just as lost as I did before I came here."

http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-staten-islands-storm-victim-town-hall-turns-into-yelling-match-20121129,0,3094499.story


TOWN HALL MEETING AT NEW DORP HIGH SCHOOL CLIP#1.m4v

Dan Lohaus

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Published on Nov 30, 2012 by Dan Lohaus
At the "Town Hall" Meeting at The New Dorp High School last night (11/29/12), Staten Island residents hit hardest by Sandy were fed up after about an hour of introductions, canned speeches and lack of information from local politicians, officials, and FEMA representatives. Although resident were told to submit their questions on note cards, FEMA officials chose which ones would be answered. Finally, people were fed up and demanded to be heard. This is the first woman to speak and the first of many more clips to come.
TOWN HALL MEETING AT NEW DORP HIGH SCHOOL CLIP#1.m4v - YouTube