Hoboken Remembers Superstorm Sandy, Two Years After the Storm

On Wednesday at 1 p.m., Hobokenites will mark the two-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy with a flag raising ceremony at City Hall.

But the memories of water rising will linger as the city remembers how Superstorm Sandy surged over the Hudson River and into the Mile Square City on Oct. 29, 2012.

They can still see it causing widespread, catastrophic damage throughout the city. Much of those memories live on in video and Internet-published stills (click below for an overview of the damage to Hoboken, taken shortly after the storm).

At the same time, they’ll recognize how far the city has come since the floodwaters surged through.

The city’s newly purchased high water vehicle, a military surplus truck for water rescues, will also be unveiled at the flag raising ceremony. Local children will be repainting the truck with art that embodies the theme of “resiliency and readiness.”

The event will feature a flag donated to the citizens of Hoboken by Hoboken resident and United States Air Force Reservist Joel Branosky, and the members of the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron.

The flag was flown over Afghanistan aboard a B1 Bomber during Operation Enduring Freedom on November 5, 2012 and is presented to the people of Hoboken in recognition of all the City endured and overcame during the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, first responders, and local artists, will join Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer at the ceremony. Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space as one of the first six women selected to join the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1978.

Looking Back at Hurricane Sandy

More than half the city was flooded when Sandy hit on Oct. 29, 2012. This included the Hoboken Fire House, which was evacuated along with two other fire stations in town. By Tuesday morning, floodwaters had begun to recede. However, flooding was still widespread in most of the city, especially on the west side near ShopRite. On Oct. 31, the National Guard answered the Mayor’s call for help, as an estimated 20,000 local residents remained trapped in a city under water.

Hurricane Sandy caused more than $100 million in damage to private property and $100s of millions to the transit system – the PATH was just one of the public venues underwater after the storm. Sandy also caused $10 million dollars in damage to city property. The damage to the transit system was a devastating blow in a city of 50,000 where 56 percent of residents use public transit to commute to work, and 30,000 pass through the Hoboken PATH station every week day.

Days after the storm, nearly 85 percent of Hoboken was without power, despite help from the National Guard, who arrived on Wednesday to deliver supplies and rescue residents and pets trapped in their apartments. Among those rescued were a 5-day-old baby, a 6-month-old child with a fever, and several senior citizens.

Shortly after the storm, Patch reported that on Garden between Newark Street and Observer Highway, people stood on their stoops, unable to get out of their houses. Days after the surge, Garden Street tenants could be found dumping bucket after bucket of water of flood water from their apartment out on to the street.

The city also experienced serious communication issues. Phone lines at the police station were down, forcing officers to communicate with walkie-talkies. Mayor Zimmer set up a command center for the Office of Emergency Management, the Community Emergency Response Team volunteers and the Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps in the center of city hall, while the rest of the building remained without power.

Help came from around the Tristate, as locals banded together to help Hoboken cope with the tragedy. One volunteer came all the way from Albany, NY to donate dozens of cases of water after hearing Mayor Zimmer speak on TV. Local religions groups, colleges, and schools joined forces at City Hall as donations of batteries, water, and baby formula poured in to the city.

Finally, on Nov. 5, power was restored to most of Hoboken and roads in and out of the city were open and accessible.

Future redevelopment and construction projects have been revised to include substantial flood mitigation plans, as the waterfront City strives to be prepared in the event of another natural disaster.

Looking for before and after photos? Local resident and Roosevelts blogger, Stephen Gebhardt, has captured a series of before and after photos chronicling the catastrophic damage to the Hudson waterfront.

What are your memories of Hurricane Sandy? Is Hoboken better prepared now than before the storm? Share your thoughts and recollections in the comments below.