Lindenhurst Patch Looks Back on Sandy, 2nd Year Live

March 22 now marks two years that Lindenhurst Patch has been live. And what a year this second one's been!

A year after launch this Lindy girl is still thrilled to be covering her hometown, the place where I grew up and met my husband, and the community I still call home.

I want to thank the community and its leaders in government, schools, business and civics for continuing to embrace and support Lindenhurst Patch.

Without the residents of Lindenhurst and readers of Patch, this site wouldn't be as successful as it is today, two years after launching. Your support has been greatly appreciated.

The website would also not be possible without the guidance of Regional Editor Greg Sleter, Associate Regional Editor Ryan Bonner, Senior Regional Editor David Reich-Hale and the work of Advertising Manager Barbara Pescuma, Scott P. Moore, local editor of Babylon Village Patch, and Kaitlyn Piccoli, local editor of West Islip Patch, and all of the site's contributors and bloggers.

Looking Back
Taking a look back over the past year, there've been quite a few big stories that happened in our backyard, running the gamut from schools and sports to crime, government and business.

But none were bigger than Hurricane Sandy.

The superstorm blew into this beloved South Shore community with record-high tide surges on , and changed forever the shoreline, beaches, the landscape and the lives and homes of so many residents living South of Montauk Highway in Lindy.

It knocked out power for weeks and brought back gas lines not seen since the 1970s.

It flooded and washed away memories and homes and livelihoods in what seemed to be one fell swoop.

But while it ravaged the shoreline, it couldn't shake the spirit of the residents living on it. Lindy Pride was reinforced and in full view as the community picked itself up and got to work helping its neighbors, friends and family through one of the roughest times in recent memory.

The Lindenhurst School District united, and helped Sandy-displaced students and their families what they needed - from students and teachers collecting and distributing food and clothing, residents collecting gift cards to help families get throught the holidays to myriad fundraising efforts by students, athletes and staff in the days, weeks and months after Sandy.

Long-time community organizations such as the Lindenhurst Rotary Club, Lindenhurst Chamber of Commerce and the Beautification Society came together with efforts to help fellow residents in the storm's aftermath.

New grassroots organizations, turned full-fledged non-profits - including Adopt a House, Camp Bulldog and Lindy Manpower - were also borne out of the same desire and determination to help each other.

Lindy's churches organized drive efforts and opened their doors for those in need of food and warmth. The Rainbow Center, Youth Center and the Lindenhurst Memorial Library did the same, opening as warming centers and charging stations. The library also served as the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center until the middle of February.

Several local concerts were organized, and so were several Thanksgiving dinners and holiday parties for kids.

Businesses offered a helping a hand, with many restaurants opening their doors and offering food in Lindy's time of need.

Lindy's post-Sandy plight garnered the attention and help of many outside non-profits, as well as school districts, alumni, businesses and others looking to help, feed and clothe those Sandy-affected residents -  some organizations even sent or drove in truckloads of much-needed supplies.

Lindy also received visits and gifts from the likes of Heidi Klum and Darius Rucker, and of course received help and support from its hometown boy, Dan Lauria, and hometown girl, Pat Benatar.

The Village of Lindenhurst and Town of Babylon Departments of Public Works worked to clear the streets of debris to restore some sense of normalcy in the days and weeks after Sandy.

The Village started a text messaging system to communicate updates to powerless residents, organized several post-Sandy networking meetings, and started a Relief Fund, administered by the United Way, to help residents with unmet needs. The Babyon Town Fire Chiefs also began collecting money.

And in Lindy the Lindenhurst Fire Department worked tirelessly from the night of the storm when it rescued more than 300 people and fought several fires in waist- and chest-deep flood water to the days, weeks and months after the storm when it collected and distributed food and clothing and supplies to directly to those in need South of Montauk Highway.

Suffolk Police with the help of the National Guard also protected residents and homes South of Montauk Highway and beyond when it seemed gas rationing was here to stay and LIPA's lights felt like they were never going to be turned back on.

Going Forward
There've been and continue to be so many large and small stories of perseverance in the wake of the superstorm.

And this is a small sampling of what Sandy wrought on our community, and of how our community came together.

But as the recovery continues, Lindenhurst Patch will be here to keep you in the know about all things recovery-related, as well as all things Lindy in general.

Hope you continue to log onto Lindenhurst Patch in its second year - and well beyond.

Be sure to also follow on on Facebook and Twitter, sign up for newsletters and breaking news alerts, sign up to blog, share your photos and news, claim your listings (if you own a business), drop a line to barbara.loehr@patch.com with a news tip, event information or an opinion piece and keep spreading the word!