In Coney Island Sandy Recovery, Residents Say They’ve Been Forgotten In Favor Of Amusements

As soon as the weather warmed in 2013, Brooklyn cheerleaders looking to put Superstorm Sandy behind them declared Coney Island open.

It was a huge moment for Southern Brooklyn, one of the few sources of positive news as we continued to gut basements and file papers with relief organizations. It was a huge moment, too, for government officials and business leaders, who had poured millions of dollars into seeing Luna Park and the rest of the amusement area get back on track. Coney Island, after all, is a part of the Bloomberg legacy.

Advocates at the time were quick to point out that Coney Island was far from okay. The lights were on in the amusement district, but they remained dim on the rest of the barrier island.

More than a year later, it’s the same old tune. If you drive through the neighborhood, Sandy’s scars are still quite visible. Vacancy rates remain high as homeowners struggle to make repairs, and government aid remains frustratingly slow.

CBS News went and paid a visit, and told the heart-wrenching story of Charlene Davis, a disabled 54-year-old who rented in Coney Island, and has struggled to find aid since the storm. She’s been relocated – after eight months in a moldy home – but has no idea when she’ll be able to move back with her two children.

She, too, is less than satisfied with the government and news media’s priorities in Coney Island.

Davis believes when it comes to Coney Island, people don’t think about the poor residents living a few blocks away from the rides and boardwalk.

And Deborah Carter agrees. She is around the corner from Davis and is the resident leader of the Gravesend public housing developments

“We were the spot that wasn’t looked at [when it came to Sandy recovery],” said Carter.

Residents were angry that it took so long for aid to reach them, and Carter says there is still so much that needs to be done.

“We still have people that [are] in need. In need of furniture, clothing. A lot of people lost a lot of things,” Carter said.

While Coney Island’s Luna Park re-opened just five months after the storm, Carter and Davis both feel that when it comes to aid, their area should not be forgotten.

“They [people] are focusing on the rides and how Coney Island is back and coming. There are people who are still struggling,” Davis said.