Kingsborough Community College Bouncing Back After Sandy

Like many institutions in Southern Brooklyn, Kingsborough Community College (2001 Oriental Boulevard), was wrecked by Superstorm Sandy last year. NY1 is reporting how the school has generally fared since the storm, tracking its recovery and progress in the wake of the disaster.

When the winds and waters of Sandy blasted through the area last year, the KCC Maritime Technology area located in Sheepshead Bay was left heavily damaged. While declaring that work still needed to be done, Merchant Marine Captain and Program Director Anthony DiLernia commented on the experience of trying to fix the school, and some of the remaining mess.

“We learned from the storm how to reconfigure our marina. Half the marina was destroyed by the storm,” DiLernia said.

The report noted how  the storm surge battered the campus, heavily damaging the infrastructure and buildings of the college. Despite the damage, the school reopened one week later. NY1 described how getting the school operating again ultimately helped in the recovery process for the faculty, staff and students working at the institution:

The school also went to bat for 2,500 students and faculty members impacted by the storm. Many lost their homes and belongings, including books and computers. The college set up an emergency food and clothing distribution center and started a fundraising campaign to further assist them.

“We were able to raise over $200,000 to provide financial support to these people who were in need,” [Elizabeth] Basile said. “Students can still come and request additional financial support and if it’s needed and we can provide that kind of support we will.”

In case you need a little reminder of what Sandy was like, here’s a video we ran, filmed on the school’s premises (by DiLernia, I believe) as the water came crashing through:

Despite all exhaustive and continuing recovery process, KCC still managed to rank among the best community colleges in the country. In March, we reported on Kingsborough ranking in the top four of community colleges nationwide by the Aspen Institute.