JCCGCI Rebuilds After Hurricane Sandy

The flood waters have receded from Coney Island, Seagate, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, but there is still tremendous damage. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy these communities were paralyzed. Thousands suffered crippling losses, left with only the proverbial clothing on their backs.

The superstorm had a severe impact on JCCGCI. Our central offices were totally destroyed when the hurricane flooded the building with six feet of sea water. The equipment, furniture, and files were ruined, and even worse, the walls, ceilings and floors were structurally damaged. Estimates of restoring JCCGCI’s facilities stand at over $1 million in repairs for the main office alone.

Please donate today to support JCCGCI’s recovery, so we can provide the maximum possible level of support to our clients.

Our Surf Solomon Senior Center also suffered significant damages. Surf Solomon had been selected just weeks before the hurricane to be one of only two Brooklyn “Innovative Senior Center” sites as part of a larger initiative to create “Age-Friendly NYC.” Our Senior Citizen Transportation Program lost one of its wheelchair accessible vehicles.

The JCCGCI staff has shown amazing dedication and resilience. Many worked out of their homes for weeks. We were fortunate to have had good technology disaster recovery procedures in place. We were able to quickly restore critical services and reestablish contact with our client and staff base. Our services were back to full workload in one to three weeks.

We have set up offices for some of our services and staff at the Haber House Senior Center. But many of our staff are still displaced and dispersed, striving to maintain vital services under challenging conditions. donate today

click here to view pictures of the destruction of JCCGCI’s offices post Sandy

 click here to view footage of the destruction of JCCGCI’s offices post Sandy

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Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island expresses profound gratitude to the following funding sources which have served as “first responders” to our Hurricane Sandy recovery and restoration efforts, through the allocation of generous emergency grants to our organization:

• Allianz Foundation for North America
• Altman Foundation
• The Atlantic Philanthropies
• Apple Bank for Savings
• Brooklyn Community Foundation
• Coney Recovers
• Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany
• Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany (NYC)
• Council of Jewish Emigre Community Organizations (COJECO)
• FJC, A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds
• Ford Foundation
• Fund for the City of New York 
• Jean and Louis Dreyfus Foundation Inc.
• John H. & Ethel G. Noble Charitable Trust (Deutsche Bank Trust Company, Trustee)
• Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York 
• Nathan and Louise Goldsmith Foundation
• Nelco Foundation
• Pinkerton Foundation
• Robin Hood Foundation
• Solon E. Summerfield Foundation, Inc.
• The Judy & Michael Steinhardt Foundation
• Lizzie & Jonathan M. Tisch Fund 
• The M & T Charitable Foundation
• UJA-Federation of New York
• United Way of New York City

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The Board of Directors and staff of Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island (JCCGCI) express profound appreciation to the following organizations who opened their doors and hearts and demonstrated extraordinary and magnanimous kindness in hosting large numbers of JCCGCI staff who were displaced after Hurricane Sandy destroyed our offices:

Selfhelp Community Services, Stuart C. Kaplan, CEO Elihu Kover, Vice President, Nazi Victim Services

Shorefront Jewish Community Council, Tatiana Shlomovich, President Rachel Krich, Site Director

Haber House Senior Center, Etty Friedman, Director Gail Gutman, Assistant Director

Sea Gate Association, Pinny Dembitzer, President Tami J. Maldonado, Community Manager