New York 1 - Disaster Relief (4)


Day 3:

Stardate: 3/24/2015
Brooklyn, foreign as it was upon our arrival, is beginning to become more and more familiar.  As a group we are getting our bearings, beginning to differentiate between the different neighborhoods.  Though we started the day by forgetting our lunches, we managed to make it to our work site in Manhattan Beach unscathed, a feat considering the insanity that is NYC traffic.
Eric, our project leader, informed us that today would be slightly different.  Our group of six split into threes.  One group remained to gut the basement of 92 year old Holocaust survivor Mr. Blume.  The second accompanied Eric on a variety of odd jobs around the borough (I, Nick, was in the latter group).
We first stopped by the home of woman recovering from multiple surgeries who was having her basement re-done after flood damage.  There, we moved tiles to the basement and had the opportunity to hear about her brother, another recipient of aid from the program.  He is a disabled veteran who has been displaced since Sandy, and in and out of VA hospitals.  It was a fantastic example of how important charitable work of this nature can be.
We next went to the beautiful Prospect Park, where we met the head of Resurrection Brooklyn Relief, Pastor “of Disaster” Brian and the park’s landscape architect, Christian Zimmerman.  We talked for a while, before loading up some astro-turf and delivering it to Brian’s house.  This turf is much needed, as his kids play in a backyard that is a virtual mud pit. 
We reunited, once again a sextet.  We hammered away at plaster for an hour or so more, and then headed home, bodies sore but hearts full.
After some hurried showers, we once again braved the traffic to get to the subway station.  A few stops later, we found ourselves back in Manhattan, this time to go to the 9/11 Memorial Museum.  It was an entirely humbling experience, and though we were all only 8 or 9 at the time, it still came rushing back like it happened yesterday.  Seeing and speaking with New Yorkers who actually witnessed the devastation was incredibly powerful.  We remained until they made us leave for the museum’s closing. 




Upon our return, we made Tacos, in order to honor the sacred tradition of Taco Tuesday.  And now here I sit, hurriedly typing so that I can partake in the fiesta of flavor.
Nick Jones, signing off.

Today our group arrived to our site early with strong determination to finish the mold remediation we had started yesterday. We’d originally planned to be finished completely with the basement by the end of tomorrow, but with fast hands and true grit we were able to knock it all out today. We all agree that having music playing in the background works as a great motivator, and James (our manager through resurrection Brooklyn) played DJ as we all bobbed our heads to hits from the 00’s. He even busted out some dance moves as we all reminisced about the early 2000 era. 
Even though today was very similar to yesterday, the light at the end of the tunnel kept us scrubbing until the job was done, and it was an amazing feeling to see the work we had finished. Though it seemed like only a small part of the renovation process, we knew how tedious the work we were doing was, and we were extremely happy to see it through to the end. Now we sit here wondering what tomorrow has in store, as we will be assigned to another site and another duty. We know that no mold can stand in our way, but we are also anticipating some demolition work as well. More to come in the following days.
-- Jon Green 3/24/15

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