Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Dispatch From Staten Island's Midland Beach, Shattered By Hurricane Sandy
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 2, 2012
Modified Nov 2, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
View all 28
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 2, 2012
Modified Nov 2, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Chris Levatino's house was surrounded by water. "It felt like you were in a boat in the middle of the ocean," he explained yesterday as he hosed off the driveway of his Staten Island home. "The waves were hitting my porch." Levatino's wife and children evacuated to a relative's house in Brooklyn when Hurricane Sandy hit, but he had stayed behind in Midland Beach and watched as water filled the first floor of his home. "I could see my neighbor through the window of his attic, and he was signaling SOS to me with his flashlight. I flashed back so he'd know I'd seen it. It was just really freaky, really scary."
Midland Beach was one of the hardest hit coastal areas of Staten Island, along with South Beach, Oakwood Beach, Eltingville and Tottenville. Three days after Sandy struck its streets were littered with downed power lines; cars and mobile homes were turned on their sides. Massive trees blocked roads, their huge clumps of black roots reeking of fresh earth. Stuffed animals sat next to propane tanks and Wiffle Ball bats, everything seemingly soaked with motor oil. In short, it is a nightmare.
Levatino, who works at Staten Island Hospital and also owns a roofing company, said he lost two vehicles during the storm. "My brand new pickup truck just floated down the street. I have no idea where it is, but it is shot." His roofing van is also ruined, leaving him unable to take new jobs, which are usually plentiful after a storm like this. "Not only has it hurt my home, but it's hurting me in the pocket." Still, he acknowledges that he's one of the relatively lucky ones: "Everybody's having a hard time. There's nothing to do but just clean it up."
Stec and Alex Renata, who live down the block from Levatino off Graham Boulevard, also consider themselves fortunate. "Compared to other people, it's not that bad," Stec said as he cleaned his garage. The couple's car was soaked in seven feet of water, and the dank stench from the floodwaters wafted up into their living quarters, but he and his family had safely weathered the storm in Brooklyn. "We just bought this house five months ago," Alex notes. "This is our first house."
Alfredo Zapata's home on Hunter Avenue was all but ruined by flood waters that rose to 11 feet and utterly devastated much of his block. "My next door neighbor died. Drowned. She was too old to leave," he said, adding the neighbor was only one of five people who were killed in Midland Beach during the storm. Down the street, two boys drowned after being ripped from their mother's arms by a rush of water. Zapata, a jeweler who works in Manhattan, spent Monday night at his brother-in-law's house further north on the island with his wife and two sons. "I couldn't sleep all night," he said. "I was really scared for what might happen."
Zapata said his boss told him to take as much time off as he needed, and that much of it will be spent waiting for help. "I'm waiting for the insurance company to come, and I'm waiting for FEMA to come, but nobody's come." An ATV pulling a wagon full of Homeland Security Urban Rescue Task Force members rolled by, and Zapata waved. "Except for the rescuers, nobody's come. I am a citizen of this country, I pay my taxes on time every single year, and this is their response?" He added, "My youngest, he's seven. He told me to protect his toys. His toys! I can't let him see this."
At least 20 of the 34 fatalities attributed so far to Hurricane Sandy in New York City occurred on Staten Island. "Irene had everyone thinking that this [storm] would be similar," Levatino said. "But everybody completely underestimated it."
Tagged
fema
hurricane sandy
midland beach
staten island
original
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .