My family and I were lucky. We returned to Manhattan Beach Tuesday afternoon to assess the situation and found we
only had 4 to 5 inches of salt water and sand sewer back-up in the basement and no power, hot water or landline telephone service.
What we saw on our drive from Sunset Park to Manhattan Beach is still hard to believe -- broken railings along the parkway, broken balcony railings along tall buildings, sand and soil everywhere, flooded streets, shifted cars, uprooted trees and sidewalk flags. Magically, United Methodist Church looks the same from the exterior. I don't know about the inside yet. I've been busy cleaning out the basement in the daylight hours that I haven't had a chance to check on St. Margaret Mary Church or the remaining dead end blocks. Unbelievably, the rocks along the esplanade at Corbin Place were thrown out into the street by the force of the storm. I'm sure the same might be found from West End Avenue to Exter Street. Damage is evident on the ocean side of 295 and 286 Corbin Place. Other neighbors reported the same sewer back up problems, with some continuing even after the storm.
Belt Parkway - October 31, 2012
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| Shifted/broken railings along the Belt Parkway esplanade |
Sheepshead Bay - October 30, 2012
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| West End Avenue and Oriental Boulevard |
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Broken storefront glass at the corner store and Ginger Rose
at Sheepshead Bay Road and Emmons Avenue. |
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| Broken lobby window at West End Avenue & Cass Place. |
Manhattan Beach - October 31, 2012
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Broken railings at the 4th and 10th floors on Oriental Boulevard
and West End Avenue. |
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| Missing railings at the 6th floor on Oriental Boulevard and West End Avenue. |
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| Corbin Place |
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| October 31, 2012 view of 286 Corbin Place. |
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| Google Street View snapshot of 286 Corbin Place before storm. |
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| Google Street View snapshot of 286, 295 and dead end of Corbin Place before storm. |
