H S R P 2 0 1 3 HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF PROJECTSABRINA KHAN NIKKI SEGULINCHLOE CIMINO

For our Relief Project we chose to raise money for the Rebuild Hoboken Relief Fund. This organization was set up to help the “individuals, families, small businesses and charities” (RebuildHoboken.org) of Hoboken in this time if need. We put up flyers advertising our project, and placed change jars to collect spare change around the school, at the Fanwood Memorial Library and in the home of one of our group mates. Our project was a success and we hope we can help the people of Hoboken still struggling after the storm.

Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, NJ that borders the Hudson River. Hurricane Sandy placed a massive toll on many aspects of both marine life and human life in Hoboken. During the hurricane, half the city was flooded and by October 30, approximately 20,000 people were stranded. The National Guard was deployed on October 31st to rescue those without shelter, food, or other means of survival.

• Estimated population of 500,005 people

• Land Area: 1.28 miles• Close proximity to

NYC• On the Hudson River• Hudson County• Elevation: 9 meters• Bordered by Jersey

City, Union City and Weehawken

Sandy changed much of the environment in the Hudson River. Contaminants such as oil, debris, waste and anything else the water picked up during the mass flooding is polluting the water, making life in the Hudson difficult for most animals.

Abiotic factor: a non-living condition or thing that influences or affects an ecosystem and the organisms in it. In Hoboken the main abiotic factor is the water. Hoboken is right on the Hudson river, exposing it to all sorts of water devastation as well as exposing the river itself to devastation. When the river flooded the ciDu during the storm, the rash, tree e limbs, oils and waste that litteredtreet were sucked back into the river once the flooding receded.

Biotic factor: a living thing that influences or affects an ecosystem.The biotic factors in the Hudson would be the fish and other sea life. As the oe pollution from the city definitely had a negative impact on the organisms within the river, exposing them to dangerous objects and contaminants. ution from flooding enters the water it affects the biotic factors.

During Sandy, carp were both negatively and positively affected. While carp can take a wide range of environmental conditions, the hurricane introduced many new and dangerous ones that are harmful to their overall health. However, carp are also known to populate quickly during floods. This has consequently increased the carps predator the largemouth bass' population.

Since the bald eagles gradual disappearance in the mid 1800’s due to industrial expansion, environmentalist groups have been trying to bring the bird back. Slowly but surely, the bald eagle has returned to the Hudson River Valley, but now it is faced with a new challenge: Hurricane Sandy. Because the bald eagle is at the top of its food chain it becomes susceptible to all of the toxic waste that has accumulated as a result of the flooding through the fish that it eats.

Hurricane Sandy has done a great deal of damage to both organisms living in the affected areas and society itself. As a result of the storm, businesses were forced to close down. Flooding and other physical damage prevented the actual business from opening in addition to the fact that internet and phone lines were down. The overall toll was a blow to the economy as well as a massive amount of damage and a very pricey cleanup. However, the damage Hurricane Sandy has caused opened up new opportunities to renovate and improve cities.

Sabrina KhanHurricane Sandy was an interesting experience for

me as an individual. During Sandy I spent most of the time in my basement watching movies with the power

we had left from the generator. Luckily for us there was a gas station and corner store right down the street. It was only until the storm had ended did I

realize how drastically the storm had affected other people. Trees, water and wind had destroyed their

homes, power lines were severed and backup generators were unavailable. There was no corner store to grab food from in the middle of the raging

storm. It was chaos. And what surprised me the most was that it still is in some parts of the east coast. This

project was ultimately what introduced me to all the struggles people in places like Hoboken are suffering

from, and it also gave me a way to help.

Chloe CiminoThis experience has really

affected me as a person. It helped me

fully realize how easy I had it, with a home

undamaged, compared to the many whose entire livelihood was

swept away. This project also helped me grow. In order

to properly fundraise, I had to branch out and do

things out of my comfort zone, like talk to and meet with people I had

never met before. I learned the importance of

organization and how essential that is to a smoothly run

“operation” of sorts. I’m really thankful for this project, because I

am able to help and make a difference in others lives, but also

in my own.

Nikki Segulin

During Hurricane Sandy, I realized how much I depended on technology. My house was affected by the storm so I didn’t have any power, phones, laptops, or ways to charge things. Eventually, we got used to the fact that we didn’t have power and after a few days, also stopped relying on our technology, or lack of. The negatives to the storm was the fact that we had no working fridge so we lived in coolers and the cold weather for that time. The storm made me realize how bad things could have gotten and even after we gained power back, some of my friends or people we knew still had no power. It also made me realize how people could come together during such a hard time and not cause chaos like I would have expected. Everything was still orderly even in the disaster. Stores were giving bags of ice to families and driving was not a total mess. Even though the street lights were not working, people still drove like good people and waited their turns instead of causing more accidents. I realized that in catastrophic disasters, the human race would not be in trouble because we came together and improved as people for the time being. People offered what little they could, and helped out when they could. Even though trees fell into houses and streets were blocked off and it was chaotic outside, the fact that the people changed and acted kindly towards each other instead of slightly bearable, made things less chaotic. I think the acting part of this project was a good thing to do, but also became more extensive. I understand that it’s a good thing to do to help people after the hurricane, but I also understand that the hurricane was many months ago. I wish instead of just raising money and shipping it off to an organization for months (it got boring and extensive), we could have done something more hands-on, like help fix the beach, help others find shelter, that kind of thing; just rebuild places more directly.

Bye, Bye Hurricane Sandy

Through this project, we have helped make a difference.

We helped make a change.