“Every day, for about 14-plus hours, I was out in the streets, trying to help people where I could, and trying to find out where the LIPA (Long Island Power Authority) crews were,” he said. “I would start and end my day in the LIPA power sub-stations, so when people would ask me when power was coming back, or where the crews were, I knew, and I could at least make sure that the areas that I though should get prioritization would get it.”
“More than event he lack of power, I think people disliked the lack of information and accurate information,” Denenberg added. “So I made it my business to get people as much of that as possible.”
Despite the state, federal and other help available, many residents are still crippled by the remnants of Sandy that stubbornly refuse to go away; among them, according to Denenberg, are insurance and relief issues.
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“Many people that had substantial damage are having trouble with flood insurance and are getting denied by disaster relief,” he said. “These people need the right information...my way to combat those issues are having workshops where I get people from FEMA and Department of Social Services, and we try to have the resources there to answer questions. I also use these functions as forums to listen to the complaints people have.”
Keeping communities up-to-date on the efforts being expended to help them can be a daunting task. Just last week he hosted a community forum for Sandy victims. Denenberg said he takes advantage of every avenue available to him.
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“I embrace technology,” he said. “Most people had access to the Internet, so we utilized Facebook, Twitter, and email blasts, and I would update more times a day than I can count as soon as I got information, so I could get it out there as soon as possible.”
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