The New York Daily news
written by Matthew Lysiak
Thursday November 1, 2012
‘We are Katrina’ says one desperate resident. ‘Everyone cares about Manhattan. No one is looking out for us.’
At a 12-unit apartment building at West 23rd near Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island, several tenants are huddled together in one room where human waste is spilling out of the toilet. They need help, and are at a loss explaining why assistance is getting to them faster.
"We have no food or water. Why isn't anyone helping us," asked tenant Aeising Cancel.
"We are scavenging for food like animals," said another tenant Jeffery Francis. "We are in a crisis and no one will help us. Look at us. We are misery. Everyone cares about Manhattan. No one is looking out for us. Nothing. We are Katrina."
At an apartment building at 3024 W 23rd the power is still out and residents are out of food.
"The food is gone. We are scrapping for food. One person found a sandwich and we split it four ways," said resident 58-year-old Albert Miller. "I'm just happy to be alive. We are praying a lot right now. Praying for help. We keep telling ourselves it is going to get better. It has to get better, right?"
The gas is on in the building, but they have no heat. Tenants are blasting their gas stoves and ovens to stay warm.
The NYPD has a massive presence on Mermaid Ave. At least two officers per block are standing guard.
Almost every business still appears to be closed - as business owners and employees are busy cleaning up from the hurricane and looting.
"Everything is gone," said Yaw Osei, 55, who runs Adom Rental Transportation on W 23rd near Mermaid Ave. "Eleven of our cars are destroyed. Just gone. Our business is crippled," he said as he stood in the lot of his damaged cars.
"Everything is messed up. Some cars we can't even find,” Osei said. “The hurricane just picked them up and threw them somewhere and now we can't find them," said Osei.
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