Mayor Bloomberg made an impromptu visit to the Rockaways this week—although he was predominantly there to discuss Sandy recovery efforts with local paper The Wave (and declare that the age of the wooden boardwalk is so over), Bloomberg also was confronted by some Occupy Sandy members. And for once, he had nothing but praise for them: "Thank you for everything you've done. You guys are great," Bloomberg told them, as you can see in the video below. "We really do appreciate it, all kidding aside. You really are making a difference. Goodbye," he said.
Bloomberg probably would have rather avoided any confrontations with protesters or Occupy people, but his helicopter touched down right behind Occupy Sandy's headquarters at the St. Camillus Church, according to DNAInfo. Residents were upset that Bloomberg didn't stick around to talk to locals: “I feel like he could have answered a question," said Christine Donohue, whose home was destroyed in the storm. "If he could have at least acknowledged the questions. Just one...It's just like I was talking to the wall. It was rude. Help us please.”
“They wanted to try to talk to him, to have him hear what was going on," Jessica Roff, a Sandy organizer who has been volunteering since the day after the storm, explained to DNAInfo. “It's pretty desperate. It's really cold. It's getting colder. There are a lot of people without heat and hot water," she said. “The health crisis is growing." After he left, she added that, "People were pretty aggravated at the mayor. They were pretty aggravated with everybody. People were frustrated, but not surprised."
The Occupy movement has been instrumental in organizing relief efforts in neighborhoods that continue to recover from Hurricane Sandy's devastation, even if it took weeks for mainstream media to give them praise for it. You can volunteer with Occupy Sandy's efforts by filling out a form here.
