Midland beach

Hundreds of people from neighborhoods still suffering the after-effects of the storm rallied at City Hall yesterday to decry what they called a "tale of two recoveries."

The volunteer Santa said, "Had a woman today say she had given up on Christmas and had no joy for holidays until we showed her a Christmas Miracle and brought back her Christmas spirit."

The demolitions, which will occur in the coming weeks and months, are the result of the inspection of more than 80,000 buildings affected by the storm.

"The gawking was amazing last week," said one Staten Island homeowner. "It was kind of offensive as a homeowner, because I felt violated."

Many residents declined to heed the city's mandatory evacuation of Midland Beach, located in Zone A, because previous storms hadn't come close to causing the destruction Sandy did.

"Except for the rescuers, nobody's come," said Alfredo Zapata outside his ruined home. "I am a citizen of this country, I pay my taxes on time every single year, and this is their response?"

Cops carry Orlik's daughter out of the house. (Via Staten Island

Victoria Olink and her daughter, Sasha. A mother and her two

A national Muslim group is refusing to back down from plans