The rockaways

Peala Jimenez and a 26-year-old man were reportedly swimming after lifeguards went off duty.

The primary concern at our local beaches is enterococci.

"They turned it into some behemoth fake paradise of surf culture and fish tacos."

An NYPD spokesperson said that detectives are still determining what caused the dispute.

At a Community Board meeting the feds explained that Sandy washed away 1.5 million cubic yards of sand (enough to fill the Empire State Building!) but promised that they'll have it all back soonish.

It wasn't just pharmacies, liquor stores, and, uh, Brookstone that got set upon by jackals in the wake of Hurricane Sandy; over two dozen schools were looted in the wake of the Frankenstorm.

"They taste good because they're made with love and soul."

"The city hasn't reached out to us at all," said Matt Calender, a Rockaway resident who helps direct a bustling relief effort from a house on Beach 96th Street.

While life has gotten back to "normal" for most New Yorkers, the impact of Hurricane Sandy is still very much a daily, draining reality for tens out thousands of residents.

The MTA will at last resume service to the Rockaway Peninsula on Sunday, two weeks after service was suspended on the eve of Hurricane Sandy's devastating landfall.

This moving video, filmed on the Rockaways on Election Day, is one of the best we've seen to document the desperate situation out there, where thousands are still without power, heat and homes.

This was the scene Tuesday in the tightly-knit neighborhood of Bell Harbor on the Rockaway peninsula, where Hurricane Sandy tore through with a merciless vengeance.