"We had some good times here,and that’s why it’s so hard. It’s hard when somebody says, ‘Take the buyout and run.’ I’m not gonna find another place like this… but when so many people are affected… I have four members in my family, and we’re all in the same boat."

"In the immediate aftermath of Sandy, Ocean Breeze and the neighborhoods around it were completely devastated, with homes destroyed, local residents drowned, and the survivors clearly traumatized by the storm. There were hot tubs in trees, homes pushed into the middle of the street, cars with their windows busted out by the water. In those early days after the storm, it was clear that the residents of Ocean Breeze were dedicated to returning and rebuilding their community. In the years to come, though, red tape and a slow recovery process resulted in another kind of trauma, with residents trapped in a homeless limbo. Their frustration was palpable, and resulted in most of Ocean Breeze deciding to head in a much different direction, agreeing to sell their homes to the New York state government, so that their houses could be permanently demolished as part of a 'managed retreat.'" (x)

It’s a warm and sunny morning in early October 2013, almost a year after Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast of the United States. As I walk down Seaview Avenue, navigating sidewalks overgrown with weeds and tall grass, I smell the ocean before I can see it. I turn the corner and see three people arranging hand-painted signs around a large white tent. The signs identify them as the Ocean Breeze Buyout Committee, one of several resident-led groups on Staten Island that are making the case against rebuilding their shorefront neighborhoods. Instead, they want the government to buy out their houses, restore wetlands, and create open public spaces that would offer protection from future storms. They face opposition, not from fellow residents who want to stay, but from a New York City administration that wants to redevelop rather than retreat from the coast. Every weekend, the Ocean Breeze Buyout Committee sets up an information tent and encourages passersby to sign letters indicating their interest in a buyout. The tent provides a place for residents to gather, to support each other, and to speak with journalists and local politicians. Today, a crowd gathers quickly. 'I don’t want to live through it again,'' one man says to me, adding, 'even if the buyout is a financial wash for me, I would prefer the land going back to nature, so it doesn’t happen to another family twenty, thirty years down the road.'” (x)

"On [Joe] Herrnkind’s section of the street, only one home remains out of eight. 'Around here, 90 percent of each block went,' he says, 'and only one or two people stayed.' Just down the street from where Herrnkind used to live, more turkeys mill about on empty lots where homes used to be." (x)