How to help in New York City after Hurricane Sandy

Find out where to volunteer in NYC, who to donate money to and how to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy.



Good morning, New York. We hope you're all doing as okay as possible in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The next few days (and possibly weeks) are going to be rough for many New Yorkers—and for those who came out of the storm relatively unscathed, and want to help their fellow citizens, there are already ways to help. One thing you can do is keep tabs on the Twitter hashtag#sandyvolunteer, as many people are using it to post needs and opportunities. We'll update you as we receive more information on volunteer opportunities; meanwhile, if you know of anything, please e-mail us at thisweek@timeout.com, or let us know in the comments. Stay safe.

Volunteering your time

Updated Nov 1 at 1:45pm: The NYC Parks Department has put out a call for volunteers at parks in four of the five boroughs; here are the locations and links to sign up:

Bronx
Van Cortlandt Park
Orchard Beach            
Click here to volunteer in the Bronx 

Brooklyn
Prospect Park
McCarren Park
Click here to volunteer in Brooklyn

Manhattan
Happy Warrior Playground 
Annunciation Park
Carl Schurz Park
Anne Loftus Playground (at Fort Tryon Park)
Randall’s Island (Friday and Saturday only)
Click here to volunteer in Manhattan

Queens (Friday and Saturday only)
Brookville Park
Baisley Pond Park
Click here to volunteer in Queens

The New York chapter of the American Red Cross requested volunteers prior to Hurrcane Sandy making landfall to help staff its shelters throughout the region. Find out if you meet their criteria and register at this American Red Cross web page, How to volunteer for Hurricane Sandy shelters. You can also learn more about donating blood through the organization.

City employees are expected to go into work today, but if you're unable to make it in—which is likely considering that mass transit and bridges are still closed—Mayor Bloomberg has asked youto donate your time at one of the city's evacuation shelters. You can find a full list at this nyc.gov webpage.

The Mayor's Office also recommends registering with NYC Service, which will notify people once volunteer opportunities are available. Per the organization's Facebook page: "There will be various ways to volunteer to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy - Want to Volunteer? Please email nycservice@cityhall.nyc.gov with your name, email address and borough. There will be ways to volunteer today and over the next week as opportunities arise."

New York Cares has no specific projects set up yet, but is asking anyone who is interested in helping out to sign up on their website, and they will notify you if there's a need for volunteers.

An organizing site, The Lower East Side Recovers, has been set up to track volunteer opportunities and needs in Lower Manhattan. Sign up to get updates and more information.

Members of Occupy NYC are using recover.org to track volunteer efforts in their communities—check out pages for Red Hook and Astoria. Occupy has also set up a Facebook page to coordinate its relief efforts throughout the city. (via the House of Yes)

Via Brooklyn Based, you can sign up with the New York Public Advocate's office—give a date and time that you're available, and they'll follow up if your assistance is needed.

Via Brokelyn, Brooklyn Bridge Park is looking for volunteers to help with clean-up on Wednesday (October 31). There are morning (9am–noon) or afternoon (2–5pm) shifts. E-mail sward@brooklynbridgepark.org to R.S.V.P.

Food Not Bombs is asking for assistance—both by in-person volunteering and with donations—for its chapters in the Northeast, including NYC, Boston and Philadelphia. (via the House of Yes)

Red Hook Initiative is keeping tabs on local businesses who need help in the wake of Sandy, be it with generators, manpower or other forms of assistance. The organization is also accepting donations at its Red Hook headquarters; follow the group's Twitter feed for up-to-date info on what they need (non-perishables, clothing, etc.)

The Food Bank for New York City is looking for volunteers—sign up on their website for more information.

Solar One sent out an e-mail blast earlier about volunteering to help clean up their space, which suffered significant damage during the storm. Here are the details: "We need volunteers to help us in the park this week to aid with all clean-up efforts. Our urgent need for volunteer help is for this Friday, November 2 and Saturday, November 3 from 10am-4pm. Please RSVP to dina@solar1.org so we'll know you're coming!" They're also accepting cash donations.

The Prospect Park Alliance is accepting donations to help fund the clean-up of the park, post-Sandy; you can also sign up to be a volunteer once the clean-up efforts begin.

Donating blood

The New York Blood Center (800-933-2566, nybc.org) has posted a list of locations on its Facebook page. In New York City, the locations are Upper East Side Donor Center (310 E 67th St between First and Second Aves, lobby) and Citicorp Donor Center (601 Lexington Ave between 53rd and 54th Sts, lower level). Currently, these offices are not open and cannot accept donations (due to lost power from the storm), but you can call or check their website or Facebook page for updates. Once they're operational, they will need donations.

Clothing donations and food drives

CAAV in Chinatown will be open every day from 10am–5pm and is accepting food, flashlights, batteries and bottled water. They also need volunteers; check the website for more information.

Per a volunteer at the Park Slope Armory, today (11/1) they could really use donations of magazines and newspapers (things like People, the New York Post and the New York Daily News), as well as new women's underwear, size XL.

The NYC Mayor's Office is Tweeting locations where food and water will be distributed in NYC neighborhoods today (11/1), including Coney Island and Staten Island.

The Food Bank for NYC is also distributing pantry bags and hot meals from its Community Kitchen and Pantry of West Harlem (252 W 116th St between Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd [Seventh Ave] and Frederick Douglass Blvd [Eighth Ave]); the center is open from 11:30am–5pm, and more details can be found at the Food Bank's website.

The Village Voice posted a link to food distribution centers in Red Hook for today, November 1.

Donating money

If you can't make it in person to volunteer, donate to any of these organizations: 
The Food Bank for New York City (text FBNYC to 50555 to make a donation from your mobile device)
The American Red Cross
AmeriCares
The Salvation ArmyThe Humane Society
North Shore Animal League
New York Cares (text iCARE to 85944 to donate $10 from your mobile device)
The Bowery Mission (text BOWERY to 20222 to make a donation from your mobile device)

Posted by Mags/ From TimeoutNY.com