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A year after Superstorm Sandy flooded the streets of New York, carried away whole stretches of the Jersey Shore and caused untold devastation to half a million homes and countless homeowners along the northeastern seaboard, many survivors are still left adrift.
On Sunday afternoon, survivors of the storm and other community leaders are convening at New York City Hall to "Turn the Tide" and demand a more equitable and sustainable rebuild. Protesters plan to carry handmade "waves" symbolizing the "wave of change" they hope to spark.
Though millions of aid dollars were set aside following the storm, many communities--particularly minority and lower class--are still displaced.
"For many people who didn't have tens of thousands of dollars sitting in their bank accounts in case of disaster, the effects of Superstorm Sandy linger," writes Al Jazeera's Peter Moskowitz. "When the water finally receded, it revealed a case study in how close to the edge of destruction many Americans are."
Moskowitz continues:
On Jan. 29, President Barack Obama signed a bill that gave states affected by Sandy over $50 billion to recover. But it's unclear where all that money went.
Some say if it had been spent effectively and transparently, people who needed to rely on the government to rebuild their lives would have rebuilt them by now. [...] businesses in Staten Island would be thriving again, and 300 residents of the Rockaways and other coastal areas in Brooklyn would be living in homes, not in hotels as they are now.
Instead, thousands are stuck waiting for slow-moving government agencies and nonprofits to decide their futures.
Ahead of the rally, "Sandy Sojourners" will march from the hardest-hit and most vulnerable communities to downtown New York.
The demonstration organizers, including 350.org and Occupy Sandy, are calling on new mayoral candidates to support five key priorities for equitable rebuilding: good jobs, affordable housing, sustainable energy, community engagement and strong healthcare.
In addition to exposing the economic vulnerability of so many Americans, the storm forced many politicians and other members of New York's elite class to face the hard facts about our collective future in the face of global warming with its drastic weather patterns and swelling sea levels.
In addition to Sunday's protest, organizers along with the grassroots group Forecast the Facts is holding a live forum during which climate activists will discuss with financial experts the impact of our fossil fuel-reliant economy on the future of global warming. Turning the Tide: Carbon Divestment for a Post-Sandy Wall Street promises to "put the spotlight on Wall Street's role in carbon pollution--especially on New York's richest man, carbon financier David H. Koch."
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

A year after Superstorm Sandy flooded the streets of New York, carried away whole stretches of the Jersey Shore and caused untold devastation to half a million homes and countless homeowners along the northeastern seaboard, many survivors are still left adrift.
On Sunday afternoon, survivors of the storm and other community leaders are convening at New York City Hall to "Turn the Tide" and demand a more equitable and sustainable rebuild. Protesters plan to carry handmade "waves" symbolizing the "wave of change" they hope to spark.
Though millions of aid dollars were set aside following the storm, many communities--particularly minority and lower class--are still displaced.
"For many people who didn't have tens of thousands of dollars sitting in their bank accounts in case of disaster, the effects of Superstorm Sandy linger," writes Al Jazeera's Peter Moskowitz. "When the water finally receded, it revealed a case study in how close to the edge of destruction many Americans are."
Moskowitz continues:
On Jan. 29, President Barack Obama signed a bill that gave states affected by Sandy over $50 billion to recover. But it's unclear where all that money went.
Some say if it had been spent effectively and transparently, people who needed to rely on the government to rebuild their lives would have rebuilt them by now. [...] businesses in Staten Island would be thriving again, and 300 residents of the Rockaways and other coastal areas in Brooklyn would be living in homes, not in hotels as they are now.
Instead, thousands are stuck waiting for slow-moving government agencies and nonprofits to decide their futures.
Ahead of the rally, "Sandy Sojourners" will march from the hardest-hit and most vulnerable communities to downtown New York.
The demonstration organizers, including 350.org and Occupy Sandy, are calling on new mayoral candidates to support five key priorities for equitable rebuilding: good jobs, affordable housing, sustainable energy, community engagement and strong healthcare.
In addition to exposing the economic vulnerability of so many Americans, the storm forced many politicians and other members of New York's elite class to face the hard facts about our collective future in the face of global warming with its drastic weather patterns and swelling sea levels.
In addition to Sunday's protest, organizers along with the grassroots group Forecast the Facts is holding a live forum during which climate activists will discuss with financial experts the impact of our fossil fuel-reliant economy on the future of global warming. Turning the Tide: Carbon Divestment for a Post-Sandy Wall Street promises to "put the spotlight on Wall Street's role in carbon pollution--especially on New York's richest man, carbon financier David H. Koch."

A year after Superstorm Sandy flooded the streets of New York, carried away whole stretches of the Jersey Shore and caused untold devastation to half a million homes and countless homeowners along the northeastern seaboard, many survivors are still left adrift.
On Sunday afternoon, survivors of the storm and other community leaders are convening at New York City Hall to "Turn the Tide" and demand a more equitable and sustainable rebuild. Protesters plan to carry handmade "waves" symbolizing the "wave of change" they hope to spark.
Though millions of aid dollars were set aside following the storm, many communities--particularly minority and lower class--are still displaced.
"For many people who didn't have tens of thousands of dollars sitting in their bank accounts in case of disaster, the effects of Superstorm Sandy linger," writes Al Jazeera's Peter Moskowitz. "When the water finally receded, it revealed a case study in how close to the edge of destruction many Americans are."
Moskowitz continues:
On Jan. 29, President Barack Obama signed a bill that gave states affected by Sandy over $50 billion to recover. But it's unclear where all that money went.
Some say if it had been spent effectively and transparently, people who needed to rely on the government to rebuild their lives would have rebuilt them by now. [...] businesses in Staten Island would be thriving again, and 300 residents of the Rockaways and other coastal areas in Brooklyn would be living in homes, not in hotels as they are now.
Instead, thousands are stuck waiting for slow-moving government agencies and nonprofits to decide their futures.
Ahead of the rally, "Sandy Sojourners" will march from the hardest-hit and most vulnerable communities to downtown New York.
The demonstration organizers, including 350.org and Occupy Sandy, are calling on new mayoral candidates to support five key priorities for equitable rebuilding: good jobs, affordable housing, sustainable energy, community engagement and strong healthcare.
In addition to exposing the economic vulnerability of so many Americans, the storm forced many politicians and other members of New York's elite class to face the hard facts about our collective future in the face of global warming with its drastic weather patterns and swelling sea levels.
In addition to Sunday's protest, organizers along with the grassroots group Forecast the Facts is holding a live forum during which climate activists will discuss with financial experts the impact of our fossil fuel-reliant economy on the future of global warming. Turning the Tide: Carbon Divestment for a Post-Sandy Wall Street promises to "put the spotlight on Wall Street's role in carbon pollution--especially on New York's richest man, carbon financier David H. Koch."