Brooklyn attorneys assist Sandy relief effort
As the holidays approach and the winter weather further bears down on New York, many are still suffering from the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy, which washed away many parts of the Rockaways, Coney Island, and other shore towns of New York in October. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers has begun demolishing homes damaged by the storm, and lawsuits have been filed against Con Edison for their delay in restoring power to neighborhoods.
While people from across the globe have donated money, clothes and their time to assist those in need, many Brooklyn attorneys stepped up to the plate to help their fellow New Yorkers.
Lisa Bova-Hiatt, deputy chief of bankruptcy legislation for the New York City Law Department and Brooklyn Law School alum, co-managed a shelter in Staten Island. “After Hurricane Katrina, the City of New York made sure that all of their managers were trained in disaster relief,” Bova-Hiatt told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in an exclusive interview.
Little did the city or Bova-Hiatt know that a mere seven years later, such disaster training would become a necessity. “I take a disaster training course every year,” said Bova-Hiatt. “And it came in handy. We had over 900 evacuees in our shelter during Hurricane Sandy, over 200 of them were children.”