Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Sandy wrought widespread destruction across the northeast, some of New York’s hardest-hit regions like the Rockaways, Red Hook and Coney Island remain crippled, without power or basic necessities. President Obama toured the most devastated areas on Nov. 15. “I’m very proud of you, New York,” he said. “You guys are tough.”
Obama’s visit revealed how much rebuilding remains to be done, but New Yorkers are already helping out their neighbors in truly local fashion—hosting pizza parties, organizing concerts for every musical appetite and peddling T-shirts to raise money for relief efforts.