Hurricane Sandy was our worst nightmare realized. This monster storm packed as much energy as two World War II era atomic bombs, causing massive destruction, the likes of which had not been seen since the Long Island Express of 1938, a now legendary Category III hurricane. Trapped on an island jutting into the Atlantic Ocean, we were front and center when Sandy attacked with a vengeance. Thousands of homes were inundated with seawater and sewage. Hundreds were left uninhabitable. Two and a half years later, we continue to rebuild our tattered shoreline. In this series we will look in the coming months at the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery’s ongoing effort to reconstruct worst-case homes, businesses and communities that Sandy ravaged on Oct. 29, 2012 — and the myriad issues that residents and officials face as they piece together our shredded infrastructure. At the same time, we will look at state and local officials’ efforts to reinforce Long Island in the hope that we might be able to withstand nature’s fury better when the next monster storm hits. —Scott Brinton, senior editor more

The caregivers at South Nassau Communities Hospital are excited about the opportunity to work with residents of the barrier island to improve medical services in the wake of the closing of the Long Beach Medical Center . . . more

Laozi, a Chinese philosopher in the 6th century B.C., is credited with the saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That easily sums up the ongoing effort to provide the residents of the City of Long Beach . . . more

Facing pressure from state and local officials, New York Rising announced a major policy change on Thursday to part of its reimbursement formula that officials say has stalled the rebuilding process … more

After a meeting on March 11 with U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York, and Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, of New Jersey, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate announced that the agency had agreed to reopen and review every flood insurance claim — approximately 144,000 — filed in New York and New Jersey by victims of Hurricane Sandy, and not limit corrective action to just the 2,200 claims that are now in litigation. more

New York state has pledged to fund the installation of a $150 million nitrogen-removal system at the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant, which will reduce the environmental harm of the sewage the plant discharges into Nassau County’s Western Bays, state and county officials said on Feb. 12. The officials, speaking at a Mineola news conference, also called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide $550 million more to build an outfall pipe to carry effluent from Bay Park into the Atlantic Ocean. more

Two years after Hurricane Sandy, a group of storm victims will take to the boardwalk for a rally on Saturday, and will call on New York Rising to take additional steps to correct what they describe … more

Nearly two years after Hurricane Sandy, the Jones Beach State Park staff — with the help of the Federal Emergency Management Agency — has not only repaired, but revived the world-famous attraction. more

After Danny Ehrick’s home flooded in Hurricane Sandy, the 11-year resident of Freeport immediately cleaned his tools. Ehrick said he knew he would need them to gut the first floor of his canal-front home on Florence Avenue. more

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently rejected the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s request to fund a $690 million outflow pipe that would stretch from the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant three miles into the Atlantic Ocean. more