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

One of the biggest post-Hurricane Sandy challenges has been getting resources directly to local residents, businesses and community infrastructure and resiliency projects. more

The first federal government shutdown in 17 years has reached Week 2. The catalyst? The debt limit. The accelerant? Obamacare. more

Many South Shore homeowners are breathing easier thanks to Governor Cuomo’s decision last week to use money from the N.Y. State Housing Recovery Program to compensate those whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Sandy, but whose flood insurance claims were rejected by FEMA because the damage had been caused by “earth movement” rather than directly by floodwaters. more

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, the third-highest-ranking member of the Senate’s Democratic majority, spoke at a news conference on Monday in the driveway of a south Merrick home, calling on the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement a comprehensive plan to protect Nassau County’s coastline from future storms. more

A Republican and a Democrat standing together these days is rare. Even though we’re from different political parties, partisan politics could not have been further from our minds last Oct. 29, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. more

On Nov. 19, County Executive Ed Mangano announced that he was establishing the Nassau Hurricane Recovery Fund Committee. more

Weather forecasters are often criticized for being wrong. With Hurricane Sandy, we wish they had been. more

Part one in a series on how South Shore residents are coping in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. This week we begin in Bellmore-Merrick. In subsequent weeks we plan to spotlight recovery efforts in other communities. John Giammarino’s one-level house stood near the intersection of Bellmore Avenue and Clubhouse Road for 30 years. But only three years after the south Bellmore resident began renting the waterfront home, his landlord sent crews to rip out what was left of the walls. more

Acknowledging that Hurricane Sandy’s multibillion dollar economic toll will hamper every facet of recovery while harming the fiscal stability of the region, Nassau County Executive Edward P. … more