Long Beach paying it forward for Texas

Long Beach resident Tim Kramer said he felt helpless as he watched the devastation of Hurricane Harvey unfold on the news on Monday.

“I said, ‘I’m going to do something about it,’” said Kramer, 50, a local business owner who has not forgotten how his home was flooded by more than two feet of water during Hurricane Sandy five years ago, and how the community came together.

Kramer said he contacted a friend, Jack Murphy, of the Copiague-based Nassau Trucking and Rigging, and asked for two tractor-trailers to assist a collection effort launched on Sunday by the city’s fire and auxiliary police departments to help storm victims along Texas’s Gulf Coast.

On Saturday, the rigs will depart from St. Mary of the Isle Roman Catholic Church, and transport supplies to Faith Tabernacle Apostolic Ministries in Houston, Kramer explained.

“We’re paying it forward and combining forces,” Kramer said on Tuesday. “I have a lifelong friend of mine, Steve Weydert, who lives in that area of [Houston], and I’ve been in contact with him. His particular immediate area has not gotten flooded, so he’s feeling guilty that everyone around him is suffering these major losses. The storm is ongoing at this point, and he felt that this church is large enough and has a big enough campus to handle a load of this size.”

Long Beach residents know all too well the aftermath of historic flooding — the desperate need for supplies and money after losing everything, gas shortages, the anxiety of being displaced, and the monumental task of rebuilding.

Kramer wasn’t the only one who felt compelled to give back. City Councilman Scott Mandel, a former member of the auxiliary police who helped launch the effort, said that after Sandy, people from across the country showed their support. The fire and auxiliary departments announced the collection drive Sunday on Facebook, and Mandel said that donations have been pouring in.

“Long Beach is sensitive to what’s happening in Texas, and the community is always about helping out, and immediately responded,” Mandel said on Monday. “Within 12 hours of that [Facebook] post on Sunday, we started receiving multiple donations. At this point, I know the weather event is still ongoing in Texas, so we’re just taking in those materials that would be needed on an urgency basis, such as personal hygiene items, baby supplies, non-perishable food items and more.”

Harvey was the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. At press time on Wednesday, just over 50 inches of rain had fallen on southeastern Texas, and 31 deaths had been attributed to the storm.

Kramer, who explained that he was helping the fire and auxiliary police departments coordinate efforts with his wife, Christina, and Eastholme Civic Association President Sam Pinto and others, said that donations are being collected at the Ice Arena, at 150 W. Bay Drive; at St. Mary’s; and at other locations through Friday night. They include cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, first aid supplies, non-perishable food, baby products, flashlights, batteries, blankets and $25 gift cards.

“There are different drop points, but everything is going to the same place,” Mandel said.

Liz Treston, chairwoman of Long Beach Community Organizations Active in Disasters, said that another way for residents to help is by donating to a reputable charity.

“If you’re involved in a faith-based organization, they will have connections with local people,” Treston said, adding that clothing donations are not yet needed. “No one should jump in their truck to get down there at this time — leave the triage to the experts and emergency management. Everyone’s intentions are good, but getting in a truck without having the backup of a volunteer agency on the ground, you’re just going to be in the way.”

For more information, go to longbeachny.gov, facebook.com/longbeachfiredepartment or facebook.com/LBAPD.

Scott Brinton contributed to this story.