When Hurricane Sandy barreled into Coney Island on the night of Oct. 29, it left an entire community in the dark.
With high winds and a 15-foot storm surge, Sandy stranded many Coney Island residents, a majority living in high-rises, without power, heat or hot water. At Coney Island Hospital, the basement flooded from floor to ceiling, shutting down the entire 371-bed medical facility. It has yet to reopen.
Within two days of Sandy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, at the request of the city, issued a tasker to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to install a two-megawatt generator at the hospital. So began the Army Corps' emergency power mission in Coney Island.