It was really mind boggling to see the loyal locals living amongst the devastation, knowing full-well that they remain vulnerable to the weather - always dangerous and fickle - and at risk from both public health and safety perspectives. Some people were living in houses that seemed to be unscathed from the double-whammy, first Katrina and then the flooding caused by the breach to the levee walls. Certainly, it is likely that renovations to these same homes have occurred during the last 20 months. Others are living in trailers on their own property, while starting or continuing to rebuild dilapidated homes that sustained severe damage. There also were many empty lots that once contained homes, whose only evidence of existence are concrete slabs.

During this slow, surreal Sunday afternoon drive, the brief visual observations led me to believe that a small percentage of the remaining homes are structurally sound. Many of these homes are directly across the street from the levee, and the surrounding community has minimal retail activity. In fact, driving down a major thoroughfare in what was once an economically thriving and affluent community called Lakeview, we saw shopping plaza after shopping plaza completely blown away or boarded shut.

Much debris removal progress has been made. It was also good to see the progress of the levee walls, some sections complete and others moving along with this phase of construction showing the exposed steel girders. But on this day, the most heart-wrenching reminder of the tragedy was the spray-painted red-symbols appearing on the facade of house after house after house. Picture the red symbol, a circled X strategically placed nearest to the front-door of each home, many of which appear to be occupied again. Each section of the X holds critical search and rescue data. The top shows the date that the home was first entered. The left lists the initials of the agency that first made entry. The right and bottom represent the number of injured and dead, respectively, as discovered by responders.

Then, a simple sign of life finally returned my smile. We were driving down a street where a barbeque was taking place in front of the Beacon of Hope Resource Center (http://www.lakewoodbeacon.org/?page=beacons/lakeview_yoder), and the people waved to greet us with such enthusiasm and pride that it reminded me of the same resilience of my own city,New York, soon after 9/11. It touched me to the point that I jotted down some notes on my pad, and when we arrived at the corner, I looked to the hand-painted wooden slab of a street sign that read,34th Street. Soon after the tour ended, I looked at the Beacon of Hope Web site and was rather impressed with their post-Katrina grassroots volunteer clean-up program and accomplishments as well as the in-kind support they provide, such as tools and equipment. It was then that I realized that this street was appropriately named, recalling “Miracle on34th Street.”

This experience truly inspired and motivated me in wanting to return to34th Street, but this time as a Beacon of Hope volunteer and as a simple “sign” that I still care about this community’s recovery efforts which will continue for many years to come. I can only hope that some of you will join me on this phase of the “Road to Recovery.” Then the next time a bus rolls-by, it will be us who will be sharing a smile and a wave of hope. 

Lorraine Motola has worked for the City ofNew Yorkfor nearly 25 years and is currently the Director of Facility Security for the NYC Department of Transportation. She recently received her MS in protection management from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.