By: Teresa Roca

Because of Hurricane Sandy, I couldn’t help but think about E.B. White’s This is New York. There are a lot of reasons why this book relates to New York City today. White explains how every facility is inadequate such as the overcrowded hospitals, schools and playgrounds etc. But then he goes on to say that the city makes up for these hazards and deficiencies by supplying citizens with a sense of belonging to something unique. That is exactly the reason why New York is the way it is today. Despite the claustrophobic subway stations and unimproved highways and bridges, New Yorkers can’t help but absorb and love New York City despite all of its flaws.

This is shown today through Hurricane Sandy. According to White, “The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible. A single flight of planes no bigger than a wedge of geese can quickly end this island fantasy, burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions.” This is untrue. When the terrorist attacks occurred on September 11^th, 2001, New York did not destruct or crumble. Despite the lives lost, this helped unite the city. The same happened with Hurricane Sandy. I have never seen more unity in a community than this past week. In Staten Island, islanders from all parts of the area opened their warm homes to people without power, gave neighbors generators and the little bit of gas they had left, donated clothes, cleaning supplies, food and other necessities, and visited the destroyed homes to help clean and salvage goods. Because of everything New York City and the boroughs have done for the residents in regards to giving people something unique and mighty, we gave and continue to give back by not allowing these destructible events destroy the city, but letting it become even stronger. It is nice to know that New York was and still is loved by its residents despite its flaws. Although this book may be dated at times, the message will never be.