Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks exclusively to Currents News about an act of vandalism at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
A Halloween celebration turned deadly in Seoul, South Korea.
Researchers have discovered what is believed to be the oldest map of the stars.
Tomorrow will be 10 years since Superstorm Sandy hit New York and some areas are still recovering.
Nearly a week after Governor Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to fight crime underground there’s been another attack on the subway.
Marty Ingram wrote a book about his experience during Superstorm Sandy. It’s called “Flood, Fire and a Superstorm.” In his book he describes the ways he saw God was on his side, allowing miracles to happen. He joins Currents News to discuss it.
By Jessica Easthope
It’s been a decade, but Marty Ingram can still see it when he closes his eyes. The chaotic scene playing out in front of him, water surging through the doorway of the Point Breeze volunteer firehouse where he was chief, survivors in lifejackets and a firestorm in the sky.
“Going into the clubhouse for civic meetings and occasionally to talk publicly that video tape is running in the back of my head, it’s difficult,” said Marty.
The night hurricane sandy made landfall an electrical fire started in one home and within hours it had spread to 134 others, carried by the storm’s powerful wind. The damage to the Rockaways was already unimaginable for Marty – and now he was fighting the biggest residential fire in Queens history.
“It was truly a combat scene, it was surreal, the wires, the power lines were on fire and it looked like a ruby necklace and if it was a Disney movie it would have been beautiful but this thing was real and it was scary,” he said.
The peaceful peninsula – now a far cry from that moment on October 29, 2012. Since then the Rockaways have been rebuilt; elevated more than 100 homes, undergone beach restoration and erected protective sand dunes, but sometimes Marty says it feels like they’re frozen in time.
“Once the event is finally over, nobody trains you on how to handle it after the fact. Everything resurrected, it brought me back to that moment in time,” Marty said.
Amid the devastation a statue of Mary stood unharmed. Over the years martyr says it’s come to symbolize what he called a miracle.
“With all the people that were down here and all the devastation and destruction, nobody died so as bad as it was it could have been a lot worse, we said our prayers and they were answered.”
The storm couldn’t wash away his faith, just like Breezy Point – it’s been built back stronger.
This Saturday will mark ten years since Superstorm Sandy hit the Diocese of Brooklyn.
A jury in Waukesha County, Wisconsin convicted Darrell Brooks on all 76 criminal charges against him.
The Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan is on hold again.
Laura Kavanagh has been named commissioner of the FDNY, becoming the first woman to lead the department in its 157-year history.
Catholics from the Diocese of Brooklyn and across the country are taking part in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
They’re following in Jesus’ footsteps and visiting the places where he performed miracles.
Leading the pilgrimage is Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, Vicar for Development in the Diocese of Brooklyn. He joins Currents News from Jerusalem.
Students across the country are falling behind thanks to the pandemic. However, results from the national report card published this week show Catholic schools are bucking the trend. Those students are performing better than their public-school peers.
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We’re learning more about the gunman who opened fire at a high school in St. Louis on Monday.
Catholic schools have been excelling post-pandemic.
The late pastor of a Queens church has left a lasting mark on the community.
Victims of Hurricane Ian are getting some help from the Knights of Columbus.
The head of the Police Benevolent Association says more officers are leaving the NYPD.
Health officials issue a warning for what they’re calling a ‘tripledemic.’
A Belgian non-profit has been training rats to help first responders.
By Jessica Easthope
Nearly one month after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida, the state’s deadliest storm since 1935, people are still desperate for the essentials, because thousands are still homeless.
“After all the TV stations are gone and everybody thinks it’s okay that’s when we step in because this goes on and it always happens that it hits the areas that have the least,” said Charles Shelley, disaster relief coordinator for Caring Knights Inc.
The group of Knights of Columbus mobilize after natural disasters, collect donations, ship them and often go themselves to help those in need.
“Until you witness the devastation, the pictures and the news don’t do it justice,” Shelley said.
“That giving was the catalyst of Caring Knights and we built the network. It’s still going, we’ve tapped into one of the great resources of our churches,” said Father Michael Gelfant, the president and CEO of Caring Knights Inc.
In Lee County, which includes Cape Coral and Fort Myers and took a direct hit from the category four storm, nearly 500 people are still living in emergency shelters. More than 5,000 properties were destroyed there and more than 13,000 suffered major damage. Damage from the storm could reach $80B.
After every natural disaster the Knights are reminded of the first one that brought them together – almost ten years ago to the day.
“Where we started is where we still are, St. Finbar’s was the hub for Coney Island and the Rockaways which were devastated by Sandy and like I always tell Father, this isn’t our first rodeo,” said Shelley.
The Knights have seen firsthand how long recovery from a powerful storm can take – and they remember who was there when they needed it.
“They came to help us, we had councils that came from all over the east coast to help people here, so that’s the reason we do this, to help those that helped us, give back, pay it forward,” Shelley said.
The shipment of essentials is enough for at least 50 families. It will travel by trucking from the Diocese of Brooklyn and be received by Knights of Columbus in Bradenton, FL at Saints Cosmas and Damian Parish.