Brooklyn, NY – In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, great stories of heroism, kindness, and self-sacrifice have continuously emerged. Dr. Victoria Katz and her children are no exception.
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Katz, 59, owns the New York Arthritis Clinic on East 14th Street in Midwood. But in the wake of the disaster, Katz set up shop inside the Warbasse Houses, an expansive housing development located on Neptune Avenue in Brooklyn, to provide medical aid to the complex’s 6,000 residents who are currently living in darkness and frigid temperatures.
Katz has help from her two medical student children, 30-year-old Jacob and 34-year-old Iya. According to the Daily News (http://nydn.us/VI5H5w), Jacob Katz first learned about the dire situation at Warbasse from a Facebook posting. The post told of 2,580 apartments without power, functional elevators, heat or hot water. Jacob told his family they needed to volunteer.
A fourth-year student at the American University of Antigua, Jacob, and his sister, a first-year student at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, each take turns walking the 24-story buildings to check in on the tenants.
“I feel so sorry. So many people don’t know what is happening,” Victoria Katz said. “People don’t understand why they have to live like this.”
Over a hundred people, including children, have been treated by the Katz family since Sandy first hit. A command center has been set up at Warbasse by Councilman Domenic Recchia (D-Coney Island) where dozens of volunteers distribute clothing, donated food items and adult diapers.
“So many seniors stayed behind. So many don’t want to leave their homes,” said Recchia. “They think they will come back and lose all their stuff. They are worried about security.”
bravo….very nice.