{"id":36345,"date":"2025-11-11T19:43:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T19:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/36345\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T19:43:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T19:43:18","slug":"local-pols-lead-relief-effort-for-hurricane-melissa-victims-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/36345\/","title":{"rendered":"Local pols lead relief effort for Hurricane Melissa victims \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"aftermath\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Brooklyn politicians are hosting a resource drive to aid those affected by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica.<\/p>\n

REUTERS\/Raquel Cunha<\/p>\n

Almost two weeks after Hurricane Melissa decimated large parts of Jamaica, killing at least 32 people, Brooklyn politicians have joined forces to launch a \u201cBrooklyn Backs Jamaica\u201d resource drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hosted by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and a cadre of local politicians including U.S. Rep. Yvette Clark, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Assembly Members Monique Chandler-Waterman, Brian Cunningham, and Phara Souffrant-Forrest as well as state Sen. Roxanne Persaud and council members Crystal Hudson, Mercedes Narcisse and Crystal Hudson, the \u201cBrooklyn Backs Jamaica\u201d drive is aimed at supporting Jamaicans recovering from the disastrous aftermath of the Category 5 storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"damageA drone view of damage caused by Hurricane Melissa, in Belmont, Jamaica. REUTERS\/Raquel Cunha<\/p>\n

The drive will run through Nov. 26, and New Yorkers are urged to drop off essential items at Brooklyn Borough Hall at 209 Joralemon St., Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Needed items include baby products like diapers and formula, hygienic products like body soap and feminine hygiene products, and rescue relief items like first aid kits and gloves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to join the Brooklyn Borough President, the Jamaican Consulate, and my colleagues in government to support relief efforts for those impacted by Hurricane Melissa. By coming together and using Brooklyn Borough Hall as a collection site, we\u2019re showing that our community stands united in compassion and action when our neighbors are in need,\u201d Persaud said.<\/p>\n

It is estimated that Hurricane Melissa, the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, caused at least $6 billion in damage<\/a>, affecting more than 600,000 Jamaicans and damaging over 120,000 structures, leaving half the island without power. According to Alvin Gayle, director general of Jamaica\u2019s Emergency Management Office, more than 180 shelters<\/a> remain open, providing refuge to over 2,400 people.<\/p>\n

Reynoso described the devastation as \u201cabsolutely heartbreaking.\u201d
\n\"\"Reynoso said he was \u2018proud\u2019 to utilize Borough Hall as a drop-off site. File photo by Gabriele Holtermann\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEven now, more than a week after the Hurricane hit, there are thousands of folks without a roof to call home or electricity to power their lives,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s times like these when we must have each other\u2019s backs, and I\u2019m so proud to open up Borough Hall\u2019s doors as a drop-off site for essential items in partnership with the Consulate General of Jamaica and so many elected officials across Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oss\u00e9 said New York, home to the largest Jamaican community<\/a> in the U.S., \u201cfeels this pain deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrooklyn will never falter in our commitment to stand with our neighbors in hardship,\u201d he said. \u201cMy office is proud to stand with the Brooklyn Borough President and our elected officials to support those affected by Hurricane Melissa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Souffrant Forrest echoed Reynoso\u2019s call for action.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to partner with the Brooklyn Borough president and my colleagues in government to support our constituents and their loved ones in Jamaica who have been impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Melissa. This is the true meaning of solidarity,\u201d Souffrant Forrest said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brooklyn politicians are hosting a resource drive to aid those affected by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. REUTERS\/Raquel Cunha…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[21310,21311,21312,98,13005,21313,21314,100,99,21315,21316,16814,21317,6788,13979,14648,7379,13383,9,24,12,370,63,21318,2894,21319],"class_list":["post-36345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-assembly-members-monique-chandler-waterman","tag-baby-supplies","tag-brian-cunningham","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-borough-hall","tag-brooklyn-borough-president-antonio-reynoso","tag-brooklyn-district-attorney-eric-gonzalez","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-consulate-general-of-jamaica","tag-council-member-chi-osse","tag-crystal-hudson","tag-disaster-supplies","tag-donations","tag-hurricane-melissa","tag-hurricane-relief","tag-jamaica","tag-mercedes-narcisse","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-state-senator-roxanne-persaud","tag-supplies","tag-u-s-rep-yvette-clarke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}