The Brooklyn Historical Society is looking to collect “survivor stories” from Superstorm Sandy as part of a permanent collection at the Brooklyn Heights destination. Historians are searching for residents of diverse ages, ethnicities and occupations from shoreline neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island to talk about their experiences during and after the hurricane.
The museum’s director of library and archives Jacob Nadal tells the New York Daily News, “In the future Brooklynites are going to want to know what happened during the hurricane on a human level: what people were thinking and feeling.”
Alex Dalenberg of the Association of Personal Historians adds, “We’re trying to get these compelling stories before the memories fade. This is an important chapter in New York City’s history. We want real-life witnesses to tell it.”
The transcripts will be maintained by BHS, along with a wide-ranging post-hurricane effort by the historical society called “Documenting Sandy.” The museum has already collected storm-related photos and amassed a trove of Sandy news coverage. It is serving as archivist for nonprofit Architecture for Humanity, which did surveys of hurricane damage.
“This is what a modern historical society should be doing—reaching out to the whole community to understand people’s lives today,” Nadal says.
Contact BHS at library@brooklynhistory.org for more info about Sandy Histories.
