Seven years ago today Superstorm Sandy ripped through communities like the Rockaways, Broad Channel, Howard Beach, and many others and left a path of destruction in its wake. Houses were flooded, businesses were shut down, and many people lost everything they worked their entire lives for. Even facing this disaster, we all came together as a community and helped each other rebuild through this extremely difficult time. And while today is a day to remember what this storm took from us, it is also a time to look at how far we have come since that day. We have helped hundreds of people rebuild their homes and businesses, and regain stability in their lives. However, more work is still needs to be done. We need to get to a point where we measure a storms effect not by years, but merely hours. To be prepared, not scared, of an impending storm. We must remain vigilant to ensure our communities are protected from future storms, so we do not have to feel the despair we felt in 2012 ever again. I look forward to working with officials on the city, state and federal levels in order to get us to that point.