“It knocked down a [12-foot-tall] aluminum-studded wall with sheetrock,” said Ed Scharfberg, the department’s spokesman. “Water rushed through the hall and totally destroyed the firehouse — everything from the kitchen to the recreation room to the company’s historical photos.” 

A truck should be stationed at South Side again in about two weeks, which will decrease the OFD’s response time in southern Oceanside. But the rest of the firehouse probably won’t be in full service until spring. 

In total, six OFD trucks were damaged, two beyond repair.

South Nassau Communities Hospital

South Nassau, which usually floods during bad rain storms, had no water damage from Sandy. The roof above the hospital’s ambulatory surgery center had minor damage that has already been repaired.

First Presbyterian Church of Oceanside

According to the Rev. Randall Broger, the First Presbyterian Church “fared quite well.” It lost power, but the only other problem was a tree that fell in the front of the property, taking down some power lines and damaging a fence.

First United Methodist Church
of Oceanside

The Methodist Church was more significantly damaged. “We had about two feet of water in the lower floor of the church,” said the Rev. Steve Phillips. “Our day school and thrift shop were put out of commission.”

The day school has since been cleaned up and is open again. The thrift store was also cleaned out, but the church is now working on raising funds to reopen it.

Structurally, the church  was undamaged.

St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church

St. Anthony’s also weathered the storm well. “We lost about 10 trees,” said Deacon John O’Connor. “We had a little bit of sewage backup in the boiler room.” O’Connor said that, while all the trees that fell were on church property, none caused any damage to the building.

The Barry and Florence Friedberg JCC

The JCC, in southern Oceanside, was hit hard by the storm. Part of the roof was damaged, and water rushed into the building.