Caracciolo’s ability and desire to reach out and network with his neighbors propelled him to co-found the11518 Inc. last spring. A civic-style nonprofit corporation, the organization serves, for the most part, as a resource for residents looking for storm-related information. He moderated the first meeting last March, leading discussions on Federal Emergency Management Agency policy, Small Business Administration loans, hazard-mitigation measures and, most important, how to get the word out to people who were most in need of the information. “What do you need?” he asked the few dozen people who attended. “What are your issues?”

“I’d like this to progress to something outside of Sandy relief,” Caracciolo said at the meeting, “but for now we want to get information out … and share that information.”

Regular meetings of the11518 continue to be a means of support and a conduit of information for residents who are still recovering from Sandy.

On Aug. 31, 10 months after the storm, organizers of the11518, led by Caracciolo, held a rally on Ocean Avenue in East Rockaway to draw attention to the fact that many people were still suffering — many were not even back in their homes, and didn’t know when they would be. The rally attracted about 150 people.

“It was still clear that many residents were struggling,” Caracciolo told the Herald after the rally. “We met numerous senior citizens, still waiting for help, still waiting for appeals or funds to complete the rebuild of their homes. We met many residents facing the FEMA earth-movement exclusion in our National Flood Insurance policies, some with families still displaced, some just individuals, all looking for assistance still, 10 months later. We want to accomplish ‘little wins’ for our residents — to [help] them to remember why they chose this community to live.”

“If there’s a need in the greater Bay Park-East Rockaway community, there in the center of things is Dan Caracciolo,” said Richard Meagher, president of the East Rockaway Education Foundation, which Caracciolo also serves as an officer and helps raise money for the local schools. “A big man with big dreams — and the energy and persistence to make those dreams a reality.”