By Doug Miller
During Tuesday evening's City Council meeting, a special resolution was passed adopting the southern city, and Long Beach (N.Y.) officials suggested that residents who want to give but feel overwhelmed by the hurricane's devastation can focus their thoughts and prayers and send checks to that community of 17,320.
The city's Web site was knocked out, but elsewhere on the Internet Long Beach, Miss., is described as a quiet, serene place that proudly calls itself "The Radish Capital of the World." Its flag includes images of radishes and a sailboat.
Pitching in, two members of the Long Beach Fire Department, Noah Gordon and Scott Glazer, have founded "Long Beach for Long Beach," a nonprofit organization that will accept donations for disaster relief. "The idea is, out of our pocket, we will take care of any expenses needed to get local funds to the mayor of Long Beach, Mississippi," Gordon said.
The two said they are acting independently of, but with the blessing of, the city and the Long Beach Fire Department. Gordon and Glazer have established a post office box to handle donations:
P.O. Box 623, Long Beach, N.Y. 11561. No donation is too small. An e-mail account has also been created:
lbnyforlbms@gmail.com.
Meanwhile, a massive bash is planned for Sept. 30 at the Sands in Atlantic Beach, with proceeds going to Long Beach for Long Beach. Several restaurants in the city are following Corbin & Reynolds's lead in donating food for a "Taste of Long Beach" party from 8 p.m. to midnight that evening. Entertainment will be provided by the band Killer Joe and the Lido Soul Revue. The party is being organized by, among others, Councilwoman Mona Goodman, but it is independent of the city government.
"Quite frankly, the idea was a community one," Goodman said Tuesday. "A lot of people had the same thought."
"Now is the time for Long Beach residents to do what we do so well," said City Councilman Leonard Remo. "We help people in their hour of need. Our hearts go out to the people of Long Beach, Mississippi, and all the people of the Gulf Coast who are trying to put their lives back together. In times of trouble, the people of Long Beach put all personal differences aside and act in unison to help those less fortunate. We may be frightened by the thought that this could happen here, but it does not diminish the generosity of this city. It makes me proud to say I am from Long Beach"
The minimum donation for the Sept. 30 event is $20, and tickets will be made available in advance. Solicitations have gone out for prizes to be raffled off.
Other hurricane-related events have popped up throughout the area. Drivers on Lido Boulevard over the weekend saw a van with a sheet over it, advertising a garage sale for Katrina relief.
Area houses of worship have also heeded the call to help hurricane victims. The Rev. Thomas Donohoe, pastor of St. Mary of the Isle Roman Catholic Church, said Bishop William Murphy had directed all 136 parishes in the Diocese of Rockville Centre to hold special collections for Katrina victims - those in Long Beach, Miss., and elsewhere - through Catholic Charities.
"We collected $3,000 last Sunday," Donohoe said. "I believe it was our biggest collection for any outside event ever."
In Point Lookout, the take was even greater. Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church collected more than $7,000. "We want to reach out to these people because they are our brothers and sisters and we are all family," said the Rev. Patrick J. Callan, pastor at Miraculous Medal. "We are very sensitive to their needs and are trying to be as positive as possible and help out as much as we can."
St. Ignatius Martyr Roman Catholic Church will hold Katrina collections this Sunday. The People's Church, on Delaware Avenue, had a special collection last Sunday. "The congregation made my heart very happy on Sunday," said the Rev. Lawrence Swenson, pastor of People's Church. "We are a small church, about 50 to 70 people on any given Sunday depending on what's going on, and they made a decision to send a generous amount of money - over $5,000 - to the victims through the Salvation Army. In addition, we have a gift shop which gave us an extra $400, and any amount of money they make for the rest of the month is to be donated to the hurricane relief."
A spokesperson for Temple Emanu-El said the congregation had made a donation to the United Jewish Community's Disaster Relief Fund and asked members of the congregation to do likewise. Checks can be sent to the fund at
Box 30, Old Chelsea Station, New York, N.Y. 10013, Attn. Hurricane Katrina.
