If you’re here in person:
You can volunteer. NYC Service is the hub, but organizations like New York Cares also have projects in all 5 boroughs, and even have a special section of their website for disaster recovery. There are also great lists to monitor through Brokelyn and Time Out New York, which they’re keeping up-to-date and have opportunities specific to certain neighborhoods that have a lot of damage.
You can donate blood.
You can offer a free service. Doctors are giving free exams and medical care; people are setting up charging stations through their fire escapes in east village; bikers are helping #bikesandy commuters commute through Transportation Alternatives. What can you offer?
You can respond to a need in a specific community. Chinatown, Red Hook, and Rockaway are some examples.
If you need resources, or have something to offer but are still not sure where, The Lower East Side Recovers is a great hub for connecting resources powered by OWS folks.
If you can’t be here:
You can donate. Cash donations to assist New Yorkers who suffered damage from Hurricane Sandy can be made to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. If you specifically want to aid in food rescue and delivery, donate cash to City Harvest or Food Bank NYC. To donate with maximum impact and reliable spending of funds, donate to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. For goods and services to donate, visit Aidmatrix.
Join an online mobilizing effort. New York Tech Meetup, for instance, is helping (in person or virtually) to restore technology systems for businesses, nonprofits, and government alike. If you can’t help yourself, you can tweet about it and share resources so more folks in need know what resources are available to them.
Be empathetic. Even if it’s just listening to a friend on the phone or shooting an email to someone who evacuated to check in and offer support, it goes a long way.
Think about climate change as more than just a fluffy buzzword. It’s real and deserves education, thought, attention, and action.
These are just a few suggestions! Please add specifics that you know about in the comments for others to see.
A final note: I am always impressed by the way people in NYC help eachother out. I love this city. It’s scary seeing so many people still without power, water, or shelter, and not everyone has the networks or fortune to have a place to go. Everyone should find some way to pitch in, because that’s what makes a community like NYC so great. The city is still home; let’s make sure a storm can’t change that.
[UPDATE 11/5: As information has been updating rapidly here, another great tool to find what still needs help today (and there are many!) is this, via The Awl.]
Jen Bokoff 