Hurricane Sandy's Death Toll Reaches 30 in City

By Alan Neuhauser on October 31, 2012 8:24am

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NEW YORK — A father and son, a pair of elderly neighbors, and two Rockaways residents were identified as Hurricane Sandy's latest victims, taking the storm's death toll in the city to 30.

The victims' bodies were found Tuesday afternoon in their homes, police said Wednesday. All were pronounced dead at the scenes.

Police confirmed the fatalities were flood-related. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the precise causes of death.

“I did want to extend my condolences to all the families who lost loved ones in the storm," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a Tuesday press conference, "and ask all New Yorkers to keep them in their thoughts and prayers."

For a map of where the deaths occurred, click here.

BROOKLYN
A man, a woman and a dog were found trapped beneath a tree on a Ditmas Park street Tuesday morning, the FDNY and residents reported. The two people were pronounced dead at the scene, fire officials said. The dog was alive and taken in by a neighbor.

MANHATTAN
A 55-year-old man was found dead inside a commercial building at 90 Broad St. in TriBeCa. “He was outside the building, and somehow he landed inside,” an NYPD spokesman said. It’s believed floodwaters might have pushed the man inside the building.

Bronx resident Anthony Narh was found dead inside a car on the first floor of Empire Parking Garage at 92 Laight St. in TriBeCa . Narh, who was in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police believe he worked at the garage.

A 75-year-old woman, Herminia St. John, died in her Gramercy home at 444 Second Ave. after power for her respirator shut off during the storm. “Electricity went out. She suffered cardiac arrest,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. She was found dead by a relative, police said.

QUEENS
A 23-year-old Richmond Hill woman, Lauren Abraham, was electrocuted outside her home at 105-05 134th St. when she stepped in a puddle electrified by a downed wire, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 30-year-old Flushing man, Anthony Laino, was killed when a tree crashed through his house at 47-36 166th St. just after 7 p.m. Monday, police said. He was also pronounced dead at the scene.

A 50-year-old Rockaway Park woman, Nancy Jurgenson, was found unconscious inside her home at 188 Beach 124th St. Tuesday and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

In The Rockaways, Henry Sullivan, 57, was found dead in the basement of his home at 426 Beach 136 St.

Three blocks east, Rick Gold, 67, was discovered in the basement of his house at 511 Beach 133 St.

Additionally, an unidentified victim was found trapped in a home at 164-25 98th St. in Howard Beach, authorities said.

STATEN ISLAND
Off-duty NYPD officer Arthur Kasprzak was killed Monday night as he helped seven family members, including a 15-month-old boy, escape rising floodwaters by leading them to the attic of his Doty Avenue house in Arrochar. While the group headed upstairs, Kasprzak went to the basement one last time to make sure it was clear. Police believe he was electrocuted, but the precise cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner's Office. He was pronounced dead at the scene the Tuesday morning. Arrochar served in the 1st Precinct in Manhattan and was a six-year member of the NYPD.

A 13-year-old girl was killed, her father has been reported missing, and her mother was injured at 455 Manhattan Ave. in Tottenville, police and SILive.com reported. The family lived nearby on Yetman Avenue, one of four homes on the block that sustained serious damage in the storm.

John Filpowizz Sr., 51, and his son, John Filpowizz Jr., 20, were discovered by police and National Guard soldiers trapped beneath debris in the basement of their home at 72 Fox Beach Ave. in Oakwood, Staten Island.

Less than three miles away, Anastasia Rispoli, 73, and Beatris Spagnola, 80, were discovered unconscious and unresponsive in their homes at 158 and 164 Grimsby Ave., in Midland Beach.

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