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Read the press release here.

Red Hook Sandy Charity Struggling to Pay its Rent, Organizers Say

 A child stands astride his bicycle on flooded street in Red Hook after Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage in the area on October 30, 2012.
A child stands astride his bicycle on flooded street in Red Hook after Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage in the area on October 30, 2012.
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

RED HOOK — A Red Hook recovery organization that launched soon after Hurricane Sandy battered the neighborhood is struggling to make rent and may be forced to close its doors.

Red Hook Volunteers began as a group of community members who came together soon after the deadly storm to “provide volunteer management, information and direct resources to the Red Hook community,” according to its website.

The nonprofit rallied 4,000 volunteers within weeks after the October 2012 storm and thousands more since.

But the organization is dangerously close to shuttering without the ability to pay one month’s rent for its headquarters at 360 Van Brunt St., said Alex Hargrove, a project and volunteer coordinator with RHV.

RHV recently started an Indiegogo campaign to raise $2,500 that will go towards its rent for July, the organization announced in a press release Monday. The fundraiser’s goal is set for $2,700 to cover additional costs associated with the online campaign.

While the organization has been able to secure grants for its recovery work, it has been harder to acquire money for administrative costs like rent and insurance, Hargrove said.

With only four full-time staff members, it has been challenging to balance the time-consuming process of grant writing with their ongoing recovery work, he said.

If the organization is able to raise its rent money, Hargrove and the RHV team are working on securing grant opportunities for the coming months.

But without the funding, “we would be closed,” he said.

The organization began as an immediate on-the-ground response to Hurricane Sandy relief work in the neighborhood but Hargrove said its focus has shifted to long-term recovery for community members who are still suffering from the storm’s aftermath.

“The people who live in those situations still live in those situations every single day,” he said.

The group’s work primarily involves helping home and business owners with physical labor like mold remediation, building dry wall and painting. RHV also works to connect people with other organizations, which can provide legal or financial assistance. 

“If we shutter our doors, those people are definitely not going to get any help,” he said.