MBD Shows Seagate’s Destruction

By Sandy Eller – VIN News
Photos: Baruch Ezagui

New York – As residents of Seagate struggle to cope with the aftermath of last week’s hurricane, the waterfront community’s most well known resident is appealing for help in the face of the utter devastation and destruction that struck the private gated community that is home to 250 Jewish families.

In a sixteen minute video, Mordechai Ben David displays the remnants of his famed recording studio, which was completely destroyed by the floodwaters that inundated the basement of his beachfront Oceanview Avenue home. The entire basement and its contents, including the walls, floors, ceilings, ruined equipment and thousands of CDs are a total loss.

In the video, MBD clutches a flashlight and a waterline, several feet off the ground, shows the level to which the water rose during the storm. The walls of the studio, decorated with pictures and other paraphernalia, include photographs of many prominent Rebbes, including the Ribnitzer Rebbe and the kever of the Baal Shem Tov. Incredibly, the water line stops just below the many pictures of the Rabbonim.

According to MBD, everyone in Seagate had a minimum of four to five feet of water in their basements and as he conducts a video tour of the peninsula community, the damage to the area is nothing short of catastrophic. Making matters worse is the fact that insurance companies do not provide coverage in the area for any property located below street level.

Video: Yitzy Engel

Donations can be make to ChabadSeaGate.com/Sandy or to the Seagate Hurricane Emergency Fund.