WPIX NY To Air Series of Sandy Specials

In October 2012 Superstorm Sandy, one of the deadliest and most destructive Atlantic hurricanes on record, hit the East Coast. In the aftermath of Sandy, residents of the Tri-State grappled with the loss of loved ones and an estimated $100 billion in damages to the region. Over the next week, Tribune Broadcasting’s CW affiliate WPIX New York (DMA 1) will take a look back at the devastation that hit one year ago with a series of specials and extensive coverage.

On Friday, Oct. 25, WPIX will air The First 36 Hours, a firsthand account of WPIX’s news crew, Arthur Chi’en, Kenton Young, James Seelinger, as they were trapped by rising flood waters as while covering Superstorm Sandy in Broad Channel, Queens. Hosted by Sukanya Krishnan and Kori Chambers, the 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, directed and produced in-house by Jeff Pinilla, will air at 10:30 p.m.

On Sunday, Oct. 27, Hell and High Water: One Year Later will air at 10:30 p.m., a 30-minute special hosted by Scott Stanford and Tamsen Fadal. This special, produced in-house by Zack Smith, will visit the Jersey Shore; Breezy Point, Queens; Staten Island; Lower Manhattan; and Long Beach, Long Island.  In Hell and High Water: One Year Later:

• Jay Dow takes a look back at the storm that destroyed the Seaside Heights boardwalk and severely damaged businesses in Seaside Park. Dow explores how the community came together to rebuild and became “Stronger than the Storm,” even after being hit with a destructive fire.

• Arthur Chi’en visits Staten Island, the epicenter of lives lost in New York City — Breezy Point, Queens — where more than 100 homes were leveled by fire and Lower Manhattan which was completely submerged. He explores how New York City is still struggling to rebuild after Sandy.

• Narmeen Choudhury visits Long Beach, Long Island, where one year later, four blocks of the boardwalk have been rebuilt and businesses are up and running. Choudhury explains how the town is building a better Long Beach.

• Plus, Scott and Tamsen interview an engineer about the lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy and find out whether the East Coast is ready for another storm.

On Tuesday, Oct. 29, the anniversary of the storm, WPIX will air Still Standing: After Sandy, extensive coverage of Superstorm Sandy with the entire PIX11 Morning News on location in the worst affected areas of the Tri-State region. Still Standing: After Sandy segments will also air on PIX11 News at 5 and PIX11 News at 10.

Online, the station’s Web team will be republishing Superstorm Sandy coverage as it happened (pix11.com/sandy) from the lead-up to the storm itself to the aftermath.

“PIX11’s top priority is to serve our community,” said Eric Meyrowitz, WPIX VP-GM, “and we feel it is vital to provide continued support and highlight the issues and events that deeply affect the lives of our viewers.”