Rockaway Beach's Surfside Bagels To Reopen Post-Sandy On Monday, February 11

Hurricane Sandy, which swept through New York City days before Halloween last year, left untold devastation in its wake, and each person affected by it has a different story to tell. The city, especially its coastal areas including Coney Island, Red Hook, and the Rockaways, still has a long way to go before it gets back to normal, if ever. One Rockaway bagel shop, though, Surfside Bagels, which was completely destroyed in the storm (left), has been totally renovated thanks to the generosity of a management company and a local charity.

Surfside Bagels was opened in 2008 by two NYC firefighters, Scott Edwards and Tim Keenan, who were dedicated to making bagels the old-fashioned way, by hand and kettle-boiled. They were popular among the commuters who would pass by on their way into the city every day, and were especially known for their cheese bagels.

But when Hurricane Sandy hit, the shop was completely gutted and they had no flood insurance. All appeared lost until Joseph Scaretta, the chief development officer at maintenance and management company Front Street, heard of their plight and decided to help. He committed the company to restoring the business from top to bottom, and paid for most of the restoration costs himself. Kitchen equipment was donated by the Greenwich, Conn., Meals on Wheels, and Monday, Feb. 11, the shop will be celebrating its grand reopening.

It's just one business out of many that were affected, but its return is indicative of a community that's slowly, but surely, getting back on its feet.