My grandmother had a house in Far Rockaway when I was little. I was in my first hurricane out there; I remember standing in the doorway watching the water come up to the second porch step. The powerful wind, the rain going sideways -- it was thrilling and I loved it. I wasn't scared. I lived in the Bronx. We were afraid of some things but I never knew you ever had to be afraid of rain.

This is James Russell's report on the rebuilding of the Rockaways after Sandy.