Recovery, rebuilding three years after Sandy

Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc on the coasts of New York and New Jersey when it made landfall on Oct. 29, 2012, with neighborhoods of New York City like the Rockaways, Breezy Point and Belle Harbor taking much of the brunt of the worst natural disaster in the city's history.

Three years later, signs of recovery are all around. In Breezy Point, where 355 homes were lost to flooding or fire, almost 300 homes have been rebuilt. "Every day, it's getting a little bit better," says Arthur Lighthall, general manager of the Breezy Point Cooperative.

Rebuilding is still taking place, for instance along the Rockaway Beach boardwalk, and includes walls to provide better protection against the surf.

Below, the work in the region has been chronicled in images.

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

Newly constructed homes replacing those destroyed in Superstorm Sandy tower on the horizon as Belle Harbor resident Larry Racioppo walks his dog Juno near Beach 131st Street before the storm's third anniversary, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, in New York. A 5-foot-high concrete retaining wall buttressed by sandbags has been added as further protection against the encroaching ocean for the homes on the opposite side of the wall. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

Retiree Buddy Sammis gestures toward solar panels he and his neighbors used to change their cell phones three years ago after portions of the Rockaway Beach boardwalk washed onto his street severing power lines, as he walks through a neighborhood-run community garden in the Rockaways Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, in New York before the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. Sammis a longtime surfer, said, "I miss the (old) boardwalk. It was iconic. It was the longest boardwalk in the world, when it went all the way to 126th Street. Now it's all cement. That's not going to stop anything. If the ocean wants to take the concrete away, it'll happen." (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

Anti-erosion sea grasses are planted neatly in rows on the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. Since the storm, more than $140 million has been invested to repair and restore the heavily eroded beach and damaged boardwalk. But recovery is ongoing with efforts to provide long-term protection for the vulnerable and environmentally sensitive area. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

FILE - In this Dec. 5, 2012, file photo, men walk past the Superstorm Sandy destroyed Belle Harbor home in New York belonging to now-retired firefighter Robert Ostrander. On the three-year anniversary of the storm, Ostrander is still rebuilding his beachfront home. Construction above the foundation is just beginning. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

Clothes hang to dry on the railing of a newly constructed home before the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy in the Breezy Point section of New York, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. According to Breezy Point Cooperative general manager Arthur Lighthall, 220 Breezy Point homes were completely destroyed by flooding from Sandy while another 135 homes burned to the ground during a massive fire ignited by the storm. “Every day, it’s getting a little bit better,” Lighthall said. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

Habitat for Humanity employees Reynaldo and Anna Acosta hurry to complete the deck of a heavily damaged one-story bungalow owned by a 91-year-old resident in Breezy Point, before the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. The couple has worked exclusively on rebuilding homes damaged by the storm for nearly the entire three years, initially as volunteers and now as Habitat employees. "No matter how much work we do," says Anna Acosta, "there's always more to do." According to Breezy Point Cooperative general manager Arthur Lighthall, 220 Breezy Point homes were completely destroyed by flooding during Sandy. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

A boarded bungalow sits beside newly built homes on stilts in the Breezy Point neighborhood Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, in New York, before the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. Arthur Lighthall, general manager of the Breezy Point Cooperative, said 220 Breezy Point homes were completely destroyed by flooding during Sandy and another 135 homes burned to the ground during a massive fire ignited by the storm. “Every day, it’s getting a little bit better,” Lighthall said. "The buildings going up to replace destroyed beach bungalows are being put on high foundations so that future floods will, hopefully, wash beneath the houses rather than bowl them over," he said. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

Habitat for Humanity employee Anna Acosta works on reconstructing the deck of a Breezy Point bungalow before the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, in New York. Acosta and her husband, Reynaldo, have worked on nearly a dozen Sandy-damaged homes, initially as Habitat volunteers, and now as their full time job. "No matter how much work we do, there's always more to do," said Acosta. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

A worker stabilizes a pre-cast concrete slab while a co-worker uses a crane to position it on a berm as construction continues on replacement portions of the Rockaway Beach boardwalk Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, in New York, before the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. Since the storm, more than $140 million has been invested to repair and restore damaged areas of Rockaway Beach, including the boardwalk, beach buildings, and to construct new facilities for the public. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

Maureen Farrell stands on the stoop of her new home in the Breezy Point neighborhood, rebuilt on the site of her house that burned to the ground from a massive fire from Superstorm Sandy in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. Displaced since the storm, Farrell just moved back into her house in July 7. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

Halloween lights decorate a Breezy Point house before the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, in New York. According to Breezy Point Cooperative general manager Arthur Lighthall, hundreds of homes in the neighborhood were destroyed by flooding or a massive fire ignited by the storm. "Every day it gets a little better," Lighthall said. "There is a whole different image here, architecturally speaking.” (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Superstorm Sandy Anniversary Photo Gallery

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2012, file photo, Kiva Kahl pours hot tea for neighbor Buddy Sammis, right, after she prepared it on a wood-stoked fire and cooking setup she and her fiance created in the street in front of their house on Beach 91st Street in the Rockaways in New York. Rebuilding is still taking place three years since Superstorm Sandy, for instance along the Rockaway Beach boardwalk, and includes walls to provide better protection against the surf. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

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Text from the AP news story, AP PHOTOS: Recovery, Rebuilding 3 Years After Sandy.

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