In this edition of MetroFocus, Sandy’s long-lasting impact on Lower Manhattan, and what still needs to be done. Rick Karr reports from the southern tip of the island, where Sandy’s flood-waters met vulnerable infrastructure last October. Rafael Pi Roman follows up on what happened and what needs to be done in the greater New York area with Wall Street Journal reporter Laura Kusisto. Kusisto discusses lessons the city and its landlords should have learned from Sandy.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey hasn’t opened a new bridge since 1931, but $2.8 billion is about to change that. Mike Schneider talks to Martin Robins, director of the Alan Voorhees Transportation Center and Former Executive Director of NJ Transit about the upcoming changes and why it took so long.

On this week’s Listening In segment, we take you to The New York Times where the “Energy for Tomorrow” Conference looked at building sustainable cities.

You may have heard versions of the story of the O.K. Corral, but have you heard the story of the woman behind the story? Ann Kirschner, University Dean of the Macaulay College Honors College, joins Pi Roman to discuss her new book, “Lady at the O.K. Corral.”

And a visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens to see what makes their cherry blossom festival so special.

The iconic giant who once towered over tourists at the Jersey Shore now waits for Barnacle Bill’s arcade and mini golf to reopen in Ortley Beach. It’s one of many projects New Elevations Construction has underway.

“There’s 40,000 properties in 100 miles of the storm that really need our service. Most of our customers, they’ve been calling. My phone’s been ringing off the hook, please come help us,” said New Elevations owner Michael Sikorski.

Around the corner, homeowner Peg Gallagher is forced to rebuild. Three homes landed in her backyard.

“It’s depressing to be here. It was such a beautiful place and it’s totally depressing,” Gallagher said.

There are about 2,000 homes in Ortley Beach. Mayor Tom Kelaher says Sandy damaged every house here and at this point more than 100 homes need to be demolished.

Read more on the NJ Today website.

In this edition of MetroFocus we report from New Jersey and New York on what’s ahead for the region six months after Sandy.

NJ Today’s Lauren Wanko reports from Ortley Beach in Ocean County, NJ where business owners and residents are still struggling to repair and reopen as summer approaches.  In New York City, the focus is on public housing. We take a look back with an excerpt from a story reported by Jon Gerber and Kristen Reed last November. Two Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism students take us inside the Smith Houses on the Lower East Side when the lights were still out. Host Rafael Pi Roman follows up with an interview with New York City Housing Authority General Manager Cecil House about what’s ahead for the agency and its tenants, and lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy.

Dr. Harold Koplewicz of the Child Mind Institute talks to Pi Roman about a new project to make mental health care for children a higher priority and about how to respond to children’s questions about the Boston marathon bombings.

The New York Executive Director of the Nature Conservancy Bill Ulfelder joins Pi Roman to talk about “LEAF”, a growing program that takes urban students to the wilderness and helps them become environmental leaders.

And Pi Roman takes a trip to Manhattan’s new Museum of Mathematics to see what’s making math fun.

Watch the individual MetroFocus segments below and stay up to date on MetroFocus news from the New York region on Twitter.

Public Housing Recovering Slowly From Sandy’s Wrath

Host Rafael Pi Roman follows up with an interview with New York City Housing Authority General Manager Cecil House about what’s ahead for the agency and its tenants, as well as lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy.

National Campaign Highlights Barriers to Children's Mental Health Care

MetroFocus talks to the Child Mind Institute's Dr. Harold Koplewicz about the organization's upcoming children's mental health campaign.

Environmental Leaders of the Future

The Nature Conservancy's New York Executive Director Bill Ulfelder discusses the ways in which the Conservancy is adapting to a changing world.

A Museum All About Math

The new National Museum of Mathematics at Madison Square Park hopes to teach students, parents, and teachers about the wonders of math.

Forced indoors by rain, Gov. Chris Christie and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan took over a seafood restaurant in Highlands for a press conference.

Donovan announced the federal government is releasing today the first $1.8 billion in HUD assistance to New Jersey homeowners, renters and businesses.

“I am committed — this president is committed — to come back as often as we need to come back, rain or shine, until this town, this shore, this state and this entire region are rebuilt better, stronger than they were before the storm,” Donovan said.

The HUD money comes on top of $600 million already spent by FEMA in New Jersey, and $700 million by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Gov. Christie said phase one of returning to normalcy is over. Today begins phase two.

Continue reading on the NJ Today website.

In this edition of MetroFocus, we report from New Jersey and New York on what’s ahead for the region six months after Sandy.

NJ Today’s Lauren Wanko reports from Ortley Beach in Ocean County, New Jersey where business owners and residents are still struggling to repair and reopen as summer approaches.  In New York City, the focus is on public housing. We take a look back with an excerpt from a story reported by Jon Gerber and Kristen Reed last November. Two Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism students take us inside the Smith Houses on the Lower East Side when the lights were still out. Host Rafael Pi Roman follows up with an interview with New York City Housing Authority General Manager Cecil House about what’s ahead for the agency and its tenants, and lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy.

Dr. Harold Koplewicz of the Child Mind Institute talks to Pi Roman about a new project to make mental health care for children a higher priority and about how to respond to children’s questions about the Boston marathon bombings.

The New York Executive Director of the Nature Conservancy Bill Ulfelder joins Pi Roman to talk about “LEAF”, a growing program that takes urban students to the wilderness and helps them become environmental leaders.

And Pi Roman takes a trip to Manhattan’s new Museum of Mathematics to see what’s making math fun.

Bartender Monica Maione feels lucky and relieved. Lucky to return to work this summer at Jimbo’s Bar and Grill in Seaside Heights while job seekers search for a new seasonal gig.

“I’ve had a lot of people that were like, ‘Can I just fill out an application? I want to do anything,’” Maione said. “There’s people whose jobs in this area may not be existent now, and so if they see a place like this is open, they’ll be like, ‘They’re open. I might as well apply because there’s some people that definitely won’t have their jobs this season.’”

The damaged Casino Pier will cut its workforce by 40 percent this summer — from 500 workers to about 300. The standard 200 employees will remain in the water park and they may hire throughout the summer as rides open on the pier.

Continue reading on the NJ Today website.

In this edition of MetroFocus, we take an inside look at different approaches to saving failing schools.

The New York Times reporter Liz Robbins and video journalist Emma Cott take us to what was Adlai E. Stevenson High School in the Bronx. The building now houses nine separate small schools.

Rafael Pi Roman interviews Mary Conway-Spiegel, founder of a new organization called Partnership for Student Advocacy that is raising funds and awareness for closing schools in New York City.

NJ Today managing editor Mike Schneider talks to David Kirp, Professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley and Author of “Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America’s Schools,” a study of the successful programs that revitalized Union City, New Jersey’s public schools.

Yoani Sánchez, a Cuban blogger famous for her blog Generation Y talks to Rafael Pi Roman in one of the few interviews conducted while Sanchez visited the United States. Sánchez was allowed to leave Cuba for the first time since beginning her blog that chronicles the daily lives of Cubans. She collected the Maria Moors Cabot Prize from the Columbia University School of Journalism. In her interview with Pi Roman, she talks about finding a way to distribute her writing on the internet, freedom of the press and her plans to return to Cuba despite the harassment she’s suffered there.

The president and scientific director of the soon-to-open New York Genome Center, Dr. Robert Darnell, tells Pi Roman about the Center’s new home in midtown Manhattan and the scientific frontier that will be explored there.

And we’ll show you the Sweater Tree of Hell’s Kitchen. After you meet the creators, you’ll want to find out more in our web extras online.

Watch the individual MetroFocus segments below and stay up to date on MetroFocus news from the New York region on Twitter.

Nine High Schools, One Roof

Adlai E. Stevenson High School used to be one of the most dangerous in New York City. Today, it is home to nine small high schools that teach the same people, and each school has different results.

Giving Voice to Students in Failing Schools

Rafael Pi Roman interviews Mary Conway-Spiegel, founder of a new organization called Partnership for Student Advocacy that is raising funds and awareness for closing schools in New York City.

Union City May Provide a Blueprint for Failed School Systems

NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider sat down with University of California-Berkeley professor David Kirp on one of the unsung success stories in public education and it’s taking place in Hudson County’s Union City schools.

Genome Center Readies for its New York Debut

New research center, to open in Tribeca in May, will be 'Manhattan Project' for genomic sequencing. But can it do better than others?

The Best-Dressed Tree in Hell's Kitchen

From designer sweaters to dog sweaters, not to mention designer dog sweaters, New York has it all – including a sweater-wearing tree.

Kirp teaches public policy at Berkeley and is also the author of “Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America’s Schools”. Kirp spent the last three years delving deep into Union City and its schools to see what lessons could be learned as school reform, especially as it concerns urban schools, remains a roiling debate in New Jersey and beyond.

Continue reading on the NJ Today website.

“And we sat there and cried and hugged and cried,” Brooks said. “It was very depressing at first. It was really depressing.”

Not anymore. On 3-30-13, Mary moved into a brand-new rental — a modular home mostly paid for by the Robin Hood Foundation — the non-profit distributing the 12-12-12 concert cash.

“It’s beautiful — after going from motel to motel,” Brooks said.

“The Robin Hood Foundation was a God-send,” said Donna Blaze who heads the non-profit Affordable Housing Alliance. She bought 17 modular units with the Robin Hood Foundation grant. Nine are up already — and all will be rented to Sandy refugees.

Continue reading on the NJ Today website.

In this edition of MetroFocus an inside look at different approaches to saving failing schools.

The New York Times reporter Liz Robbins and video journalist Emma Cott take us to what was Adlai E. Stevenson High School in the Bronx. The building now houses nine separate small schools.

Rafael Pi Roman interviews Mary Conway-Spiegel, founder of a new organization called Partnership for Student Advocacy that is raising funds and awareness for closing schools in New York City.

NJ Today managing editor Mike Schneider talks to David Kirp, Professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley and Author of “Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America’s Schools,” a study of the successful programs that revitalized Union City, New Jersey’s public schools.

Yoani Sánchez, a Cuban blogger famous for her blog Generation Y talks to Rafael Pi Roman in one of the few interviews conducted while Sanchez visited the United States. Sánchez was allowed to leave Cuba for the first time since beginning her blog that chronicles the daily lives of Cubans. She collected the Maria Moors Cabot Prize from the Columbia University School of Journalism. In her interview with Pi Roman, she talks about finding a way to distribute her writing on the internet, freedom of the press and her plans to return to Cuba despite the harassment she’s suffered there.

The president and scientific director of the soon-to-open New York Genome Center, Dr. Robert Darnell, tells Pi Roman about the Center’s new home in Manhattan and the scientific frontier that will be explored there.

And we’ll show you the Sweater Tree of Hell’s Kitchen. After you meet the creators, you’ll want to find out more in our web extras online.