Metro

Brooklyn do-gooder delivers toys to children hit hard by Hurricane Sandy

THAT’S THE SPIRIT! Jolly old Kris Kringle arrives with a bag full of toys in storm-demolished Belle Harbor, Queens, bringing smiles to children. (
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Here comes Sandy Claus.

A bighearted New York political consultant has taken off the business suit and put on a beard to hand-deliver toys to kids victimized by Hurricane Sandy.

Michael Sciaraffo, 31, of Brooklyn, has spearheaded a toy drive that began with his local Gravesend church and has blossomed into a national movement.

“I was sitting at home watching these terrible scenes from the storm,” Sciaraffo told The Post. “Usually, these things are happening far away, in other countries. But this was right here. I had to do something.”

To the delight of stunned children, Sciaraffo — in full Kris Kringle regalia — trudges up to their Sandy-ravaged homes with a stuffed sack over his shoulder and rings the bell.

“The faces of these kids when they see me is just wonderful,” Sciaraffo said. “There is nothing like it.”

His favorite encounter came in the form of one little girl who was fast asleep when he knocked on the door.

“Her mom wanted me to wake her up,” he recalled.

“So I sat on her bed and tapped her. She opened her eyes and said, ‘Santa, why are you in my dream tonight?’

“I told her that this wasn’t a dream, that I was Santa and I had come to give her presents. Her face just lit up.”

Sciaraffo has plans to light up a total of 113 little faces thus far, and his list is growing.

The phenomenon began when the former Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign aide and New York City Council staffer put up fliers at his local chapel and asked for donations.

When the bins began to fill, he started a Facebook page and took requests from people to deliver to children in need.

In total, a whopping five tons of food, clothing and cleaning supplies have been gathered thus far.

The politico never expected to deliver the items himself. But he soon realized the power of a personal visit to children who desperately needed it.

“I can’t deliver all of it,” Sciaraffo said. “So, at this point, I’m going to do what I can and have the rest sent. I want to get toys to every child who asks for them.”

Sciaraffo’s crusade is only one of many Sandy-specific acts of charity taking place this year.

Attorney Joe Mure has turned his Queens home for 19 years into a Christmas-theme wonderland to raise money for victims of diabetes. But this year’s bash, featuring USO performers and emcee Goombah Johnny, will benefit kids in need of Sandy relief.

In a government move that could buy a mountain of gifts, the US Senate approved a $60.4 billion Hurricane Sandy aid bill yesterday.

“Their parents were overwhelmed with everything that was going on around them,” he said. “The kids really suffered during that time. I felt very strongly that we can’t let Sandy stop Santa.”