She spent her life helping people — only to be abandoned in her own time of need.
Rose Winfield, 72, was aghast at the lack of aid for Staten Island in the wake of the horrific trail of destruction left by Sandy.
“It’s hell out here. We are literally the forgotten ones,” said Winfield, as she stood in the darkened, dangerous yards of the Kramer Street housing project in the South Beach neighborhood.
“People in these houses are starving. Parents have newborn children who are freezing, we’ve been the last ones to get help,” said Winfield, noting that she worked for years as a city housing advocate and chairperson of a drug program in Brooklyn.
“Now, I’m not getting the help I need,” said Winfield, who is legally blind and has cancer.
The elderly woman was forced to postpone a chemotherapy treatment, scheduled at Sloan- Kettering on Wednesday, because she had no way to get there and no way to reach out for help.
“I’m in pain,” she said. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to get there.”
Police presence has been minimal, at best, Winfield said.
“We’re living in the worst conditions as it is. But because of the darkness, there’s been so much shooting and hollering outside my window. It’s incredibly scary.”
“On Tuesday, the National Guard came to check on us, but all they did was knock on doors and leave. Why didn’t they bring food? Or generators? Why didn’t they help us?”
The arrival of FEMA, the Red Cross, and electricity late yesterday offered little comfort, said Winfield, convinced it’ll be days more before any real help arrives in her neighborhood.
“They don’t give a damn about us out here,” she said.