The President is expected to survey the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in New York City on Thursday, November 15.

While significant progress has been made since the storm hit two weeks ago, relief efforts are still underway with Governor Andrew Cuomo at the helm, announcing plans to ask the federal government for $30 billion to help the hardest hit state recover from Hurricane Sandy.

On Thursday, the president will take an aerial tour of the Queens barrier islands area and the coastal areas of Brooklyn before ending up in the hard-hit southern portion of Staten Island.

With a death toll at over 40, a once-efficient transit system inconveniencing over 40,000 people in New York and thousands of residents still without power in the metro area, New Yorkers have dozens of stories to tell about how their lives have changed since October 29:

I live in Howard Beach which was zone A, I did not want to leave but my mother who came from Europe was so scared and she gets panic attack from natural disasters. My sister and I decided to go to my cousin's house in Maspeth. We left on Sunday night before the hurricane came. I was up all night watching news. I could not sleep just thinking about people. The next day we did not move but on Tuesday we came to see what happened to our house. Thank God, nothing happened. As soon as we entered our neighborhood, the police and army were all over the place and they asked for our ID to make sure that we are from that area. I will never forget that view. For a moment, I felt I was not in NY. All these houses destroyed and businesses which are in Crossbay Blvd were disaster zones.

I was talking with my neighbor who is 81 years old, she said, "I have been in Howard Beach for 47 years and I never seen something like this." Moreover, we lost power for almost 2 weeks, walking in Howard Beach with no lights on the houses and streets gave me a fear and a feeling like we went back in time, for instance, like the show in NBC "Revolution" which explores what life would be like without power. In addition, the transportation was stopped because of the flood, could you imagine in NYC no trains no buses?! Now everything is getting better everybody is working so hard to fix everything but what will happen with people who lost houses like in Breeze Point where hundreds of houses were burned. I came home last night November 10 because we just got the power back but still I was thinking about others who don't have a place to go. Here it is a video where you can see hurricane Sandy (aftermath) in Howard Beach.

- Kaltrina Lajqui

Hurricane Sandy has been imprinted in my mind for the rest of my life. I didn't expect the aftermath to be so outrageous. Weather advisers informed the world a monstrous hurricane was about to take effect. People were ordered to evacuate certain areas in New York, but didn't. In result, many properties were destroyed. Numerous people were trapped in their homes due to flooding. Some died and others had to be rescued.

When I think about what has happened around me, it seems surreal! How can something like this happen to New York? There are countless people including me that think this state is invincible. I don't mean to think that way but somehow I do. Major tragedy happens all over the world, usually outside the country. It hurt to see everyday people loose everything they've had in just one moment. One story stuck me in particular because it was from a classmate of mines. She explained how her family had to stay with her aunt when her area in Coney Island was called to evacuate. There is no heat in her house or hot water; they had to throw away all food that couldn't be stored at her aunt's house. She also had to worry about looter's trying to steal her family's possessions. I feel stronger spiritually because this experience has showed me to appreciate more what I do have. How can I have everything I feel like I need in the world today while someone else suffers because they have no food, clothes or day to day life necessities? It was not a good feeling being out of school that whole week because I knew citizens were at a low.

Transportation has been terrible. If you had a vehicle, most likely you ran out of gas. You were likely to wait over eight hours to fill your gas tank. It was upsetting to learn my dad had to leave his car where he worked at in Queens. He walked all the way home to Brooklyn. It made me proud that he didn't complain as if he had it the worse. Though some public transportation returned after four days, it was still hard to get into another borough. The cab fair prices were ridiculously high but they felt they had to make a profit because of how long they waited for gas.

- Deirra Francis

Hurricane Sandy was really a dreadful hurricane. People have lost their homes, others just lost electricity heat and/or water and some even lost their lives. However, I'm one of the few that actually had lights, water and warmth. I am very grateful for that. Although I had some effects of the storm (wind rain and a gloomy day), it wasn't as bad as others had it. I just had flickering lights and thought the water was going to shut off as I was washing my hair.

Sandy has made it very clear how fortunate and lucky I am. You know, it's sad that it has to take a hurricane to get people to actually care and help one another...

- Ariel Benitez

At 8:50pm on Oct 27,2012 here at Libby house,347 East 4^th St. in Manhattan, we prepare for the storm. Our residents suffer from mental disabilities so we have to be extra safe. We tape windows down, let our residents know what's going on and practice walking to our shelter school in case of evacuation. Living in a zone B, we are preparing for the worst. Each resident packs three days of clothes and medication. An email gets sent out and all other 5 locations do the same with their residents. At 3pm on Monday Oct 29, I call a cab that my job provided for us to get to work. I live in Brooklyn and at this time cabs weren't going across the bridge due to the storm picking up and NYC being put on lockdown. Thank God a cab driver was willing to chance it. At 3:30, I arrive at work. Residents are standing outside we all make jokes: "This is all you got. Sandy, you're weak." Time rolls down and still we are laughing, saying this is nothing.

At 8:30 p.m., we hear POWWWWWWWW. Seconds later the building goes dark. We look out and the neighborhood is black. At 9:00pm, residents start to panic. We get the flash lights together and let them know everything will be okay and that by the morning the lights will go back on. To calm them down, we get crackers, juice hot cocoa mix and make hot chocolate with the filter water before it got cold. Because of their disability, they can go into crisis mode at anytime. We have a 24hr a round the clock schedule so I had to stay up. At 8am, I have just completed a 16hr shift. We find a radio, get batteries and hear that NYC remains shutdown. No trains. No buses. Bridges are closed. We got news that our main building in Battery Park is flooded out. One of our houses' basement is flooded but will get pumped out shortly. At 12:24 pm, we hear our house at Governeur court is flooded and destroyed. They begin throwing out furniture, food and clothes . They need help rebuilding . We are currently rebuilding and accepting donations to help us get back on our feet.

We recently got a surprise visit from Sex and the City's Kristin Davis who donated some items for us and got a walk through of the site. We received many food donations and are slowing getting back on our feet.

- Chadise Burke

There have been many fights and dangerous situations that because of this I decided to drive all the way to Connecticut and fill up gallon containers. While I realize this is my only problem, I can't help but feel bad for all those people who lost everything. I know many people who have lost their houses due to fire and lost all their cars due to the flooding on the streets. They have nowhere to go and are forced to move in with their family members.

It is horrible to see people you know go through this situation and feel bad that there is not much you can do. The most you can do is be helpful and supportive. I have volunteered in Rockaway and Howard Beach and have helped people clean out their houses. Aside from that I have also been donating anything I have so that I may help someone get back on their feet quicker. The following photos have been taken by myself, people who were affected and witnesses to this natural disaster.

- Christine Figueroa