I live in downtown Manhattan, so in the wake of Hurricane Sandy I was without power and, for the most part, cell service. Now that power is back, I’m more online, watching TV, and more realizing of the extensive damage caused by the hurricane and of all the people still needing power, shelter and the reconstruction of their neighborhoods. If you’re able to volunteer or donate, here are some links guiding you to people and organizations assisting in what is and will be a major effort.

At its NYC Service site, the City of New York has a comprehensive list of links, including how to volunteer to help specific neighborhoods like Red Hook and the Brooklyn Waterfront, how to volunteer to be a poll worker, and how to give blood.

CBS News New York has a list of organizations including local Red Cross chapters, Salvation Army Chapters, and, to help pets displaced by the hurricane, Humane Society links.

At InteroccupyNet there are neighborhood-by-neighborhood links. A number of my friends are volunteering through Occupy Sandy, and their efforts have been noted by both The New Yorker and New York. From the Occupy Sandy site:

Occupy Sandy is a coordinated relief effort to help distribute resources & volunteers to help neighborhoods and people affected by Hurricane Sandy. We are a coalition of people & organizations who are dedicated to implementing aid and establishing hubs for neighborhood resource distribution. Members of this coalition are from Occupy Wall Street, 350.org, recovers.org and interoccupy.net.

Sandy has added an element of confusion to this year’s election, particularly for those who can now not make it to a polling place or need to vote absentee. WNYC has published an excellent article, “How to Vote After Sandy,” detailing all the options for those in New York and New Jersey.

If any members of the Filmmaker community would like to publicize their specific relief efforts, email me at scott@filmmakermagazine.com or contact me on Twitter and I’ll made additions to this post. And, finally, here is a Google Map noting Volunteer Relief Opportunities in and around New York City.

View Hurricane Sandy Relief Volunteer Opportunities in a larger map