While cleanup efforts are well underway, those affected by Hurricane Sandy's devastation are still trying to get their lives back in order, with millions of dollars in property damage, much of the Jersey Shore washed away, and many in the Northeast still without power. For some, however, the superstorm took much more. It also claimed 109 lives nationwide.
This week, Cyndi Lauper revealed her uncle was one of those who died. "I lost my Uncle George in the hurricane," Lauper said on Monday at Lenox Hill Hospital's Autumn Ball in Manhattan, according to the New York Post.
Her uncle, 90-year-old George Stathis, was found dead inside his home in Rockaway, Queens, a waterfront area that was hit especially hard by Sandy, five days after the storm.
He was old. He didn't want to leave his house. I was in Chicago, and I called and said [to family members], 'Why did you guys leave him,' and they just didn't think it was going to get that bad," Lauper, 59, who performed at the event, told the crowd.
The annual ball, which took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and typically serves as a fundraiser for the hospital, changed its focus this year in the wake of the storm and instead raised money for New York residents who suffered devastation, including many of its own employees. The ball also lifted its usual black-tie attire requirement.
Lauper, a Queens native, dedicated her performance of "Time After Time" to her uncle at the event. The next day, she urged everyone, even those affected by the storm, to hit the polls. "People, I love ya and hope u aren't suffering because of Sandy, but please vote," she tweeted on Tuesday. "The out come of this election will really effect all of us."
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