Feature
28 NOVEMBER 2017 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
It takes a lot to get
emotion out of me and
there were moments
where I almost broke
down a bit.
MICHAEL BUCELLA
“I thought that was very touching,” he said. “I would’ve guessed that
would not be the way most people would handle that situation.”
Bucella said he was also inspired by the people he met at his hostel
who would watch the sun rise with him every morning and talk about their
lives and what inspired them to come to the island. After coming back
to the hostel around 5 p.m. — it was too dangerous to drive after dark
because the roads were still littered with wires and debris — they would
strategize and map out their course for the next day.
Though Bucella said there were many people on the ground near San
Juan, from military personnel to FEMA, there is still more to be done.
Bucella said President Donald Trump, who has been criticized for his
handling of the crisis, may not have witnessed the full effect of the storm
because he only visited San Juan.
“Unless you’re in a hostel like I was in and you’re not in the higher end
towns you don’t feel the damage,” he said. “You have no idea how bad it is.”
Bucella also touched down on the same day Vice President Michael
Pence did. The main highway was shut down to accommodate him and
the couple he met from Chicago was stuck in traffic for six hours as a
result, he said.
“It’s so difficult to get people out of the island,” he said. “You’re prob-ably
stalling ambulances and people like myself. Stuff like that frustrated
the hell out of me.”
Bucella said he is politically unbiased but “the fact that in three weeks
they haven’t gotten to certain villages and towns — that’s inexcusable.”
The Queens native booked another trip and headed back to the island
from Oct. 26 through Oct. 30. He raised more than $4,000 from friends,
family and strangers for his second trip.
“I’ve always donated to charities but the frustration that I have now
with what little progress I saw on the island, it’s led me kinda toward this
path of anyone who wants to donate should find someone who is taking
direction action,” he said. “It’s amazing how far $100 and $50 can go to
someone who is in a Walgreens and Walmart buying supplies.”
