Red Hook is a remarkably close-knit and neighborly community. Sandy tested that social infrastructure but did not damage it, even though half the neighborhood lacks power and hundreds of residents have lost piles of personal possessions and family memorabilia.

The U.S. Northeast began crawling back to normal on Wednesday, Oct. 31, after monster storm Sandy crippled transportation, knocked out power for millions and killed at least 45 people in nine states with a massive storm surge and rain that…