It’s like living in an area that’s prone to hurricanes, says Carl E. Van Horn, director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. “You know it’s likely there will be another hurricane at some point and, if you’re smart, you don’t wait until it’s two days away to stock up on batteries, water and plywood,” he says. “You have to be ready in advance.”
They tore down New Brunswick’s Memorial Homes. The community survived.
As crowds cheered when the four Memorial Homes buildings collapsed into dust on Aug. 18, 2001, Linda Fogle Davis remembers crying. "They were laughing. I was crying," Davis said. "I was hurt. That was my home being demolished." Twenty-five years later, former...