Evangean Pugh, far right, talks on a phone as she waits in line to apply for recovery assistance at a FEMA processing center in Coney Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.

DeQuan Franklin says in all his time living in New York they've never seen anything like this — even after Hurricane Irene.

NPR's Zoe Chace made her way to Coney Island in Brooklyn this afternoon. There she found residents making line at a FEMA processing center.

Zoe spoke to DeQuan Franklin and Roberta Johnson, who wanted to apply for emergency relief. They said in all their time living in New York they've never seen anything like this. Franklin says he's had to walk 20 minutes to find an open store. He said she had to walk almost 70 blocks to find a laundromat.

"The neighborhood doesn't look nothing like it did a few days ago," DeQuan said.

Johnson said her neighborhood was deserted, quiet and dark. "Scary," she said.

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