VIDEO. For six months, the animals of the New York Aquarium have not seen any visitors besides their dedicated staff because damage caused by Sandy. They're eagerly awaiting the re-opening later this month, and the crowds that will — hopefully — follow.

WNYC’s Janet Babin and Amy Pearl continue their post-Sandy #CoastCheck by talking with residents in Broad Channel, the sliver of Queens sandwiched between Howard Beach and the Rockaways. People there are still struggling to make their homes habitable.

On the three-month anniversary of Sandy, WNYC took a week-long road trip from Cape May, NJ to Montauk, NY to visit coastal communities and see how their recovery is coming along.

CAPE MAY, NJ

Despite the snow and wind, people in Cape May, NJ are looking toward the summer. With little or no Sandy damage, they expect a busy season.

Will Tirri runs crab traps in the Stubborn One out of Cumberland County near Cape May, NJ. In the winter he works at welding at Fisherman's Wharf. He hasn't felt the effects of Sandy.

We won't know what effect Sandy had on the scallop fisheries until the season starts again in March.  The Cold Spring Fish Supply Co. is a major scallop supplier.  coastcheck

Cape May, NJ, known as Exit Zero because the Garden State Pkwy. ends here, escaped damage from Sandy and is expecting a busy summer. Many of the top hotels in town are already booked solid. coastcheck

Even in late January, when night falls fast, Cape May, NJ is a busy place. The seaside resort was not damaged by Sandy and is looking forward to a busy summer season.

John Cooke and his dog Joy greeted us at Victorian Motel where they are starting to fill up for July and August. Sandy left Cape May mostly undamaged. coastcheck

LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ

Joe Wright owns Scojo's restaurant in Surf City, Long Beach Island. He says if he has to raise up his restaurant, as new federal and state rules could require, he's putting a for sale sign out front.

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ

John Pulaski, the manager of the Leonardo Motel in Monmouth County, NJ says he has mostly weekly bookings now for families made homeless by Sandy.

SEA BRIGHT, NJ

Frank Bain of Bain Hardware in Sea Bright, NJ says as a 10-year open-heart-surgery survivor, he has to be optimistic. "You want to hear God laugh? Tell him your plans for tomorrow." coastcheck

HIGHLANDS, NJ

"Bye Bye paradise, it was nice while it lasted" is scrawled on an abandoned mobile home at the Paradise Park trailer park in Highlands, NJ.

Chris Curtis uses a heater to thaw out some drywall compound as he works on a house on Locust St. in Highlands, NJ. His dad lives on the same block and worries how he will afford to lift his home.

Barry Heffernan and Al Homan of Tri Bar Demoliton take a look at a Sandy-devastated home in Highlands, NJ. Heffernan has been contracted to raise the house up.

CEADER GROVE, STATEN ISLAND

On Cedar Grove Ave. in Staten Island, an uninhabitable home wears bright, patriotic colors three months after Sandy.

Tim Chen is the volunteer coordinator at the relief hub in Cedar Grove, Staten Island. He is there 24/7, sleeping in a tent at night. They start serving at 9AM. Sundays, there is a bonfire.

Kayla Mitchell, 23, has been volunteering in Cedar Grove Staten Island since about 2 weeks after Sandy. Now, three months out, she's still there serving hot meals to residents and workmen.

BROAD CHANNEL, QUEENS

Andrew Lennon of Glen Oaks Electric “It’s been good for business, but the island’s not gonna be the same for years."

Home owner Martin Dobransky in Broad Channel  just got electricity this week, but not before his pipes froze from the extreme cold earlier this week, adding to his difficulties.

Tools in the mailbox in Broad Channel, Queens where residents are still struggling back 3 months after Sandy.

LONG BEACH, LONG ISLAND

A sand-sifting operation is visible in the fog beneath the torn-down boardwalk at Edwards Blvd. in Long Beach, Long Island

Two Small Business Administration workers walk under the torn-down boardwalk into the fog on Long Beach in Long Island at Edwards Blvd.

FREEPORT, LONG ISLAND

Frank Bracco behind the counter at his fish market. He says the last three months feel more like a year as he struggles to repair damage after Sandy.

MONTAUK, LONG ISLAND

Asa Gosman's family owns Gosman's Dock in Montauk. He said they were lucky and the damage at Gosman's was nothing compared to what happened down the coast.

State employees Bob Mullens and Tom Rutkowski work to shore up the beach at Montauk Point State Park.

The lighthouse at Montauk Point used to have 300 ft. of beach in front of it. Now it has 100 ft. of beach.

The moon hangs over the beach just after sunrise on Montauk.

A sign reading "do not enter" marks a badly eroded public stair at the beach in Montauk.

Reporter Janet Babin made another stop along the Jersey Shore before heading to Staten Island Tuesday. She said Highlands, New Jersey still resembles a disaster area, but before the community can move forward, residents have to decide how to rebuild.

As communities struggle with the question of whether to rebuild or retreat after Sandy, WNYC reporter Janet Babin and videographer Amy Pearl are touring coastal towns.

An archive of WNYC's video reports about life after Sandy.

A week after the storm, residents of Midland Beach, Staten Island, struggled to pick up the pieces — even as a FEMA disaster recovery area is set up at the end of Hunter Avenue and troops of volunteers with granny carts full of food go door-to-door.

As power returned to much of the region, many of the residents of Red Hook, Brooklyn, remained in the dark Friday without heat or hot water.

Dylan D'Angelo, 17, will be a senior at Leonia High School in New Jersey this fall. And while many of his peers will be thinking about applying to four-year colleges, D'Angelo day-dreams about shearing his own path to pursue something he loves: cutting hair.

With highs in the 40s predicted for December 25th in the city, it's not exactly a storybook Christmas. Still, the tradition of buying a tree, schlepping it home through the streets and hoisting it up narrow apartment stairwells is alive and well. Watch this video of a tree-trimming party.

VIDEO. With about one in three children in the United States overweight or obese, more schools are looking for ways to teach healthy eating choices. A group of volunteer parents and chefs at Public School 3 in the West Village is teaching classes based around the five tastes: salty, sour, sweet, bitter and umami. Check out Chef Zakary Pelaccio of Fatty Crab teach kids about tastes.

Ken Taylor, Vice President of Operations for Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, remembers when kids used to push over tombstones for fun. He still puts on extra patrols during Halloween although there are rarely these days any problems. Watch a video of Green-Wood at night here.

Ever wanted to see inside a waste water treatment plant? Or visit Edward Hopper's studio? What about taking a bike tour led by local high school students? This weekend is your chance.

Fifteen hens made the trip from the Queens County Farm Museum to the South Bronx this past week to take up roosts in a volunteer-built coop in Brook Park. The chickens were part of a program at the farm that allows city school kids to incubate eggs and watch them hatch. Check out a video of the coop here.

Since 2004, Tora Yi has been the owner of Ido Sushi in the West Village. His restaurant features a traditional Japanese menu but it’s the sideline that elicits stares and puzzled remarks from passersby.

At a theater built inside the Park Avenue Armory, the RSC will perform five repertory plays. See images of the Stratford-upon-Avon replica here.

The atmosphere was jubilant and celebratory at Sunday's Pride March following Friday's vote by the New York State Senate to legalize same-sex marriage.

Jake Dickson, butcher and owner of Dickson's Farm Stand Meats in Chelsea Market, works with local farmers to bring naturally raised meat to his shop. Since he deals in whole animals, offering more pork chops means buying another whole pig or a half steer. Watch a video here.

PHOTOS. It was just warm enough to leave your jacket at home this weekend when the Prospect Park Carousel in Brooklyn opened for the season. A steady flow of people, old and young, lined up for $2 rides on the hand-carved animals.

VIDEO. Former New York State Senator Serf Maltese said his grandmother and her two daughters -- ages 14 and 18 -- were among the 146 who died in the fast-moving blaze that engulfed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and became a national tragedy. The 100-year anniversary of the fire is on March 25.