Hurricane Sandy went down in history as one of the most destructive storms on record with thousands of homes destroyed or impacted within a 1,000-mile area. The destruction of homes, piers, and trees created huge piles of timber, concrete, twisted metal and household items strewn along the shorelines of New York. Debris removal in New York amounted to 5.25 million cubic yards of debris, enough to fill the Empire State Building three times.