Brooklyn mourns toddlers killed by Hurricane Sandy

Hundreds of mourners lined Parkville Avenue outside of St. Rosa of Lima Catholic Church on Friday to bid a sorrowful farewell to little Brendan and Connor Moore — the two boys who were ripped from their mother’s arms and drowned as Hurricane Sandy hit storm-ravaged Staten Island.

Both boys were laid to rest in a single casket before being interred at nearby Greenwood Cemetery. A sea of green-clad Department of Sanitation workers, including Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, stood at attention as the hearse departed the Kensington house of worship to honor Damien Moore, the father of the two toddlers.

Damien was working at a Department of Sanitation garage in Brooklyn on Oct. 29 when the storm barreled toward New York. Mom Glenda Moore was trying to lead her children away from the rising flood waters in Staten Island when her car stalled. She tried to escort her children out of the flood zone on foot, but the unrelenting storm surge swept the two children away from her.

Hundreds attended the funeral for the two Staten Island boys St. Rose of Lima Church in Kensington, Brooklyn before the burial at Greenwood Cemetery.

Photo by Paul Martinka

Rescuers found their bodies three days later about 20 yards from each other.

Mourners had no words to calm Glenda, who was sobbing openly as the small, white casket was taken out of the church.

“The only thing that we can offer is our support as a family,” Department of Sanitation chaplain Peter Colapietro told the devastated parents. “We pray for your strength in these days — we know that you will need it.”