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  Army Corps Sand Removal Operations in NYC

  A loader scoops up sand on West 29th Street in Coney Island, Nov. 25. Following Hurricane Sandy, this and other neighborhoods were clogged with sand brought in by the storm's 15-foot surge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working with contracted...

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  Army Corps Sand Removal in NYC

  A loader drops sand into the back of a dump truck on Coney Island, Nov. 25. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently managing a sand removal mission to help clear huge amounts of sand brought in by last month's hurricane.

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  Army Corps Sand Removal in NYC

  A skid loader pushes sand off the street in Coney Island, Nov. 25. Following Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has moved an estimated 32,000 cubic yards of sand, the equivalent of roughly 12 Olympic-size swimming pools out of Coney...

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  Army Corps Sand Removal in NYC

  Alex Baldowski, a quality assurance specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York Recovery Field Office, checks the load percentage of a truck on Coney Island, Nov. 25. Using loaders and a steady stream of dump trucks, crews have been...

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  Army Corps Sand Removal in NYC

  The Army Corps established this temporary storage site, or TSS, at West 15th Street on Coney Island. Since Nov. 24, this site has received over 230 trucks carrying an estimated 4,600 cubic yards of sand. Eventually, most of the sand will be returned to...

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  Army Corps Sand Removal in NYC

  A dump truck unloads sand at a temporary storage site, or TSS, at West 15th Street on Coney Island, Nov. 25. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established this TSS to store large amounts of sand currently being cleared from city streets.

CONEY ISLAND, N.Y. (Nov. 27, 2012) -- At New York City's iconic Coney Island, sand piles are everywhere.

"It's up to 10-12 feet in some places," said Roddy Locust, a safety and occupational health specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York Recovery Field Office. "The storm just pushed all the sand from the beach onto the streets."

When Hurricane Sandy made landfall here last month, it brought with it a powerful 15-foot storm surge that flooded thousands of homes, tossed aside countless parked cars and left streets clogged with sand.

Residents are now getting some relief, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and contracted crews work street by street to clear up the mess.

Using loaders and a steady stream of dump trucks, crews have been working 12-hour evening shifts starting at 6:30 p.m., so as to reduce any impacts to local traffic.

To date, the Army Corps has moved an estimated 32,000 cubic yards of sand, the equivalent of roughly 12 Olympic-size swimming pools, out of Coney Island neighborhoods to nearby Jacob Riis Park, a temporary collection site currently used for holding Sandy-related debris.

Last week though, Riis was nearing its capacity for sand placement. In order to avoid any delays to cleanup, the Army Corps decided to establish a temporary storage site, or TSS, at West 15th Street on Coney Island. The site is located directly adjacent to the amusement park, home to such landmarks as Nathan's Hotdogs and the Cyclone rollercoaster. With the street blocked off, the Army Corps has set up a scissor lift in order to scan trucks.

"We're up there logging truck information, date and time a truck arrives, writing down load percentages," said Alex Baldowski, a QA lead for the Army Corps with the Baltimore District.

Army Corps QA's are overseeing all aspects of sand removal at Coney Island, from the crews working in the streets to the trucks arriving at the TSS. Since Saturday, QA's have logged in over 230 trucks carrying an estimated 4,600 cubic yards to the TSS.

Eventually, most of the sand will be returned to area beaches by the city's Department of Environmental Protection, but not before it is inspected for public safety.

For now though, the push is just to get the sand out of streets, so residents can recover.