Staten Island reels from devastation, deaths

John Makely / NBC News Little remains of a home on Yetman Avenue in Staten Island where a homeowner and his 13-year-old daughter perished in Hurricane Sandy. By Jeff Black, NBC News Staten Island, just a ferry ride from Manhattan but often seen as the poor stepchild of the New York metropolis, apparently was the deadliest zone in Superstorm Sandy – accounting for half the human toll in the city. On Thursday the bodies of two young boys who were swept away from their mother's grasp during  the storm surge were recovered, NBC News reported. A missing husband and wife were also found dead Thursday, NBCNewYork.com reported. That brought the toll on the island to 19, NBCNewYork.com reported. On Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Superstorm Sandy is responsible for the deaths of at least 37 New Yorkers. At a news briefing Thursday morning, elected officials pleaded for help for Staten Island, a former garbage-dumping site for New York and often the butt of jokes, even for even people who live in New Jersey. Borough President James Molinaro blasted the Red Cross as an "absolute disgrace" and urged the public to stop giving to the venerable institution. Asked by NBC News to explain his comment, Molinari said, "because the devastation in Staten Island, the lack of a response."  "You know, I went to a shelter Monday night after the storm. People were coming in with no socks, with no shoes," Molinaro said. "They were in desperate need. Their housing was destroyed. They were crying. Where was the Red Cross? Isn't that their function?" Indeed, Staten Island, which took a direct blow from Sandy, is a scene of immeasurable misery and utter devastation, with homes obliterated, others off their foundations in addition to widespread flooding. While looking over the wreckage of his cousin's house on Thursday, Tom Monigan talked about his cousin George Dresch, who died  in the surge of water with his daughter Angela on Staten Island. "Not in a million years, did I expect to see this," Monigan told NBC News. "This is unbelievable, I mean for George to lose his life and his daughter and his wife to be in the condition she's in its a sin, it's unreal, I can't believe I'm looking at this. Terrible."  "You can replace this stuff, but it's what happens to people," Monigan said, "it changes their life foreverand it's terrible. People are worried because they don;t have electricity, Jesus, this is the real deal right here." Rescue workers who are part of a task force of searchers gathered on Staten Island on Thursday have fanned out with maps to search the hardest hit areas in the city. Large trucks and other equipment with Homeland Security decals began arriving late in the day on Sunday. The New York Police Department officials said  the boys -- 2 and 4 --  were carried away by floodwaters Monday night on Father Capodanno Boulevard. Their mother had spent the night trying to get help, The New York Daily News reported, to no avail. The mother managed to free the boys from their car seats and tried to hold onto the boys, but the force of the water ripped them from her grasp. She had to swim for her life. Read more on this story at NBCNewYork.com "She was holding onto them, and the waves just kept coming and crashing and they were under," the boys' aunt, who was not named, told the Daily News. "It went over their heads … she had them in her arms, and a wave came and swept them out of her arms." According to the mother's sister, the mother had pounded on doors for help during the height of the storm, but no one was willing to help her. About two dozen NYPD officers had been searching for the boys. Their bodies were discovered in a marsh early Thursday, NBCNewYork.com reported, about 15 yards from each other up against debris and a tree in a marsh near where the SUV was overturned from the storm surge. NBC News producer Craig Melvin, NBCNewYork.com investigative producer Shimon Prokupecz and NBCNews.com multimedia producer John Makely contributed to this report. An incredible time-lapse video from the 51st floor of the New York Times building in midtown shows the progression of the storm as Sandy slammed New York City. More content from NBCNews.com: 'Pure mayhem' as New York City tries to get back to work Wind, flames, Our Fathers: The inside story of Breezy Point's terrible night NYC-area airports up and running, albeit slowly New York trick-or-treaters defy Sandy to celebrate Halloween As National Guard comes to rescue, so do NJ residents — with power outlets How to avoid post-storm insurance and repair scams For some New Yorkers, it's back to business as usual New Jersey investigating reports of price gouging Your Sandy photos: Show us the heroes in your life Sandy's aftermath: How you can help Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook