Mets recognized for Sandy relief efforts

NEW YORK -- Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson presented the Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience to the Mets on Thursday, recognizing their contributions to the community in Hurricane Sandy's aftermath.

"Resilience is part of the fabric of our nation," said Johnson, who also presented awards to Walgreens stores and Monsignor John Brown of St. Francis de Sales for their Sandy relief work. "One of the most enduring examples of resilience is New York City."

In the months after Sandy hit the New York metropolitan area, the Mets worked with the city's Office of Emergency Management to receive, stage and distribute resources at Citi Field. The team also supported first responders' efforts by providing housing for up to 600 workers a night, and distributed over 1,500 meals per day during the peak recovery period following the storm.

"It was quite the scene to see everything that was going on in our parking lot -- how much we had here, the help we had from OEM, from the police department, the fire department, and certainly all the staff that worked on this," said chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, who accepted the award on behalf of the Mets. "It was a big effort."