the island's property titles. In May 1944, Broad Channel's 4,000 residents, collectively living in 1,260 homes, secured an injunction that would prevent the city from evicting them by April 30, 1948. Later in 1944, the New York City Board of Estimate indicated that it would give residents the right to purchase the land under their houses. However, this right was denied for many years. The city made many attempts to alter the island's purpose, but the local community resisted them all. Proposed changes included the construction of a commercial port and the extension of John F. Kennedy International Airport. Rumors of high hepatitis rates spread in 1967 because of the island's bad sewage system. At the time, several homes still dumped sewage into the bay, causing activities like clamming, wading, and swimming to be banned. The health hazards prompted the city to again attempt eviction proceedings against Broad Channel's residents, which prompted them to protest, and the Board of Estimate ordered the residents' leases to be renewed the following year, despite the real estate commissioner's protests. The government of New York City finally granted Broad Channel residents the right to purchase their property in 1982. The Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge replaced the dilapidated North Channel Bridge in 1993. 21st century In 1998, Broad Channel's Labor Day parade received negative media attention after video of a float that parodied the racially motivated dragging death of an African American man was made public. Three white participants on the float, all city emergency workers, were later fired from their jobs as a result of the parade incident. They sued the city for wrongful termination, and their claims were upheld in federal district court in 2003, but the firings were upheld upon appeal in 2006. In August 2011, Broad Channel faced its first mandatory evacuation due to Hurricane Irene. In the aftermath, two homes on Church Road between East 12th and 14th Road collapsed into Jamaica Bay due to the high storm tide. In October 2012, Broad Channel faced another mandatory evacuation due to Hurricane Sandy. It sustained heavy damage with widespread flooding affecting most homes in the area, and in subsequent days, widespread prolonged power cuts and shortages of food and water were reported. Press reports indicated that at least parts of the neighborhood were flooded from time to time by high tides. The city proposed steps such as raising the streets