As we hit the two-year mark since Hurricane Sandy, NY1 is taking a look at some of the most devastated residential areas of the city. NY1′s Jeanine Ramirez revisits Sea Gate and Coney Island, where many haven’t seen much progress since the storm.
A fire hydrant sits in the middle of the sand in Sea Gate after the street was washed away by Hurricane Sandy. Buried in the sand are fragments of a house.
The storm did tremendous damage to the home. Now that it’s been demolished and the family relocated, Donna Levitt’s home is now beachfront.
“I feel like we’re literally spinning our tires in sand because we have no street, we have no sea wall, no protection from a future storm, and it’s scary,” Levitt said.
Nearby is the empty lot where the DeAngelis family used to have a home. Sandy also did a number on their home. Last year they decided to clear the property with the promise of rebuilding from the city’s Build it Back program. Angelo DeAngelis said with the recent birth of his grandson, the urgency for construction is more pressing than ever.
“It’s our dream right now, but for two years, it’s been a nightmare,” he said.
City Councilman Mark Treyger, who represents the area, is also the chair of the newly created Committee on Recovery and Resiliency.
“I think a lot of the delays that we’re experiencing and seeing are as a result of the previous administration’s bungling of this recovery. The way they set up Build it Back was terrible, and this administration has had to undo it,” Treyger said. “But again, it takes time.”
Treyger’s district includes Coney Island, which has one of the highest concentrations of public housing in the city. At Gravesend Houses, the community center remains destroyed. There’s been no comprehensive cleanup of mold and mildew, and the unsafe conditions have left residents with little recreation and gathering space.
“After two years, come on,” said Deborah Carter, resident leader of the Gravesend Houses. “We need furniture. We need computers. We need to get these places together for the community to come in to find jobs, and for us to have programs.”
The mobile boilers, which were supposed to be temporary, are still a common sight in Coney Island. They’re hooked up to housing developments, as well as school buildings throughout the neighborhood.
http://ift.tt/1FHetFZ
via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1
No comments:
Post a Comment