During normal times, staffers of City Council member Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) are go-to resources where members of the community can turn for solutions to vexing problems.
But, super storm Sandy turned that model on its ear as those same staffers found themselves in need of help from the community.
With their district office in Rockaway Park a casualty of the storm, they now work out of an office on 101st Ave in Ozone Park.
Community liaison Gerald Sullivan and Deputy Chief of Staff Ciaragrace Donley, both suffered major losses during the late October storm.
Sullivan’s home in Breezy Point had more than a foot of water while’s Donley’s bungalow, also in Breezy Point, had more than four feet of water.
“I lost 100 percent of my possessions,” said Donley, who is also a newlywed.
And while Donley, who carried flood insurance, is still waiting to hear back on her claim, Sullivan did not have flood insurance.
“I know it was foolish to not have flood insurance but it was just too cost prohibitive,” said Sullivan, who is married with two kids. “I haven’t had flood coverage for the past nine years.”
Sullivan added that he’s also bearing the brunt of rebuilding costs himself, despite receiving a small amount of assistance from FEMA. He noted, as many NYC residents did, that the emergency assistance available was “not nearly enough” for people to rebuild with.
“People are not looking to get ahead here,” he said. “We’re just looking to get whole again.”
But, looking on the bright side, Sullivan said he was thankful for the help of several local groups including the Church of the Latter Day Saints in addition to volunteers from Project Blessing, a local assistance effort. “It was very nice to see some people really pitch-in and help.”
Both Sullivan and Donley, while thankful for the help they did receive, also had issues with some charities and the way they sought to capitalize on fundraising in the storm’s aftermath.
“I didn’t like the fact that some of the fundraising was done on the backs of people and their hardships,” Sullivan noted. “And, many people had difficulty accessing funds that should have been available for basic living expenses,” Donley said.
Among some of the numerous repairs and replacements to infrastructure now underway in the area include efforts to raise streets above previous flood levels in addition to the laying of new gas lines by National Grid.
“Homeowners in Rockaway, Breezy Point and even Howard Beach…everyone’s in the same boat,” said Sullivan, recalling that in all his family lost about seven homes to the storm. Donley said her family had lost about six homes in total.
Sullivan added that following a recent tour of the Rockaways, he had seen at least 60 homes that were completely off their foundations.
“Things are slowly being cleaned-up in the Rockaways,” said Sullivan. “But, it will take a very long time as there are bigger issues here than even just rebuilding.”
Dan Mundy Jr., president of the Broad Channel Civic Association, agreed that things are slowly improving.
“We’re making a good amount of progress,” Mundy said. “Most homes at this point have been gutted and cleaned out.”
But, Mundy said that many in the Rockaways were still in a holding pattern with rebuilding efforts, awaiting money from both FEMA and/or private insurers.
“The bottom line is that once the federal Sandy funding comes through, we should see a lot more activity.”
Overall, Mundy reported that there was a tremendous volunteer effort throughout storm. “We were feeding more than 800 people per day at one point, mainly by local residents.”
He added that in most cases, people in the Rockaways will rebuild. “People are looking to rebuild their homes better than they were before.”
But, even so, Sullivan lamented that his daughter will miss out on a big part of growing-up in Breezy Point. “Even after things are cleaned-up, it really won’t be the same. It will be different than it was,” he said.
Donley, who is now renting a house in Brooklyn, said she hopes to have her home rebuilt and be back in Breezy Point by August.
“I really didn’t have much structural damage, so I’m hoping to be back in my house by July,” said Sullivan, who is also staying in Brooklyn.
Despite all the losses from the storm, Sullivan, reflecting on the entire experience, said that he did see some positives. “We did see lots of people helping total strangers,” he said. “So, along with the destruction, people’s overwhelming generosity is the other big story.”
By Alan Krawitz
