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A Few Clouds Robin Hood to the rescue
Organization allocates $100,000 for Bay Park, East Rockaway Sandy relief
More than eight months have past since Hurricane Sandy devastated the South Shore, and while many residents have rebuilt their homes, plenty of others are still picking up the pieces.
In an effort to help them, the Robin Hood Foundation, in conjunction with Family Residences and Essential Enterprises Inc., known as FREE, have set aside $100,000 for residents of Bay Park and East Rockaway.
Applications are now being taken, and screened by a five-member committee made up of Village Trustee Ed Corrado, Deacon Richard LaRossa, of St. Raymond’s Church, and FREE’s Kathy Ellis, Nezam Nasrooin and Anita Dowd-Neufeld. The committee first met in early June, and as of Monday had distributed $52,000 to 130 applicants from the two communities.
The Robin Hood Foundation, based in New York City, has allocated more than $70 million in grants to more than 400 groups since Sandy, including donations from the 12-12-12 concert at Madison Square Garden. FREE, based in Bethpage, provides services for people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain injuries.
According to Corrado, the foundation would like to provide financial assistance for as many as 300 people. Applicants must provide their Federal Emergency Management Agency number, proof of residency, proof of loss from the storm and proof of income. Local homeowners or renters can apply. Applications are available at East Rockaway Village Hall, St. Raymond’s and the East Rockaway Library.
“The faster [people] come in, the faster we can distribute the money,” Corrado said. “Our goal is to get the money out.”
Once an application is submitted, the committee reviews it and determines the amount of funding. Corrado said that most people have been given $300 gift cards to home-repair or department stores such as Home Depot, Walmart and Target. In some instances the funds have paid large Long Island Power Authority bills, he added.
Corrado, the village’s liaison to the committee, said that the response from the community has been positive, and that people who lost everything in the storm are happy to have some help. “I was thrilled that [East Rockaway] Mayor [Fran] Lenahan asked me to step up to the plate and come on board with these people,” Corrado said. “I’m very happy to be a part of it. It’s not my money, so I can’t take any credit for it, but I sure as heck don’t mind doing any legwork that’s involved.”
There are still many people in both East Rockaway and Bay Park, he added, who are not yet back in their homes, and others who are still waiting for insurance money. “The process of rebuilding is still under way,” Corrado said.
For more information, residents can call Corrado, at (516) 263-6752, or Village Hall, at (516) 887-6300.
