Working toward a better future

Karen Tangney in front of her Arizona Avenue home.

Photos by Penny Frondelli/Herald

Local plumber James Snow, who is still struggling to repair the damage his East State Street home sustained in Hurricane Sandy, received assistance last week from State Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky and Rebuilding Together Long Island.

Photos by Penny Frondelli/Herald

State Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky volunteered with a Rebuilding Together Long Island crew and helped put up drywall in Tangney’s unfinished downstairs.

Photos by Penny Frondelli/Herald

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“Every dime I ever saved went into this house to buy it,” Karen Tangney said of the Arizona Avenue home that she purchased in June 2012. “I thought this was going to be my dream, you know, living down the block from the beach. And then in October my dream became my absolute nightmare.”

Tangney is just one of many residents still struggling to rebuild their homes after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. For almost three years she has fought through red tape after being turned down by NY Rising and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Now, finally, she says she has found some relief through Rebuilding Together Long Island, a nonprofit home-repair organization.

On Aug. 18, State Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky joined an RTLI team to work on Tangney’s home and the home of James Snow, a U.S. Navy veteran, Boy Scout leader, local small business owner and single father of four children.

“The main thing I want to stress is that we’re coming up on three years after Sandy and there are still a lot of people that need a lot of help,” Kaminsky said. “And our attention toward helping people should not fade away.”

According to the city’s director of communications, Gordon Tepper, less than 5 percent of Long Beach’s population remains displaced after the storm.

RTLI has been assisting families with home repairs for over 20 years. The organization not only provides funding, but also supplies construction workers and licensed contractors, all at no cost to the homeowner. After Sandy, RTLI’s president, Barbara Nilsen, said, the organization applied for a grant from New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s Affordable Housing Corporation, which Kaminsky played a vital role in securing.

“I am so pleased that Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky came to help us today,” Nilsen said. “It was a wonderful way to show support for our cause.”

According to Nilsen, one of the stipulations for the grant is that the organization complete renovations on 12 houses over a period of 18 months, a window that will close in December 2016.