Elected officials help Bay Park Sandy victim acquire permit to rebuild

A Bay Park resident who has been waiting to rebuild her home since it was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 recently received some help from state Sens. Todd Kaminsky and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Debra Orena’s small bungalow on Lawrence Street was knocked off of its foundation during Sandy. She has been paying taxes on an empty lot ever since her home was razed in April, and pays rent to live in her friend’s house around the corner. Orena has faced many obstacles in her quest to rebuild.

“It’s not like I’m building the Taj Mahal,” she said. “I went to meeting after meeting after meeting and ended up nowhere.”

The Herald met with Orena in December to learn about her story. She said she sent the article to the offices of Kaminsky and Gillibrand. The senators then notified Town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino’s office and informed them of Orena’s plight.

“Different entities have to work together to make this work,” Kaminsky said. “There’s no one with a magic bullet. There are a surprising number of people who are not home or are at home and in great debt, and we’re working hard to erase that backlog. … My heart goes out to them.”

Orena said she’s faced many issues with getting her plans approved by the Town of Hempstead and has had to switch her architect multiple times. With help from the senators, Orena’s building permit was approved in January with the conditions that she acquired a builder, submitted the original worker’s compensation building permit along with the names, phone numbers and license numbers of her contractor, electrician and plumber, and paid $220 because she plans to install a deck.

Orena said she has spent over $23,000 of her own money to fill out forms and pay the necessary people in hopes of getting the work underway. She added that the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery would give her $120,000 for her rebuild, but noted that the price of building materials has increased in the past four years.

According to Orena, her house would be more than 800 square feet and eight feet higher than her original home. She said she met with her builder last Saturday and is waiting on a price.

Though she’s thankful for getting some help in finally acquiring her building permit, Orena cautioned that she’s used to disappointment with this process.

“It’s just the beginning,” she said. “I don’t know. I’m not happy until the fat lady sings. Until it’s over and done. Every time something good happens for me and I get excited, something terrible happens the next week. I’m on a roller coaster all the time.”