![By Mary Malloy
mmalloy@liherald.com
Since Hurricane Sandy struck nearly two years ago, the landscape of hard-hit Bay Park has changed drastically. It is now an eclectic mix of small houses perched high atop newly poured cement foundations, along with a few new boxy, modular homes that were assembled piece by piece. There are also uninhabited and uninhabitable houses, some with For Sale signs in front. There are, as well, empty lots where homes once stood. Sandy did a number on Bay Park.
But many residents of this close-knit community have deep roots here. Others, initially attracted to its location near the water, have found it a great place to raise their families. And while some had to leave for a variety of reasons — mostly financial — after the storm, many stayed to rebuild, and say they are coming back better than ever.
An empty lot
Carlos and Megan Moran had a cozy two-bedroom cottage on West Boulevard — just the right size for them and their daughter, Sabrina, who’s now 4. After fleeing Sandy, they returned to find that the storm had done so much damage to their home that it was unlivable — as were many in the Bay Park area. The Morans moved in with relatives in Rockville Centre for two weeks, and then lived with Carlos’s parents in Lynbrook for a while.
“We didn’t do anything [to repair] the house,” Carlos said. “Our NY Rising case manager told us not to do anything.” They stopped paying their mortgage after four weeks, and asked for a waiver. Their mortgage company declined.
“After three engineers’ reports,” Carlos said, gesturing toward the empty lot where his house once stood, “it was condemned by the county and torn down. Our house is gone.”
The Morans decided to rent an apartment in Hewlett, which cost them $10,000 in security deposits and moving expenses. The rent was the same as their mortgage payment — $2,100 a month. They were eventually able to modify their mortgage, moving their missed payments to the back end of their payment schedule.
“We’re now paying both mortgage and rent, because otherwise we would have lost our credit rating,” Megan said. She added that the nonprofit service organization Catholic Charities offered invaluable help, setting them up with a mortgage advocate and helping them refinance their house. NY Rising did not come into play, she said, because they were not eligible.
Megan said that they have been waiting for permits to build from the Town of Hempstead since April. “I’m constantly going down there to drop off paperwork,” she said, “because they often ‘lose’ our paperwork. It’s a nightmare.”
They are also waiting to hear from NY Rising’s Interim Mortgage Assistance program. If approved, they can be reimbursed for up to 20 months of payments while they rebuild.
‘We lost almost everything’
Across the street from the Morans, there has been a lot of construction activity at Rachel Sumerson and Gene Gamache’s house, which overlooks the canal and was already eight feet above mean sea level when Sandy hit.
“We had two feet of water come in,” Sumerson said. “The boiler, which was in the basement, was lost … we lost almost everything … We saved some hardwood furniture, and Gene came back the day after Sandy, before high tide, to save some electronic stuff.”
With two young children in tow, they stayed with Gamache’s parents after the storm, and then in Forest Hills, Queens, for a while before eventually renting a home just a few blocks from where their house is being rebuilt now.
The couple’s insurance company gave them enough money to restore their house, but no funds for future storm mitigation. They applied for an Increased Cost of Compliance claim with Federal Emergecny Management Agency — flood insurance policyholders in high-risk areas can get up to $30,000 in ICC funds to help bring their homes or businesses into compliance with their communities’ flood plain ordinances. They got half of that amount.
“NY Rising … capped us at $195,000,” Sumerson said, “and they subtracted [our] insurance out of that.”
To comply with FEMA regulations, their house had to be raised a minimum of 11 feet above mean sea level. They raised it to 16 feet above mean sea level. “There’s a huge space underneath now where we can park four cars if we had them,” Gamache joked, “but we’re not allowed to use it for anything else but storage.”
Elevating
Further down the street, Jeff and Lina Wax’s house was inundated by 37 inches of floodwater during the hurricane, which demolished their first floor and its contents, but they were able to live on the second floor while they applied for permits. They moved out for three weeks in December 2012 when they had no electricity, and were displaced again last December for 7½ months while the house was being raised.
“We have received, with the exception of FEMA funds, nothing else,” said Lina. “Talking to NY Rising is a long and difficult process … it’s been a hard fight with them.”
Gene Gamache and Rachel Sumerson decided to demolish their home and rebuilt it 16 feet above mean sea level. The first floor is for storage only.](https://gamma.creativecirclecdn.com/liherald/original/1408641763_4d1a.jpg)
By Mary Malloy
mmalloy@liherald.com
Since Hurricane Sandy struck nearly two years ago, the landscape of hard-hit Bay Park has changed drastically. It is now an eclectic mix of small houses perched high atop newly poured cement foundations, along with a few new boxy, modular homes that were assembled piece by piece. There are also uninhabited and uninhabitable houses, some with For Sale signs in front. There are, as well, empty lots where homes once stood. Sandy did a number on Bay Park.
But many residents of this close-knit community have deep roots here. Others, initially attracted to its location near the water, have found it a great place to raise their families. And while some had to leave for a variety of reasons — mostly financial — after the storm, many stayed to rebuild, and say they are coming back better than ever.
An empty lot
Carlos and Megan Moran had a cozy two-bedroom cottage on West Boulevard — just the right size for them and their daughter, Sabrina, who’s now 4. After fleeing Sandy, they returned to find that the storm had done so much damage to their home that it was unlivable — as were many in the Bay Park area. The Morans moved in with relatives in Rockville Centre for two weeks, and then lived with Carlos’s parents in Lynbrook for a while.
“We didn’t do anything [to repair] the house,” Carlos said. “Our NY Rising case manager told us not to do anything.” They stopped paying their mortgage after four weeks, and asked for a waiver. Their mortgage company declined.
“After three engineers’ reports,” Carlos said, gesturing toward the empty lot where his house once stood, “it was condemned by the county and torn down. Our house is gone.”
The Morans decided to rent an apartment in Hewlett, which cost them $10,000 in security deposits and moving expenses. The rent was the same as their mortgage payment — $2,100 a month. They were eventually able to modify their mortgage, moving their missed payments to the back end of their payment schedule.
“We’re now paying both mortgage and rent, because otherwise we would have lost our credit rating,” Megan said. She added that the nonprofit service organization Catholic Charities offered invaluable help, setting them up with a mortgage advocate and helping them refinance their house. NY Rising did not come into play, she said, because they were not eligible.
Megan said that they have been waiting for permits to build from the Town of Hempstead since April. “I’m constantly going down there to drop off paperwork,” she said, “because they often ‘lose’ our paperwork. It’s a nightmare.”
They are also waiting to hear from NY Rising’s Interim Mortgage Assistance program. If approved, they can be reimbursed for up to 20 months of payments while they rebuild.
‘We lost almost everything’
Across the street from the Morans, there has been a lot of construction activity at Rachel Sumerson and Gene Gamache’s house, which overlooks the canal and was already eight feet above mean sea level when Sandy hit.
“We had two feet of water come in,” Sumerson said. “The boiler, which was in the basement, was lost … we lost almost everything … We saved some hardwood furniture, and Gene came back the day after Sandy, before high tide, to save some electronic stuff.”
With two young children in tow, they stayed with Gamache’s parents after the storm, and then in Forest Hills, Queens, for a while before eventually renting a home just a few blocks from where their house is being rebuilt now.
The couple’s insurance company gave them enough money to restore their house, but no funds for future storm mitigation. They applied for an Increased Cost of Compliance claim with Federal Emergecny Management Agency — flood insurance policyholders in high-risk areas can get up to $30,000 in ICC funds to help bring their homes or businesses into compliance with their communities’ flood plain ordinances. They got half of that amount.
“NY Rising … capped us at $195,000,” Sumerson said, “and they subtracted [our] insurance out of that.”
To comply with FEMA regulations, their house had to be raised a minimum of 11 feet above mean sea level. They raised it to 16 feet above mean sea level. “There’s a huge space underneath now where we can park four cars if we had them,” Gamache joked, “but we’re not allowed to use it for anything else but storage.”
Elevating
Further down the street, Jeff and Lina Wax’s house was inundated by 37 inches of floodwater during the hurricane, which demolished their first floor and its contents, but they were able to live on the second floor while they applied for permits. They moved out for three weeks in December 2012 when they had no electricity, and were displaced again last December for 7½ months while the house was being raised.
“We have received, with the exception of FEMA funds, nothing else,” said Lina. “Talking to NY Rising is a long and difficult process … it’s been a hard fight with them.”
Gene Gamache and Rachel Sumerson decided to demolish their home and rebuilt it 16 feet above mean sea level. The first floor is for storage only.
Mary Malloy/Herald
