They just want to go home.
Two years after Hurricane Sandy ripped through southern Queens, many of its victims are still trying to rebuild their lives — and their homes.
The vicious October 2012 storm crushed their houses and washed away decades of memories for people like Dennis and Bernadette Fallon.
“It’s been one thing after another,” said Dennis, 66, who has spent the last two years trying to rebuild his Breezy Point home. “We had to wait for the FEMA maps to find out how much we had to raise the house. Then you have to wait on line to get someone to raise the house. All the approvals took forever.”
Changing rules, botched paperwork and the lack of construction crews have plagued Sandy victims in Rockaway, Broad Channel and Howard Beach — the neighborhoods hit hardest by the storm.
The Fallons — he retired from Wall Street and she was a teacher — have dipped into their savings and 401(k) account to pay for the endless work. Meanwhile they bounced around, staying with their children in Connecticut and on Long Island before getting a rental in Breezy Point.
“I said all we do is schlep,” Bernadette Fallon said.
Just as things started to look up for the Fallons, the cesspool collapsed — weakened by the saltwater that poured in during the storm.
In order to fix it, contractors had to tear up the property again and rip out apple, pear and peach trees planted 30 years ago.
“I guess my kids will see those again,” Dennis said with a sad laugh. “I never will.”
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, who lived through the same experience when his Far Rockaway home was flooded during the storm, said there have been signs of progress.
“People are moving into new homes and we’re cutting more ribbons,” said Goldfeder (D-Rockaway). “It’s not going quick enough.”
Work to replace the tattered Rockaway boardwalk has started along with new barriers to help keep the ocean from spilling into the streets during storms.
Mayor de Blasio has pledged to reform the troubled Build it Back program, which helps people rebuild their homes.
Last week he traveled to Broad Channel to tout the fact that 4,000 homeowners accepted an offer through Build it Back and 1,500 have started the design phase. Almost 900 reimbursement checks have been sent out to people who paid for their own work.
He pointed out those numbers were zero when he took office in January and pledged to get 1,500 reimbursement checks out by Dec. 31.
Like many longtime Broad Channel residents, 65 year-old Peter Adamizyn learned to follow the tide charts and weather reports to predict flooding.
But Sandy caught him by surprise.
“Who ever thought you would see your refrigerator floating?” asked the retired MTA Bridge and Tunnel officer. “Still, I thought by two years I would be living back in my own house.”
Instead he and his wife, Joyce, are living in an apartment in Howard Beach while they try to rebuild their home. He said he had to resubmit plans several times to fit the changing requirement of the city Buildings Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
“All of a sudden FEMA is an expert on everything?” he asked. “We had to refile for our SBA (Small Business Administration) loan because it kept expiring.”
Adamizyn is hopeful construction will start in a few weeks.
“The most depressing thing since the storm is dealing with government,” he said.
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