Breezy Point Rebuilds Slowly

LARGEST AUDITED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER IN QUEENS Oct. 31–Nov. 6, 2014 Your Neighborhood — Your News® 75 cents THE NEWSPAPER OF FLUSHING, AUBURNDALE, KEW GARDENS HILLS & FRESH MEADOWS Jamaica Bay survived storm Breezy Point rebuilds slowly much the same Neighborhood METS GIVE BACK struggles to BY JUAN SOTO repair houses Superstorm Sandy was more devastating to humans than to nature. BY ALEX ROBINSON But that is not to say nature was immune to the aftermath In the second year since of the hurricane that crushed Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Rockaways and pushed in- Breezy Point sand destroyed finite tons of wreckage to Ja- hundreds of houses, the com- maica Bay’s shoreline. munity has seen a scurry of re- “A lot of debris came into building. And many residents Jamaica Bay,” said Dan Hen- contend the effort has hap- drick, producer of the docum- pened with little help from the mentary “Jamaica Bay Lives.” city’s Build it Back program. Soon after Sandy swept Breezy Point, which was parts of the eastern coast, originally a community of boats, refrigerators, sofas, 2,836 houses, lost 350 homes in pushed docks and other rub- the storm. Some 130 of those bish surfaced in and around homes burned to the ground the 20,000-acre wetland estu- in a fire that started dur- ary. ing the storm. Flooding and “Fortunately, some of the winds flattened the other 220 debris was pulled out,” Hen- in the sandy gated communi- drick said, referring to the ty, which sits on the tip of the extensive work to repair the Rockaways. damage led by organizations Thousands of homes were such as the American Litto- damaged and there were very ral Society, the Jamaica Bay few in Breezy Point that were Ecowatchers, the U.S. Corps completely untouched by the of Engineers and the National flooding. Parks Services. “But a lot of it While few dwellings had is still underwater.” been rebuilt in the first year According to a report by since the storm hit, more than the American Littoral Society, 270 homes are either rebuilt or a coastal conservation orga- in the process, according to nization, the superstorm had Arthur Lighthall, the general “no significant shift in sand manager of the Breezy Point See more pho- placement and no damage to Mr. Met fist pumps as he wheels out a cart of donated food goods at Citi Field. Cooperative. existing plants.” tos on page 45. Photo by Chris Palermo “From a community and Continued on Page 50 Continued on Page 50 A CNG Publication Vol. 23 No. 44 60 total pages Dunkin’ Donuts K_\9XpK\iiXZ\J_fggè^:\ek\i )(*$0,)-k_8m\el\#9Xpj`[\#EP((*-' Lgg\iC\m\ce\okkfk_\;è\i nnn%;lebè;felkj%Zfd Gi`Z\Xe[gXik`Z`gXk`fedXpmXip% GcljXggc`ZXYc\kXo%)'(+;;@G?fc[\iCC:%8cci`^_kji\j\im\[% FLIP Pols plead with mayor Standing tall on stilts as Rockaway ferry ends Broad Channel residents still await more FEMA relief BY SARINA TRANGLE and protection-wise, we im- BY DEBBIE COHEN prove,” Meeks said, declin- ing to identify which funding Broad Channel was hit Rockaway won’t let its Sea- streams he was eyeing or the hard by Superstorm Sandy Streak ships go down without nuances of his argument for two years ago with six-foot wa- a fight. the ferry. ter surges and torrential wind Rockaway’s elected offi- State Sen. Joseph Add- and rain. Many homes and cials said they were sched- abbo (D-Howard Beach) said businesses were badly dam- uled to meet with Mayor Bill the request for a meeting was aged, and some small bunga- de Blasio this week to pitch initially turned down, but the lows were demolished in this plans for continuing ferry mayor agreed to meet with coastal area. service that served as a life- elected officials after plans But over the past year, most line in the wake of Hurricane for a homeless shelter on the of the businesses and some Sandy. penninsula surfaced. homes have bounced back, SeaStreak began operat- “I will remain optimis- along with houses that are ing boats from Beach 108th tic,” Addabbo said, noting still being rebuilt, many on Street to the Brooklyn Army he hoped at minimum a six- stilts as a preventive measure Terminal and downtown month service extension against future storms. Manhattan shortly after the could be arranged, which Mayor Bill de Blasio held storm washed over the A would buy him time to se- a news conference in Broad train tracks, cutting off sub- cure state funds for it. “In Channel last week, saying During Sandy a boat docked in the middle of the street on Cross Bay way service to the peninsula. [de Blasio’s] estimation, the significant progress has been Boulevard in Broad Channel. Photo by Debbie Cohen As of press time, ferries ferry was a stop gap mea- made on the city’s Hurricane were slated to dock Oct. 31 sure. In my opinion, it was a Sandy recovery effort. He because funding for the route necessity even before Sandy. pointed out there has been tion,” he said. “The Broad “My new house will now be did not make it into the city Transportation is deplorable new Build It Back goals put in Channel Civic Association storm-proofed and it will be budget. for my residents.” place now that Amy Peterson, and Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers raised 12 feet above ground. U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks Many Rockaway residents director of the Mayor’s office were on hand with volunteers The construction work started (D-Jamaica) drafted a letter pushed for the city to find the of Housing Recovery, has been from the Parks Department in August 2014 and we will be signed by several state and $5 million estimated annual in charge. and Build It Back.” back there before we know it.” city officials requesting a cost of the route in the $75 bil- “What has made Build It During the news confer- Jayme Galimi said that it meeting with de Blasio about lion budget at rallies, protests Back work since the mayor’s ence, the mayor committed to would have cost her and her the ferry. and press conferences. overhaul is increased flex- 1,000 construction starts and husband about $400,000 to re- “I want to talka about De Blasio’s office has said ibility for homeowners and 1,500 reimbursement checks build and FEMA only helped the Rockaways in a holistic it did not think the ferry was an increased presence by our by Dec. 31. He also announced with some rental assistance. way... and how we can make financially sustainable. staff in Sandy-impacted com- a new procurement that will She said when Sandy struck, sure transportation-wise, But Rockaway residents munities,” Peterson said. “We dramatically expand design the family ran upstairs as 5 and infrastructure-wise, and pointed out the area’s ferries have made over 2,800 offers to and construction capacity to feet of water came gushing economic development-wise, Continued on Page 50 Queens residents and we are further expedite the pace of in on the first floor, but then committed to streamline the recovery. the upstairs started shaking pre-construction process and Jayme and John Galimi, and the side of the house came target those applicants who re- Cross Bay Boulevard resi- off and they knew they had to quire counseling.” dents in Broad Channel whose leave. According to Samuel house was demolished by Hur- “This is a tight-knit com- Breidbart, a spokesman for ricane Sandy, said they finally munity and everyone helped the NYC Housing Recovery got the help they needed when out,” she said. “When Sandy Office, Build It Back was in they got in touch with Peter- first hit, we really didn’t think Broad Channel Oct. 21 to assist son. Before that the wheels it would be that bad, but we a community cleanup of storm were moving very slowly — learned from it.” debris in Jamaica Bay. too much red tape, along with The Broad Channel Volun- “The point of access to the lost paperwork. teer Fire Department on Noel bay was behind a Build It Back “Now Build It Back is re- Road had severe damage from home to be rebuilt at 10-24 building our family’s house 7 feet of water from Sandy. Ed Cross Bay Blvd., only now ac- and it will be ready by this Wilmarth, chief of the depart- cessible because the damaged Christmas and my husband ment, remembers that night home was recently demolished and our five children are over- when he helped to rescue resi- Rockaway residents view the ferry as a critical lifeline in case of fu- to make way for reconstruc- joyed,” said Jayme Galimi. Continued on Page 50 ture storms or natural disasters. 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