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NYC Residents in Flood Zone Won’t Move Despite Damage From Superstorm Sandy
Matthew Moore takes a break from helping make the home of his mother-in-law Sylvia, age 100, livable again. Sylvia will not move away from the Rockaways despite having a seawall between the house and the ocean mostly destroyed and damage to her basement and first floor. (Amal Chen/The Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—Residents across the Rockaway Peninsula—one of the areas most damaged by Superstorm Sandy—are not moving, despite the possibility that another storm, similar or even worse, will strike in the future.
What happens if another storm does come?
“That would suck,” said Matthew Moore, taking a break from helping restore the beachfront home of his 100-year old mother-in-law.
“It certainly could happen given the environmental conditions we all live in right now, but you have to hope that this is really a once in a century storm,” said Moore. “If other storms come, they’ll be similar perhaps to Irene, but not with the impact of this one.”
While city officials, environmental experts, and urban planners debate what will protect low-lying areas such as the Rockaways, residents—particularly homeowners—will rebuild and carry on, though some do so with reluctance.
“I wouldn’t mind going to Colorado in the mountains at this point, but we own the house, so we’re not going anywhere,” said Rockaways resident Richard Bender, who works as a pilot for the Staten Island Ferry.
Population: 114, 978 (2010)
Length: 11 miles
Width: 3/4 of a mile (average)
Bender has 16 family members staying with him at the moment, including his 90-year-old mother and 76-year-old aunt. They have had trouble finding hotels closer than Connecticut he said, making his house an important asset.
Nancy Crerar was sweeping sand off her driveway, three houses from the beach.
“I got one mortgage payment left—I ain’t moving,” she said passionately. “I spent 20 years paying that off.”
Crerar’s garage flooded but she considers herself one of the lucky ones, as none of her electrical wiring was damaged and her husband has a backup generator.
Crerar hopes no similar storms happen but wants to see the 8-foot-high seawall restored. The wall was mostly taken down by the strong 14-foot storm surges.
Housing Prices Drop
Those looking to sell their homes may have a tough time now that the peninsula has proven vulnerable to extreme weather.
The beachfront home (middle) of Bill Guage was slammed with water and sand during Superstorm Sandy. Yet the top floor remains undamaged and livable, and like other homeowners on the Rockaways, Guage plans to continue living in the house. (Amal Chen/The Epoch Times)
Bill Guage carries a piece of siding and a piece of wood from the front of his house, where a deck was destroyed, to throw into a growing pile in the back. His daughter Jamie helps him. (Amal Chen/The Epoch Times)
“Nobody’s going to buy the house the way it is,” said Bill Guage, 64, a nurse who lost $25,000 worth of power tools in his basement because of flooding. Guage was throwing ruined plastic siding into a pile Sunday afternoon.
Guage had a buyer lined up for his home, but the home is directly on the beach without any protection such as a seawall.
“I would’ve sold it next year because we were going to retire, but now that’s out the window,” he said grimly.
Homes that are still standing in Breezy Point (at the southwestern portion of the peninsula) will drop in price after flooding and a storm-related fire, predicted Dennis Graff, 64, whose house burned down.
Prices have risen $100,000 to $300,000 for the average home in the last 20 years, said Graff. City data shows that of the 16,134 owner-occupied units on the peninsula, 13,405 are valued at $300,000 or more.
A collapsing house on the Rockaway beachfront, oceanside. Many homeowners and residents on or near the beach said they were planning on staying, despite the potential of another storm in the future. (Amal Chen/The Epoch Times)
