What We Do > Superstorm Sandy Recovery

Rebuilding Together Is Hard at Work Repairing Sandy-Damage

National Response to Sandy (click here for information and photos)

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Pete & Millie P., Jim M., Joanne V.;  Moonachie            

Volunteers descended on three homes in Moonachie this week, doing rip-out in preparation for a complete restoration of the homes' first floor living areas, floor to ceiling, carpentry, painting, plumbing and electric. All the homeowners were displaced  by the damage Sandy caused when 3 to 4 feet of water entered their homes in a matter of minutes. Some have been living with relatives; one rents a small apartment that drastically cuts his limited-income budget.   Our goal is to get them back in their homes as soon as possible.

 

Mobile Home Communities

Four teams of AmeriCorps NCCC members helped Rebuilding Together Bergen County repair Sandy-damaged mobile homes in Moonachie over the last two months.

Under the leadership of Sandy project manager, Bob Williams, and construction supervisors Tom Duggan and John McDarby, the crews insulated the underside of some 70 mobile homes. Funding for materials and supplies comes from the Moonachie/Little Ferry Relief Fund.

Homes in the Vanguard and Metropolitan mobile home communities in Moonachie sustained water damage underneath and in some cases up to a foot inside the home.  Insulation underneath had to be torn out, and new fiberglass insulation is being put in.  Water pipes will be wrapped to prevent freezing.  Additional homes will be completed by "alternative spring break" students joining us later this month.

Little Ferry Hook & Ladder and Hose Companies  (video)

Ribbon cutting and reveal of the Little Ferry Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1 took place Wednesday, February 27.

Present were County Executive Kathleen Donovan, Mayor Mauro Raguseo, Senator Paul Sarlo, the County Freeholders, Assemblywoman Marlene Caride, Assemblyman Gary Schaer, and Deputy Chief of Staff to Congressman Bill Pascrell, Assad Akhter, who presented a flag flown over Capitol Hill to each of the firehouses.

Both the Hook & Ladder Company on Main Street and the Hose Company on Marshall in Little Ferry were flooded with three feet of water in minutes, even as the volunteer firefighters were helping rescue others in their community.

Thanks to a grant from Sears and additional funding and assistance from Rotary District 7490, Rebuilding Together is able to repair both buildings.  IBEW Local 164 electricians made repairs at the Hose Company and new walls have been framed, tiled, and painted.

Tom & Addie T., Moonachie

Homeowners Tom & Addie raised two children in their long-time family home, enjoying a street where neighbors still look out for one another.  When Superstorm Sandy hit, the couple stood on the second floor of their house and watched water quickly rise to the sixth step.  They lost two cars and everything on their first floor: their kitchen, living room, bathroom, laundry room, furnace and a new water heater.

The family (Tom, Addie and a son who recently graduated from college) stayed with their married daughter while they used their savings to purchase a furnace and water heater, make repairs to the electrical wiring, tear out walls and re-sheetrock. Eventually they moved back home, living on the second floor, using a dorm-room refrigerator and a microwave for food preparation.  

Rebuilding Together Bergen County, with a grant from Lowe's, painted all the walls and installed new flooring, appliances, kitchen cabinets and countertops, and a new laundry room. Last time we visited, Addie's homemade pasta sauce was simmering on the new stove, and Addie was grateful she no longer has to make trips to the laundromat. 

 

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Ongoing Assessment and Recovery

Do you need help recovering from Sandy?  Visit the Storm Recovery Information Center – located at 221 Moonachie Road in Moonachie or call 201-470-3143.  The Center is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday (open until 7 p.m. on Thursday), and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. A volunteer or staff member can help you access local resources and fill out requests for assistance from VOAD member agencies.  (Please bring your FEMA number, documentation on repairs made or needed, and information on insurance and income.)

Rebuilding Together Bergen County continues to assess homes and to work with the Storm Recovery Information Center to determine where we can best assist homeowners and community organizations to rebuild after Sandy. Call us at 201-447-8886 or download our application here.