Gerritsen Hosts State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan For Tour Of Sandy’s Lingering Devastation
It wasn’t your average walking tour.
State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan arrived in Gerritsen Beach Monday morning for a guided tour of Superstorm Sandy’s lingering devastation.
The trip was hosted by Senator Martin Golden as well as residents from local community groups and the volunteer fire department, who spoke with the senate majority leader about some of the roadblocks stalling the storm recovery effort.
Flanagan, who represents parts of northern Long Island, often looked bewildered as he peered into construction sites and surveyed the boarded-up, abandoned homes that still blight the neighborhood.
“Obviously, this is a place where people are very proud of their community. It’s also obviously a place where they have fallen on hard times,” Flanagan said. “Seeing a lot of these homes is an indication that people have every right to be frustrated with their government. It’s taken way too long.”
Recently, the city has begun to make measurable progress in its Sandy recovery program, Build it Back. The Office of Housing Recovery reports that construction has been completed on 1,080 homes — up from zero since Mayor Bill de Blasio overhauled the program soon after taking office. An additional 1,756 homes are now under construction and the city has sent off 4,964 checks, totaling more than $96 million, to homeowners.
Build it Back is also making headway in Gerritsen Beach. In February, only eight homes had been completed in the neighborhood. That figure has increased to 23, while 46 homes are under construction. Checks totaling $1.8 million have been mailed to 105 Gerritsen Beach homeowners, more than doubling the amount of money the neighborhood has received since February, the city reported.
But there is still much work to do in Gerritsen Beach. One homeowner, 66-year-old Maureen DeWitt, told the senators she has been living in her brother’s basement for the last three years awaiting money to rebuild her home on Lois Avenue. She said she has not heard from Build it Back officials since December.
“I don’t like the conditions above my head. I’m in a dungeon of a basement, but I have nowhere else to go. I might as well put a tent in my yard,” she said. “I just want to go home. I had been living in that house for 45 years. I raised my kids and grandkids there and it would be nice to have them playing in grandma’s yard again.”
Golden said he understands the frustration and argued more must be done to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles that slow the pace of recovery.
“I do believe the city is doing its best to expedite things, but it’s taken too long. Do you hear any construction going on? Do you hear any drills going? Any jackhammers or piling going on? No,” he said. “We need to find and clear those bottlenecks and make sure money is delivered and try to get things expedited and done as quickly as possible.”
Gerritsen Beach Volunteer Fire Department Chief Doreen Garson, who led the tour, said although the city is responsible for coordinating most of the recovery efforts, she hopes Flanagan can use his position to get more money out to Sandy victims.
“I know there’s a lot of money available,” Garson said. “The Build it Back program is City. But hopefully, he’ll talk to someone in the governor’s office or maybe his office can get into the city and find out how to get more of that money out.”