Hurricane Sandy Victims face Relocating, Repairs and Foreclosure

 In case you doubted it, the waves from the disaster that was Hurricane Sandy continue to ripple through the lives of local residents, as they struggle to regain some normalcy.  Read on:

From WYNC News:

Thursday, February 28, 2013

By Cindy Rodriguez

Laurie and Christopher Nunziato bought two small homes next to each other in the Midland Beach section of Staten Island in 2005. They lived in one house and rented out the other. The family hadn't planned on evacuating for Sandy until they saw water flowing into their neighborhood from the beach.

"We kinda panicked," said Laurie Nunziato, who was pregnant at the time. "I said, 'We need to get out of here' and basically told the kids to, 'Grab a coat, grab shoes and, let's go!'"

The family survived. Nunziato gave birth shortly after, but their houses did not do as well. Midland Beach was hard hit by Sandy and several homes in the neighborhood are still empty and in need of major repair
. 
Some have been bulldozed.

At the Nunziatos house, mud-covered toys and a handwritten prayer in child’s writing were seen scattered near the driveway, during a visit earlier this month. Stuffed into the family’s mailbox was a FedEx envelope from Bank of America stamped “extremely urgent”...

There is more -here

From an earlier story:

City is Counting on Federal Housing Vouchers to House Poorest Sandy Victims

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

WNYC

By Cindy Rodriguez

The city plans to use federally funded housing vouchers to place some of the poorest Sandy victims in private apartments. But vouchers must still be approved by the federal government and there's concern they may not come soon enough to keep some families from ending up in shelters.

Roughly 1200 households are staying in hotels scattered across the city. Either the city or the Federal Emergency Management Agency is covering the cost. Originally, through landlords it works with, the city had set aside hundreds of low income apartments for these families only to realize that many were too poor to qualify for them.  At a city council hearing Tuesday, officials said families were being visited by caseworkers who were trying to help them apply for other options such as public housing as well as get them mental health services,  home health aides and substance services when needed.

Advocates for the poor said prior to the storm many of these families were living in rented rooms, illegal basements, and crowded boarding houses - all precarious housing situations.  They are calling for an infusion of federally funded Section 8 vouchers which are permanent subsidies that have no end as long as families continue to meet the income requirements. ...

 

 The rest is here.