Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
Yay, Drimmer’s! One of my favorite go-to appliance stores is offering Sandy victims washers and dryers at cost. “Drimmer’s refuses to profit from your catastrophe.” Well, good for them. This should set an example for other appliance shops, building material stores and contractors. Step up, people!!
If you know of any companies offering discounts or volunteer work due to the hurricane, please let us know!
Phyllis here. Thanks to Deb for posting all that amazing info on where to give and receive help. If you’re able bodied and have some free time on your hands, you better be doing your part! People are still without power and food.
It’s been two weeks since Ms. Sandy came tearing through. If you haven’t been visiting or living in the A Zones, it looks like everything is back to normal. Subways are mostly running. Even the gas lines seem to be fine now. Yippee!
Not so back to normal in the hardest hit areas. I can only personally report on Rockaway since that’s where I’ve been working. The good news is that it doesn’t look like the war zone it did the days after the storm. The piles of personal lives on the street have gone down. The sidewalks and roads are less cluttered with sand and trash. There are street and traffic lights working in many areas and some residences even got their power back.
But not too many. LIPA has been as awful as one can imagine. Pretty much non-existent. They finally started coming around this week and I’m happy to report that they actually came into my house to check out my electric panel. I’m ok for power if/when they ever turn it on!
The FEMA checks are rolling in. Not for me because I don’t qualify, but the neighbors are pretty happy with FEMA. Insurance agencies, well, I don’t see anyone singing their praises. Volunteers have been coming around offering food, clothing and cleaning supplies as well as helping hands.
Still, people are living in cold, dark houses. Personally, I couldn’t do it. I would get the fek out of there. But good for them. Some have generators. They barbeque outside and share beers. They all help each other. It’s what a community SHOULD be. It’s almost….pleasant. Yes, I understand I wouldn’t feel it’s so pleasant if I had to spend the night.
Looking forward, with the clean up nearly finished and power about to be restored any day now, methinks that’s when the real rebuilding gets going. Anyone can volunteer to clean but it takes skilled workers to rebuild a house and not everyone can afford that. There will be contractor rip offs and crappy work going on big time.
If you are a contractor or material supplier, I know, I know, you stand to make a killing. But please do your part for society and offer discounts or volunteer time to communities in need. If anyone wants to step up by emailing me or posting in comments, consider the free advertising you’ll get here as payback for your good deed.
Also, peeps in need, don’t forget NYC’s Rapid Response set up through FEMA. You will need a FEMA ID to register.
On the “Me” front, my own Rockaway basement is gutted and cleaned. Will need boiler, water heater, washer, dryer, walls and some kitchen cabinets, tools, yada, yada. No FEMA, no flood insurance. Still feeling like a lucky punk. Found some black mold in the basement walls that was not Sandy related so it’s probably a good thing the basement was gutted. I’m just waiting for power so I can get back to work on the house.
I’ve made the decision to rent it out instead of sell it this year, because really….who the hell is gonna buy a house in Rockaway now?
100% of donations given to Restore Red Hook will be dispersed among the small businesses of the Red Hook Community.
Business are encouraged to apply here:
http://restoreredhook.org/apply-for-funding/
Folks are encouraged to donate here:
Deb here: My own t-shirt design business that started in 2003, would not have existed with out the talent and hard work of my printer, who has been based in Red Hook for many many years. Having just made the move to the downstairs of his building just 4 months ago- sadly his entire warehouse, along with the other businesses in the building was 4 feet+ high in water. Subsequently all of his equipment and thus livelihood and the work of the people he employs and has been severely set back. Hopefully Fema/SBA will fill some gaps, however a fund Restore Redhook, has been started by members of the community, working to help the community, with out a loan.
If you are looking for a place to donate funds that will go directly to assist small businesses, and a community, we recommend checking them out.
From their site
The purpose of the ReStore Red Hook fund is to help reopen the doors of our community based businesses quickly as possible and to reinvigorate and ReStore our extraordinary neighborhood. Therefore, ReStore Red Hook funds are to be used solely for the purposes of rebuilding/reassembling your business so that you can reopen, and continue to be a vital part of the community.
This fund was established by members of the community who feel that ReStoring Red Hook’s community-based businesses is not simply important to the individuals businesses, but is crucial to the neighborhoods vitality as a whole. We feel that our strength is in the synergistic relationships we enjoy as a community and that we are stronger and are all better served collectively rather than separately.
In addition to Fema/SBA Small business owners in areas affected by the hurricane are encouraged to also apply for the NYC Business Solutions Emergency Loan Fun
Details and application found here:
(http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/)
The City of New York and Goldman Sachs are providing $10 million in emergency loans to help New York City businesses damaged by Hurricane Sandy. NYC Business Solutions and the New York Business Development Corporation (NYBDC) will administer the loan program. If you are a small business in need of an emergency loan to recover from business interruption, you can now access loans up to $25,000. Loans are interest-free for the first six months and 1% interest for the following 24 months. Please see our Emergency Loan FAQs and fill out the application today. Applications must be submitted through an NYC Business Solutions Account Manager at one of the centers listed below. For more information, you can also fill out our inquiry form or call 311 and ask for “NYC Business Emergency Loan.”
Congregation Beth Elohim Volunteer Opps: With the advent of some great websites like Recovers.org and VolunteerSignup.com organizations and individuals are creating a vast network to coordinate needs and volunteers ( in this particular disaster as well as others).
Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope
(http://congregationbethelohim.org/content/about-us)
is doing some excellent work on the ground; going to Rockaway, organizing donations for the Armory in Park Slope and more.
(http://congregationbethelohim.org/content/hurrican-sandy-update)
They have an online volunteer sign up that reaches out already through next weekend:
Food Prep, Field work in Rockaway, Supply Sorting…
Sign up here: http://www.volunteersignup.org/FE3BF
http://www.volunteersignup.org/FE3BF
In the weeks since Hurricane Sandy pummeled the East Coast, American Custom Contractors in Northern Virginia and Maryland has been helping homeowners in the Washington D.C. Metro with roof repairs and other storm damage repairs. They stopped by Reclaimed Home to offer tips on what to do after hurricane damage and how to avoid shady contractors.
When Hurricane Sandy barreled through the Mid-Atlantic this week, she left a trail of damage from North Carolina to New England. For homeowners whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Sandy, the long road to recovery is just beginning.
The biggest source of home damage during a hurricane is often roof failure. First, there’s the cost of a roof repair or roof replacement. Falling trees, branches, and debris can punch a hole in a roof. Uplift from hurricane wind can rip the roof from its frame. Wind can also tear shingles from the roof.
After a roof fails, subsequent wind and water damage to the home’s interior – as well as damage to personal property inside the home – can result in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
What to Do If Hurricane Sandy Damaged Your Home
Let’s face it: Repairing storm damage to your home is no picnic. From getting emergency shelter and choosing a repair contractor to dealing with the insurance company and paying the bills, an emergency home repair can be stressful.
If your home has been damaged by Hurricane Sandy, your first call may be to a contractor who will provide emergency repairs so you have adequate shelter. A good contractor will be with you at every step in the home repair.
Here are steps your contractor should take along the way:
• Complete emergency services such as roof tarping, installing a temporary roof, or emergency board-up of your damaged roof.
• Conduct a thorough damage assessment
• Assist you with submitting a claim to your insurance company.
• Provide a full written report detailing the extent of the damage to your home and property and the emergency services provided.
• Work with the insurance claims adjuster assigned to your case to settle the claim.
• Undertake the restoration process to repair or reconstruct significant damages to your home.
Questions to Ask When Choosing a Storm Damage Repair Contractor
Although hurricane damage to your home can be distressing, hiring the wrong contractor because you’re in a hurry or in a state of distress will only hurt you down the road. Take time to choose a reputable contractor who will repair your home correctly, promptly, and without taking advantage of you.
Here are questions you should ask when choosing a contractor:
1. What is the full name and address of the company?
Especially after a hurricane or large storm, fly-by-night contractors will pop up to offer services. Be very wary of a contractor who cannot provide a name and address for the company. Verify that the name and address provided are valid.
2. How much insurance does the company carry?
Avoid any contractor that cannot provide you with Insurance Certificates for Liability and Worker’s Compensation. Call the contractor’s insurance companies to verify coverage. Your homeowner’s policy probably will not cover injuries to the contractor or their employees.
3. Is the company a licensed contractor?
Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC laws require contractors to be licensed in order to perform home improvements. New York, New Jersey and other Mid-Atlantic states have their own contractor license laws. Ask for license numbers and check with home improvement licensing agencies to confirm the license hasn’t been suspended, revoked, or expired.
4. How long has the contractor been in business?
Use extreme caution when considering a contractor who has only been in business for less than five years. A more experienced contractor who has demonstrated a commitment to the profession will be better equipped to repair and restore your home than a contractor with less experience.
5. Does the company offer a workmanship warranty?
Your contractor should offer a reasonable warranty to the quality of their workmanship. Don’t assume a longer warranty is a better warranty. A warranty is only as good as what it covers. A lifetime warranty may be too good to be true, and getting a contractor to honor that warranty may be extremely difficult.
Check out these pictures of Hurricane Sandy damage in Maryland and Virginia on the American Custom Contractors blog.
Another list of volunteer opportunities for this weekend from Bill de Blasio. If you live in a neighborhood that was not hit by the storm, it seems like everything is hunky dory. But it’s not. There are New Yorkers still living without heat and lights. They can’t do laundry, they can’t get food, they can’t get gas to go shopping, even if their cars weren’t destroyed. They rely on volunteers like you!
STATEN ISLAND
Join Councilman James Oddo to help clean-up and distribute supplies to residents.
599 Father Capadono Boulevard
Friday, November 9th, 9am-5pm.
Saturday, November 10th, 9am-5pm.
Sunday, November 11th, 9am-5pm.
Join Rebuild Staten Island for its 3-day “Mega Cleanup”
780 Olympia Boulevard
Friday, November 9 to Sunday, November 11, 9am-7pm: RSVP here
BROOKLYN
Help the Red Hook Initiative deliver hot meals to residents.
767 Hicks Street
Friday, November 9th, 10am-6:30pm: RSVP here
Friends of Firefighters needs volunteers to help do physical labor at individual homes as well as volunteers to help sort and distribute donations.
South Brooklyn
Friday, November 9th, 10am-3pm.
Saturday, November 10th, 10am-3pm.
Sunday, November 11th, 10am-3pm.
Occupy Sandy needs experienced construction workers are needed to help large scale community construction and clean-up projects.
Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew, 520 Clinton Avenue
Saturday, November 10, 7:30-10:30am: RSVP here
Occupy Sandy needs volunteers to prepare and serve meals, sort and distribute donations, and conduct outreach.
St Jacobi Lutheran Church, 5406 4th Avenue
Friday, November 9th, 10am-3pm.
Saturday, November 10th, 10am-3pm.
Sunday, November 11th, 10am-3pm:.
The Jewish Association Serving the Aging needs volunteers are needed in Brighton Beach to check on residents and help walk hot meals to elderly residents on high floors. Russian speaking volunteers would be greatly appreciated.
Brighton Beach
Friday, November 10th, 10am-3pm: RSVP here
The Brooklyn YWCA needs volunteers are needed to bring meals up and down stairs to homebound residents in Gowanus.
420 Baltic Street
Friday, November 9, 3pm – 4pm: RSVP here
The Brooklyn YWCA needs one car needed to transport food from downtown Brooklyn to Gowanus.
30 Third Avenue
Friday, November 9, 2:30pm-3pm: RSVP here
FilmoreCares needs volunteers to sort and deliver supplies, assist with clean-ups, and assess community needs.
2990 Avenue U
Friday, November 9th, 10am-6pm.
Saturday, November 10th, 10am-6pm.
Sunday, November 11th, 10am-6pm.
QUEENS
Councilman James Sanders needs volunteers are needed to help conduct a massive clean-up of Far Rockaway.
1526 Central Avenue, Far Rockaway
Saturday, November 10th, 10am.
Sunday, November 11th, 10am.
MANHATTAN
Holy Apostles needs volunteers to help operate its soup kitchen, which serves over 1,200 meals daily.
296 Ninth Avenue (at 28th Street)
Friday, November 9, 9:30am-1pm: RSVP here
Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) needs volunteers to help sort and load donations.
169 171 Avenue B
Friday, November 9th, 12pm-6pm: RSVP here
Saturday, November 10th, 12pm-6pm: RSVP here
Congregation Ohab Zedek will take a bus of volunteers from uptown to the Rockaways to help with clean-up.
118 West 95th Street
Sunday, November 11, 10am.
RSVP for Manhattan events above.
Volunteers are needed to help restore the Manhattan Youth Community Center in lower Manhattan.
120 Warren Street
RSVP here.
Sunday, November 11, 11:30am-1:30pm: RSVP here
Rockabus is driving people out to Rockaway sign up here:
Go Rockabus! They’re taking volunteers out to Rockaway this weekend.
Occupy Sandy Relief NYC
For those of you headed to Rockaway tomorrow or throughout the weekend, you can also make donations at
ROCKAWAY TACO/VEGGIE ISLAND, here’s a current list of donations needed at 183 96th st near rockaway beach blvd.
DONATION REQUESTS:
Blankets
Flashlights
Headlamps
Batteries
Candles
Matches/Lighters
Handwarmers
Toilet Paper
Paper Towels
Non-perishable food
Baby wipes
Diapers (sizes 4, 5, 6)
Adult diapers
Toiletries (soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion)
Rain/working boots
Medicine (adult and childrens cold medicine, Ibuprofen)
Cleaning supplies including:
Mops
Brooms
Dust pans
Bleach
Household cleaning liquids
Clothing detergent
NO CLOTHING with the exception of:
New underwear
New winter/wool socks
New t-shirts (packaged
Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer,
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio
and Comptroller John C. Liu
Food Drive at the Municipal Building benefiting victims of Hurricane Sandy
All items will be donated to the Food Bank For New York City
The items in the highest demand right now are:
– pouches of tuna, salmon or chicken
– Tuna or chicken salad meal kits (the kind that include crackers, a can of ready-made salad, & a fork)
– Applesauce cups (4-6 ounce)
– Juice boxes of 100% juice
– Crackers
– Breakfast bars/granola bars
– Bottled water
– Canned fruit or fruit cocktail in juice
– 8oz shelf-stable milk boxes
– Single-serve cereal boxes/cups
– Peanut butter
– Diapers
Time:
Monday through Friday
9AM to 6PM
Locations:
Manhattan Borough President’s Office:
19th Floor South Lobby
Comptroller’s Office:
5th Floor, Room 517
Public Advocate’s Office:
15th Floor North
Contact:
(212) 669-8151 or
fooddrive@manhattanbp.org
Tracking the gas supply?
Check this map out before heading out and use mass transportation when you can!
Always with their good works ( I know first hand from working there a few years back – DRG) The Coalition Against Hunger is mobilizing.
Right now ( as in today) they need help distributing 20,000 blankets!
New York City Coalition Against Hunger
https://www.nyccah.org/hurricanesandyvolunteer
We are in need of a lot of volunteers at the Shorefront Y today. We are expecting a truck to arrive around 1:30 filled with a donation of 20,000 blankets. Help is needed to unload the truck, as well as distributing the blankets, along with food & water to homebound seniors throughout the neighborhood.
Please share this status with your friends!
Support Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts!
Volunteer
We’ve been posting all available volunteer opportunities on our Facebook page, so please visit our Facebook page to see how you can volunteer in Sandy relief efforts.
To contact our volunteer staff, please email NYCCAHvolunteer@gmail.com.
Donate
https://www.nyccah.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=25
NYCCAH staff is working to ensure that food is being properly distributed as well as ensuring that systems are in place to provide replacement and disaster SNAP (food stamps) benefits.
Click here to make a tax-deductible donation. Your contribution will support both short-term, direct relief to Hurricane Sandy victims and long-term assistance for low-income New Yorkers.
DRG
This just posted via “Occupy Judaism”
A call for more help….be careful out there!
?”Residents of the Rockaways are dying a slow death. A Nor’easter is now pounding a peninsula ravaged by the worst hurricane this area has ever seen. Pieces of the Rockaway boardwalk sit three blocks away from the beach. The snow is piling up on buildings and homes filled with poor residents who are too scared to leave or do not have the resources to go. The army patrols the streets in Humvees, scaring the hell out of an already shellshocked population. Volunteers are huddled under 20 blankets, trying to get some sleep. The wind is harsher than you can imagine, the cold bitter. There is no heat, water, electricity–no help. This is virtually a tundra on top of a wasteland. PLEASE–I need canvassers tomorrow to check on the elderly and disabled, bring food and water and deliver medication to them. Get out here if you can. Call Nastaran at (914) 557-6408. Meet at Beach 100th and Rockaway Beach Blvd at 11am, St. Camillus Church.”
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