WCBS NY: 1010WINS: Howard Beach Residents Seek Advice On Continuing Post-Sandy Woes
Click on the image above to listen to Congressman Jeffries' interview with Gene Michaels on 1010WINS.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Superstorm Sandy struck the Tri-State Area eight months ago Sunday, and residents of Howard Beach, Queens have been suffering all the time since.
As 1010 WINS’ Gene Michaels reported, Father Dooley Hall at St. Helen Roman Catholic Church at 157-10 83rd St. in Queens, was the site of a post-Sandy Town Hall meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and state Assemblyman Philip Goldfeder (D-Queens).
“Insurance issues, FEMA issues, flood insurance – eight months after Sandy, people are still struggling,” Goldfeder said. “We’re just trying to give them a forum where people can have their questions answered.”
Jeffries said most people were concerned about the preliminary flood map.
He said the map “may result in higher insurance premiums, as well as the possibility that some people may be required to elevate their homes.”
A representative of the Federal Emergency Management Administration also attended the meeting, and said people with the concerns Jeffries mentioned should attend a meeting Monday night at P.S. 42 in Arverne, Queens. Representatives of the city Department of Buildings will also attend that meeting, the representative said.
Post-Sandy concerns have been on the minds of many in Howard Beach.One resident, Barbara Granickas, spoke at a NYC Votes town hall meeting hosted by CBS 2, 1010 WINS, WCBS 880 and El Diario/La Prensa last week and said the city has not taken enough action to repair the neighborhood.
“After the storm, we didn’t see the Red Cross or the Mayor’s Office for two weeks after the storm,” Granickas said. “For two weeks, my neighborhood; my neighbors were helping each other – no one else.”
She also claimed the city has failed with upkeep at Frank M. Charles Memorial Park, on the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Granickas said it was “in disrepair before Sandy, and now it’s not even a place you want to go.”
“What are they going to do to help my community – not just, ‘Let’s talk about it, let’s study it,’” she said, “because we’re done studying. We’re tired of talking about it.”