Frankenstorm recovery

coming from here
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1286297

Who picks up all the reined material, or how is it done? It looks like it will take a multitude of trucks just to do one block.

Thanks Jen.
That's a sobering sight.
Good for you guys Jan!

Cannot imagine that much refuse!

That's a sad sight for sure.
Jan your definitly one of the *good guys* for sure!

Depends on the town, if they have the ability the township just comes and picks it up, otherwise you have to call for a pick up with a private company(but for the most part heavy trash pick up is included in taxes)
hubby worked up in our old town yesterday changing out equipment on 3 houses, this area was just so devastated. The area is post WWII housing mostly small cape cods. They had a roof top rescue at a house, the people were floating on a pool raft holding onto the gutter at the roof line of their house
They said it was a total of 3 hours of water, 1 hour where the water just poured into the neighborhood, it stayed for an hour, then took an hour for it to recede
The OEM coordinator had a nervous breakdown after 1 day, he told 1 guy I'm going home, make sure no one calls me...geez!

ROTFL
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-chris-christie/1424400/

That was funny! Our son told us about it. He does wear that fleece a lot.

Very funny!!

Not a fan of his schtick and, obviously, the launch of his '16 campaign, while so many in NJ are still suffering. He has fallen big time in my view.

that was pretty good.

It's a good fleece

Funny!

Ha ha ha!!!

His sense of timing was amazing, I guess being a politician is the same as being in show biz.

My homeless, car-less cousin is not laughing.

The firemen from Peabody MA gathered supplies & took a truck ful to the remaining undamaged fire station in Queens. Many of those fighting fires last their own houses. They were greatful & it turns out the station had sent a representative to the funeral of a fireman in Peabody. So they knew from whence the truck had appeared.

Victor is that the cousin from Brick? Does he(she?) know about the housing lottery?

I'm not laughing either Victor, having lived through Hugo when FEMA was new and (even more) stupid and the insurance companies were completely blindsided, and with family that lived through Andrew when FEMA was still defining its role, the response to this storm, slow as it seems, has been better than I expected it would be. My in-laws on the Jersey shore are still housing displaced families and they say that may go on for quite a while. It amazes me that NYC, where there are still major power outages, is back in business. The resiliency of the folks in the NY/NJ area is truly admirable.

I live on a marshy island, my house is at an elevation of 14 1/2' so there but for the grace.....it could have been me without a home.

Victor - there is a Saturn station wagon for sale in my neighborhood. The sign says $2,000 but it has been sitting in their driveway for a while now. Do you want me to check into it for your cousin as I know used cars are going to be hard to find right now.

So true, Ardesia...the pine that tore down my wires, & the maple that split last year could have gone through my roof instead of away from it.....in the last 2 years the storms have been super scary......

Thanks, Mem, but I don't think she is even thinking about a car right now. Her sister was on FB yesterday and pleaded with the family again for monetary donations. We have a huge family - about 35 first cousins, plus all our kids. So far, only my sister and I have donated.

I really feel for everyone going through that mess up there. My brother and SIL lived through IKE in Galveston. Lost their rented home and did not have renters insurance so there was no help for them. They owed a fortune on everything since they had lost a lot several years before in the FL Keys to hurricane Wilma! FEMA was of no use to them because they were the 'working poor' ... if they were not already on welfare and were not home 'owners' there just was not much help out there for them. They tried to wade through the FEMA nightmare.. repeatedly.. it was a quagmire of red tape. My brother was even charged $150 just to get a tetanus shot before going back onto the island to dig through the remains of their home to salvage what they could of their clothes and dishes. I called that true highway robery! Their really teeny tiny sail boat managed to survive with exterior damage (he found it in the center of a lot of partially submerged boats!)... not able to sail it anywhere but he was able to tie up to the torn up dock and they lived on it for 2 1/2 years with no running water and ran a line from an electric pole. They were dirt poor the entire time trying to pay off the costs of the previous hurricane... dish network or whatever one it was even tried to charge them for the loss of the little satellite dish that was on their house! Can you imagine? They just could not afford to start over again. They had managed to pack up a small trailer of his tools and a TV and a few other things before they left... were packing and planning on leaving 18 hours before the storm was to arrive but water started rising waaay early and they had to 'run for their lives' before they could finish. Hurricane Wilma the ONLY outside help they recieved was a meal and bag of ice from the Natioinal Guard on day 3.. they were cut off from civilization for a week... my parents helped them with down payment to replace one of their cars... Hurricane Ike... My parents gave them money from grandfathers will to help pay off some bills and I raised $300 from selling rhinestones to buy a little icemaker for the boat so they did not have to buy ice every day. They filled water bottles from a garden hose at the marina daily. It is amazing what people will and can do to survive.....

After going through all the ups and downs with them... I understand a lot about what so many are up against in the future.... it is going to be a long hard road for everyone and the stress is going to wear everyone down. A lot of people have not yet fully experienced the shock of the loss... it will hit them at the most unexpected times... be prepared. They will need their friends and family more then than they do now. That emotional collapse is unexpected because you thought they were through the worst of it.

I wish I could give everyone a warm hug!

There IS light at the end of the tunnel... they are doing well now... living back in FL and happy... have rebuilt their lives.... it took time and the support of friends and family. One step at a time.... patience.... with everything and everyone.

This message was edited Nov 20, 2012 1:06 PM

The fact that the family isn't helping is ridiculous, you're supposed take care of your family

There are so many awful stories out there.....one of the Hartford Courant's reporters went to Sheepshead Bay to help & wrote about it today......elderly folks living on the 12th floor, with no power, food, meds.....just what volunteers managed to bring up 12 floors without lights......

can't they get some $$ from insurance?

No - owner did not have flood ins. Homeowners covers nothing.

Victor, can we set up something? We may not have alot but DG folks ARE THE BEST!! Do you have a paypal account? We could send what ever we can afford but every little bit helps. :)

Thank you so much for the offer Celeste, but I expect more of the family to come through. That is so nice and I know you guys are always ready to help. That's why I am still here! Love you guys.

^_^ Let me know if you change your mind ;)

I will - thanks!

Paypal, Yes I Do

yes Victor set up a paypal for her.. I will send something

Thank you. I will let you know.

Please do Victor every little bit helps.

Good idea!

I agree.

Me too, Victor - I wanted to ask about helping, but didn't know if it would be OK. (Thank you , Celeste!) Let us all send a little - we are lucky to have enough to share and we need to celebrate that.

I have no PayPal acct., but if you give me an address, I'll send something.....

Ardesia, I have a friend and her son who recently went on a road trip from Florida up to Buffalo and back. They stopped at the Jersey Shore, Atlantic City and NYC. Yes, very resilient there, as she had a great time, and her trip seemed to not be affected by after affects from Sandy. At least, going by the pics she posted and comments she made on FB, she didn't mention anything about any inconveniences, unless she was just trying to keep all the negative stuff out.

LhasaLover, I'm surprised FEMA couldn't help out your brother and SIL. Maybe things have change, I don't know, but almost 2 years ago, when we had a very wet spring here and lots of flooding in certain areas, we got help from FEMA for our flood damaged basement. My sister and I both work, and Dad (who was not in the nursing home then) was receiving Social Security (although Dad is the homeowner, so maybe that's why). We were certainly not on welfare. We don't even qualify for heating assistance, as they have to take into consideration everyone's income in the household. What an ordeal they had to go through. Sounds like a real nightmare. I'm so thankful for what I have when I hear stories like that. I'm glad to hear that they were finally able to rebuild their lives. Goes to show how easily things can change for anyone.

I will help, too, Victor, if you decide that's what you want to do. I can't afford much, as Christmas is coming, and there's not a lot to go around, but I'll do what I can.

Karen