SI Advance – October 30, 2014
by Tracey Porpora
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — FDNY Lt. Chris Kotula narrowly escaped the floodwaters on Oct. 29, 2012 — he and his Labrador retriever swam out the door when the raging torrent came crashing through his Milton Avenue home in New Dorp.
His wife, Carolyn, and then-1-month-old daughter, Caelyn, had evacuated the house, “just in case.”
But their worst fears for the house, which they’d purchased only a year earlier, became reality, and the Kotulas have been living with family for the last two years.
“We lost everything we owned, including all the gifts I received for my baby shower a week before the storm,” said Mrs. Kotula.
This hurricane anniversary brings happier tidings for the family: There’s another baby on the way, and they are moving into their newly rebuilt home, thanks to a volunteer effort completed by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
“It was amazing to me about the amount of volunteers who came to help; some were from across the country … It was really touching,” said Mrs. Kotula.
At a ceremony Wednesday at the Kotulas’ home, Frank Siller, chairman of the Siller Foundation, handed them the keys to their home, which has a new basement, floors, kitchen, walls, exterior siding and more.
To date, the foundation has completely rebuilt 150 homes that were badly damaged during Hurricane Sandy, Siller said.
“We’ve gutted out over 1,800 homes, we did mold remediation in over 1,000 homes, and we have given out over $50 million of money and supplies, with about $12 million worth of donations,” he said.
Since the storm, the Siller Foundation has recruited more than 15,000 volunteers who worked more than “one million man-hours,” said Siller.
REBUILD VS. BUYOUT
Chris Camuso, a single father of two children and a mechanic for the city Sanitation Department, deciding against letting the state buy his Fox Lane home for $269,000. Instead, he chose to rebuild the house he purchased in 2006 for $292,000.
“I have a lot of property. The house is on 62 feet by 82 1/2-feet. Where else would I find this?” he asked.
But once he started repair work, Camuso realized the costs lwould be way beyond what he could afford. That’s when volunteers pitched in to gut and rebuild his nearly destroyed home.
The group effort was completed by Guyon Rescue and Yellow Boots — both part of the Long Term Recovery Organization (LTRO) — with donations and materials from the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (part of UMCOR) and the Siller Foundation.
“This house wouldn’t be finished if we hadn’t all partnered together,” said Samantha Christian, disaster recovery specialist for the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Hundreds of volunteers gutted Camuso’s home, completed mold remediation and did framing, plumbing and electrical work. The coalition put in new flooring, appliances, and a new kitchen and bath, among other renovations.
Like the Kotulas, Camuso celebrated a homecoming Wednesday at his Fox Beach home.
“This has been stressful. I was living in a shoebox apartment. I am so thankful to be home,” he said.
MORE WORK TO BE DONE
According to Mike Hoffman of Yellow Boots, the not-for-profit organization formed after Hurricane Sandy, the group has gutted, renovated and completed mold remediation on more than 2,000 homes.
“Every time we think the work is slowing down, we see people need more help,” said Hoffman.
Guyon Rescue, which often works with Yellow Boots, has made improvements to more than 1,500 homes destroyed by Sandy. “There are 2,000 families that we know of who are still displaced. Once they get back home, the next phase will be helping people elevate their homes,” said Derek Tabacco, co-founder of Guyon Rescue.
“I don’t think Staten Island will be back to the way it was before the storm for at least another four years,” he added.
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