We returned from our February trip to Staten Island last night, completing another successful trip. We were able to make good progress on 3 different houses, all with similar scope.
Day 1- Millbank Road & Colony Ave.
Once meeting up at the church, unloading our gear, and receiving our assignment, we headed out to Millbank Road in the New Dorp neighborhood. From the outside, the house looks just like every other damaged property in the area. However, on the inside we were pleasantly surprised to see alot of progress. The owners wisely had taken full advantage of the 'opportunity' put upon them by Sandy. All of the interior framing had been removed and upgraded with a new, more efficient layout (already framed). The owner was very prepared, supplying us with everything we needed, from tools to food and water and even scrap wood with the dimensions written on them! Our tasks were to lay plywood on the floor in the attic for storage and remove the flooring and framing in the side vestibule. We split into 2 groups and were able to finish before the end of the the day and headed to a second address on Colony Ave. The task at this site was to remove the flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. The end of the work day came quickly after just getting started so we planned on being back there at some point over the next 2 days. Back to the church for shower, dinner and sleep.
Day 2 - Colony Ave.
No surprises awaited us this morning since we had been there the day before. We came equipped with a rotary hammer, which makes tile removal alot easier and even a little less messy. This house had the worst concentration of mold I had yet seen, which was hardly shocking but nonetheless a little unsettling. The house is 110 years old and had 5 or 6 layers of flooring in the kitchen. We finished everything that we were scheduled to complete by the end of the day. church- shower- dinner - sleep.
Day 3 - Roma Ave.
This location was back near the New Dorp neighborhood. It seemed not a whole lot of worked had been done to this house since the storm. We were scheduled to take up the tile foor (along with 3 inches of concrete) and the subfloor. The challenge here was all the stuff left on top of the floors that we had to remove and we had no electricity for the rotary hammer. But we had numbers- a total of seven team members were on site for this day. We started on the floor after lunch. Besides being hard work it was tough to see this floor come up because it had been installed just 2 weeks before Sandy hit.
Kind of heartbreaking , but the homeowner was happy to have a floor considering 38 of the 40 houses between his house and the ocean had been completely destroyed by the storm. We departed for home from the site at the end of the day.
When we leave a site it's always intriguing what will happen with the house and how much will get done by the next time we see it. But it's always nice to leave a site content with the work you have completed.
Even though it is now 4 months after the storm, the damage is still 'fresh' in many areas. What is most uplifting is the amazingly determined and positive attitudes and spirits of Sandy's victims.
Please visit the Sing One Song website for more info:
www.singonesong.org
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