elevating their homes and at least one bungalow had been lifted onto a temporary foundation. A new CMU wall was being constructed at ground level, which the bungalow would be lowered onto.
BUNGALOWS Given its history as a summer vacation spot, much of New Dorp Beach’s building inventory consists single storey bungalows. Many of these structures rested on raised CMU foundations and were shifted off of their foundation during Sandy. In some cases, these bungalows crashed into adjacent homes and exacerbated the damage to their neighbors. In other cases, the homes remained on their foundation, but either the foundation was damaged or the home itself sustained extensive damage, such as penetrations to exterior walls and significant roof damage. As a result of these various scenarios, many of the bungalows in the community will need to be demolished. Many of the damaged bungalows that were not severely structurally damaged were being gutted to their studs at the time of survey and those with broken windows were boarded up or being replaced. Others had basements which, due to windows and vents at the exterior just above grade and external stairwells to the lower level, were flooded. In some cases, trees had fallen on homes. In others, exterior fencing was damaged.
ATTACHED SINGLE FAMILY HOMES
This process involved digging down to the submerged lines every 20 feet and inspecting for possible gas line problems.
MOLD Although many interiors had been gutted and dried out, the smell of mold still permeated the neighborhood at the time the field team surveyed the community in December 2012.
LOCAL BUSINESSES One person the field team interviewed leased his building for mixed use, with commercial space on the first floor and residences upstairs. He was concerned about his tenants returning and did not expect to collect rent until January at the earliest. As a landlord, he also wasn’t eligible for FEMA assistance but was instead told to apply for small business loans.
PETS One resident noted that he had a pet boa constrictor and various other snakes that had disappeared during the storm. He had not located them at the time of survey.
Attached single-family homes were also prevalent in the neighborhood, with 2-3 blocks being comprised primarily of this housing type. Most of these residences occupied three storeys, with the first floor being used as a garage. In these buildings, the garage had to be gutted, but the other living spaces were left unharmed.
DETACHED SINGLE FAMILY HOMES The field team observed several detached single-family homes in the neighborhood that were impacted in similar ways to the attached single family homes.
BUILDING SERVICES At the time of the survey, many homes in the neighborhood had been scheduled for gas and electrical inspection. Con Edison workers were reconnecting residential branch lines to the new primary gas line so that homes could have access to gas service.
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY NEW YORK
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