14 The Queens Courier • MARCH 28, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com sandy aftermath s Far Rockaway residents say Verizon has left them . . . DISCONNECTED BY MAGGIE HAYES [email protected] It’s been five months since 77-year-old Arquilla Heard has been able to make a phone call. Since Sandy, the Far Rockaway resident — and many of her neighbors in the Ocean Bay Houses — have had no cell phone service from Verizon. Heard has received monthly phone bills since the storm, some reaching nearly $200. Despite not having service, she paid November’s bill, but has since refused to make payments. “Maybe I have my own wires crossed, but to bill people without service seems negligent to me,” said Councilmember Donovan Richards. “For my seniors and my youth who may have had an emergency and no phone to dial out, this is a crime.” “I don’t have the money to keep paying bills,” said Heard. “I need my phone. It’s a necessity.” On Monday, March 25, Richards held a press conference outside the Ocean Bay Houses demanding that Heard and others in her predicament receive a six-month credit for the services they have not received since October, as well as an additional three-month credit for the inconvenience. “It’s a crying shame that Verizon is so insensitive that they would still send bills to people’s mailboxes,” he said. Since the storm, the community has been left without an explanation about service or billing, and although phone booths have been put up, many don’t work, according to residents. Verizon, however, said it has offered customers free wireless devices for their telephone service. They have also restored service to nearly 6,200 Rockaway customers since the storm. They are working closely with the New York City Housing Authority to fully restore all service. “Sandy severely damaged Verizon’s network serving all of Rockaway, including the Ocean Bay Houses. By the end of this month, we will begin restoring service to all those who live in the complex from 54th to 59th Streets on our brand new state-of-the-art fiber optic network. We are now working with the housing authority to gain access to the apartments from 51st to 53rd Street,” said a Verizon spokesperson. Gian Jones lives in Bayswater and was without his Verizon FiOS service for about a month. He too continued to receive bills, but snagged a rebate after repeatedly calling the company. “There might be some technical issues with service lines that we don’t know about,” he said. “But it took continuously calling them and fighting them to see a credit. There’s no reason why Rockaway residents should be paying a bill. At the very least, service should be suspended.” Residents also noted that not only is there a lack of phone service, but Verizon power lines remain hanging from poles to this day. “You can walk into the hanging wires,” said Felicia Johnson, Rockaway resident and Community Board 14 member. “Verizon has really just neglected the community at large.” “If you can send me a bill, why can’t you send me a letter saying, ‘This is where we are, this is what we’re going to do,’” she added. Richards asks that any resident with phone service problems get in touch with his office. “Common decency is needed,” he said. “My residents cannot afford to not have phone service for another day.” THE COURIER/Photo by Maggie Hayes Many Far Rockaway residents have been without Verizon cell phone service since Sandy, but are still receiving monthly bills. Rapid Repairs fixes 5,000 Sandy-damaged Queens homes BY ANTHONY O’REILLY [email protected] Five months after Sandy damaged thousands of residences in New York City, the Rapid Repairs program has completed work on more than 5,000 homes in Queens. The program was started last November in the aftermath of the storm in order to provide heat, power and hot water to those homes affected. “In the four months since it launched, Rapid Repairs has restored essential services to more than 20,000 residences, allowing nearly 54,000 New Yorkers return to their homes where real recovery can begin,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaking at the American Legion post in Broad Channel, which served as a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center following Sandy. “It’s a new model for disaster recovery that we proved can work.” All scheduled repairs are expected to be finished by next week. “The milestone that Rapid Repairs reached in servicing over 20,000 families is significant towards showing that our community is making major progress following the devastation of Sandy,” said Councilmember Donovan Richards. Bloomberg also announced the city’s plans for $1.77 billion in federal aid to assist residents and businesses affected by the storm. The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City is also putting aside $10 million in private donations to assist one and two-family homes in need of repairs. To learn more, go to www.nyc.gov. Mobile Command Center offers on-site help BY TERENCE M. CULLEN [email protected] People still dealing with Sandy-related insurance problems got a little help when the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) came to town. A DFS Mobile Command Center set up shop on Cross Bay Boulevard on Thursday, March 21 to help with insurance needs in the wake of Sandy. About 15 to 20 people were helped between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the site, according to Peter DeLucia, director of special events for State Senator Joseph Addabbo. Many people have had problems with insurance disbursements as they try and rebuild after the storm, DeLucia said. Addabbo and his staff have been in contact with DFS since the storm and were able to get aid to come to Howard Beach. “We’ve been in contact with them constantly since the storm hit,” DeLucia said, adding that it was helpful for residents to work directly with DFS staffers. “There’s only so much we can do.” DFS set up shop the next day in Rockaway with Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder and helped an additional 20-plus people. The Command Center will return to the same Howard Beach spot, at 163-50 Cross Bay Boulevard, on Saturday, March 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
QC03282013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above