22 The Queens Courier • October 24, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com sandy retrospective Cross Bay businesses are BUZZING BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] After opening her two-floor hair salon and spa on Cross Bay Boulevard in July last year, Kimberly Langona was devastated when months later, it was partially destroyed. Superstorm Sandy wiped out the entire first floor of Explosion Hair Styling, destroying equipment including hair dryers, electrical wiring, furniture and computers. “Everything was lost,” said Langona, who rebuilt the entire salon and replaced all the equipment, which cost an estimated $150,000. “I couldn’t even tell you how hard it was to turn people away.” Full power was not restored to the building until December of last year, but Langona kept the salon and spa partially open by utilizing generators on the second floor, which is called Serenity Day Spa. Now, a year later, business is buzzing at full capacity in the salon, much like other businesses on Cross Bay Boulevard. The Howard Beach commercial strip was under water after Sandy struck on October 29, and many businesses were forced to close. Some never reopened and others endured months of rebuilding before making a comeback. “It was a mess,” said Joe De Candia, owner of Lenny’s Clam Bar. “You couldn’t fathom that much water.” About four feet of water rushed into the restaurant, a 40-year staple in the community which is famous for serving numerous celebrities. The force of the flooding tossed tables and chairs outside the eatery and the garbage compactor was moved four blocks away. All the electrical equipment and wiring on the first floor was destroyed and the walls were soaked with water. The restaurant lost power for about three weeks, but De Candia said they immediately started making repairs, which were paid for out-of-pocket. After the power returned it took another two weeks before they had a partial reopening. “We were limping but we were able to reopen,” De Candia said. But because of Sandy, Lenny’s was able to come back bigger and better. The gym next door, Better before Photo courtesy Kimberly Langona Bodies Fitness for Women, wasn’t able to rebuild so De Candia bought the property and expanded the restaurant and added a party room. He also shifted the bar to make it bigger. Lenny’s wasn’t the only business that improved following the storm. Scott Baron & Associates PC completely rebuilt the first floor, making it more functional and adding state of-the-art-technology. The law office, which has been known as a community champion for nearly 20 years, finally held its grand reopening in June. Before the Howard Beach office reopened though, Scott Baron, the owner, said they moved operations to their office in Yonkers. Baron is happy that the commercial strip is back again and said it’s a testament to the community sticking together. “I saw a lot of store owners helping store owners and neighbors helping neighbors, because everyone was in the same boat,” Baron said. “The community really came together.” after THE COURIER/ Photo by Liam La Guerre THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan Arthur Lighthall, general manager of the Breezy Point Cooperative. CO-OPS, CONDOS STILL IN THE LURCH BY MELISSA CHAN [email protected] A proposed federal law that would bring disaster aid to co-op and condo communities has not come any closer to being passed nearly one year after Sandy. “It just doesn’t make sense,” said Warren Schreiber, president of the Bay Terrace Community Alliance. “It’s just prolonging the financial hardship on co-ops. Right now, we’re stuck footing the bill for cleanup and repair from the storm, and I don’t think this will be the last storm.” Schreiber said his northeast Queens co-op expects to shell out up to $60,000 in repairs not covered by insurance. More than $250,000 in infrastructure damage was sustained nearby in the Glen Oaks Village co-op, according to its president, Bob Friedrich. The bill exceeds $1 million for some Rockaway co-ops in the most hard-hit areas of Queens. The Breezy Point Cooperative, which saw about 350 homes in the beach community decimated by fire and flood, has spent $1.5 million out of the co-op’s reserves and contingency funds to get back on its feet, according to Arthur Lighthall, the co-op’s general manager. “We had to do a good amount of repair and restoration to get things back in order,” including getting the water supply back and fixing sidewalks, Lighthall said. “The bottom line is it’s us, the shareholders, who have to pay for it.” The pricey repair costs fall on the shoulders of co-op and condo communities due to a glitch in the law keeping them from getting FEMA storm recovery grants, local leaders said. The Stafford Act, which governs how FEMA responds to major disasters, does not include the word “co-op,” according to Congressmember Steve Israel. However, there is no statute that bans co-op owners from being eligible for grants, a privilege given to homeowners. Co-op and condos are also categorized as “business associations,” which makes them eligible for federal loans but not grants. It also means they cannot get funds to fix shared spaces like lobbies and roofs. Israel introduced legislation this August that would better define co-ops in the Stafford Act, allow co-op and condo owners to apply for FEMA grants, and call for a new cap on FEMA’s Individual and Households Program. The bipartisan bill has at least 14 cosponsors so far but currently sits in a subcommittee on the House’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, according to Israel’s office. An aide to the congressmember said any movement of the bill was delayed by the partial government shutdown, which lasted 16 days in October. “It’s been a year since Superstorm Sandy hit, and it’s time for co-op and condo associations to get the help they deserve,” Israel said. “Although I’ll continue to fight my hardest, it’s frustrating that this bill hasn’t been passed so these homeowners can receive the vital assistance they deserve.” The City Council unanimously passed a resolution, which is only a formal position statement, last month calling for Congress to enact the law. “It really shouldn’t be that difficult,” Schreiber said. “I just find it so disappointing that we have a Congress that can’t even get together on changing one line of text that will benefit constituents on the East Coast, West Coast and middle of the country.” Explosions Hair Styling was completely reconstructed after receiving massive damage from Sandy.
QC10242013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above