Six Months After Sandy, Massapequa Family Waits to Come Home

It’s been six months since Superstorm Sandy struck Long Island, and while it’s a distant unwelcome memory for many, it’s an everyday reality for Amy Seroka of Massapequa.

“Often times I feel like I’m yesterday’s news, because it’s been six months,” said Seroka, who is temporarily living in a home in Amityville. “So much has happened in the world since then.”

While the rest of the world has turned to talking about tragedies in places like Newton, Conn., Boston and West Texas, as well as witnessed the election of a president and a pope, Seroka, 52, her husband and two adult daughters are waiting to move back into their Nassau Shores home.

She’s lived a nomadic life since the storm struck in October, deciding to ride it out after they made it through Hurricane Irene a year earlier. Amy and her husband Wayne were also concerned because her daughters had work and school obligations.“If my kids weren’t home, I never would’ve stayed,” she said.

But they prepared for the storm by moving important papers upstairs when Sandy struck with a vengeance.

“We started to know it was going to be really bad when we saw the tide rising and the water in the street, she said.

They went into what Seroka called, “a kind of panic,” and immediately tried to bring more belongings upstairs.

“And then all hell broke loose,” Seroka said. “We went upstairs, we lost power and we heard all this crashing and water rushing.”

Then she saw that Sandy was not going to be a run of the mill storm.

“We were standing on my stairway looking down, and I see my dining room table float by,” Seroka said. “Everything was just floating,” Seroka said. Then she looked out the window and saw nearby homes on fire.

“I can say with certainty, it was the worst night of my life, because we didn’t know what was going to happen, if we had to get out, if we could get out.”

The next morning they made their escape, after discovering their home was totally devastated.

“There was dirt and debris all over the floor,” she said. “All of the furniture had been moved by the water. It was like a raging river in there.”

Not knowing where to go, the family went to the Massapequa home of Seroka’s sister which was also without power and began the slow process of rebuilding.
“We put in a claim with FEMA and started the cleanup.” she said. Seroka doesn’t know how much the final cost will be or what their insurance settlement will be. For now, they’re getting advances from FEMA.

Seroka said she hired a local contractor, IENNA Construction to fix up the home.

“He’s been fabulous,” she said. “He came right over when we called, and of course I was hysterical crying, and he felt terrible. He’s a local Massapequa guy, so he get’s it.”

In the meantime, she moved from her sister to a hotel a week after the storm and had electricity and hot water for the first time.

“From there we moved to my mother’s,” Seroka said. “She has a two bedroom condo in Massapequa so we stayed in the guest room and got an air mattress for the living room.”

The family left those cramped conditions in January, when they moved into the Amityville home, which is owned by a friend.

It’s clean and comfortable, but sparsely furnished.

“It’s very difficult because I don’t have my things,” Seroka said. “It’s one thing when I was at my mom‘s house because she  had things.  I come here and there’s no silverware and no pots and no pans. I don’t even know what we have because I was in shock packing.”

One of the toughest parts of the ordeal has been the lack of empathy people have had for the situation.

“People say, ‘You’re going to get a new kitchen and a brand new bathroom,’ and I say, ‘I liked what I had,’ “ Seroka said.

Conversations have also become more difficult.

“People will ask you, ‘How come you’re not in [the remodeled home] yet?’" Seroka said. "It’s like, do you think I want to be here? This isn’t my choice at all.”

The family expects to return home on or around June 15. But even then, there will be more work to be done and things to replace.

“I can say today that the worst is over, because there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but once I’m in, it’s not over," Seroka said. “It’s going to be a long road.”