Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Living in Damaged Homes is the New Normal for Some Sandy Victims. Living like this is now the norm thanks to BANK OF AMERICA and TOWER GROUP INSURANCE!!

Living in Damaged Homes is the New Normal for Some Sandy Victims


Nicholas Rizzi

By Nicholas Rizzi on October 29, 2013 6:58am | Updated 2 hrs ago


<p>Ken Ebel, 63, has been living in a Hurricane Sandy damaged bungalow with no heat, running water, or insulation for months since the storm while he rebuilds his home.</p>
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Ken Ebel

Ken Ebel, 63, has been living in a Hurricane Sandy damaged bungalow with no heat, running water, or insulation for months since the storm while he rebuilds his home.
PHOTO CREDIT: DNAinfo/Nicholas Rizzi
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<p>Ken Ebel, 63, has been living in a Hurricane Sandy damaged bungalow with no heat, running water, or insulation for months since the storm while he rebuilds his home.</p>
<p>Ebel recently finished renovating the back bungalow for his brother, who was going to move in from California, when Sandy destroyed it. Ebel, like some other Sandy victims, sleep in unfinished homes so they can be closer to make the rebuilding process go quicker.</p>
<p>"I needed everything makeshift at this stage," Ebel said about his home. He put plywood boards around the home for a floor, covered the windows with plastic, and built some furniture so he could move out of the boarding house he was staying in after the storm.</p>
<p>Ebel owns two bungalows on Kiswick Avenue, which were both destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. He spend nearly 10 hours a day working on the front one, where he lived before the storm.</p>
<p>Ebel was working on a farm in Pennsylvania when Sandy destroyed both of his homes. It took him nearly three weeks to get back to Staten Island, and he had to stay at shelters and boarding houses until he made a makeshift home in one of his bungalows while he rebuilds.</p>
<p>Ebel said he quickly set up a toilet bowl and shower in the bungalow when he moved in, but doesn't have running water. To shower, he has to take hot water in buckets from his main home and bring it in.</p>
<p>Ebel uses electricity from his main home fed into his bungalow with an extension cord to power his appliances and a hot plate to cook. Because most of his money goes towards rebuilding his home, he said he can't afford to have electricity in both bungalows.</p>
<p>Ken Ebel has a makeshift sink set up in his main home, and has to walk outdoors between the two when he wants to wash dishes. He's been filling up several glass jugs to keep water where he lives.</p>
<p>A year after Sandy, Ebel, a contractor, is still several months away from completing his home, but said he was further along than other residents because he has experience building homes.</p>
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