Five years past Sandy, still no FEMA help for Breezy Point victim

Jan. 31--Hurricane Sandy was just the first disaster to wallop Maura Buckley and her beloved Breezy Point bungalow.

The second-generation homeowner recalls filing her first application for rebuilding assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency within two days of the Oct. 29, 2012, storm.

Across the next five-plus years, Buckley found herself trapped in a relentless rigmarole of red tape, bad luck, shady dealings and endless disappointment.

The latest setback: A planned demolition and rebuild ended Jan. 17 with what remains of the house still standing -- and Buckley once again wondering what the future holds.

"So here I am in limbo, not knowing what will happen with the home, when we will get back," she said. "Honestly, I am completely drained."

The current delay comes courtesy of a 36-inch discrepancy, with the Breezy Point Cooperative rejecting her new house layout because the specs call for a 58-foot length rather than the maximum of 55 feet.

"I'm in tears," said Buckley, 39, who shares the home with her 10-year-old son, Eamonn, 10. "This is a disaster. I (did) not want this size house ... I am now backed into a corner and scared."

As a kid, Buckley frolicked on the Queens beach in the heavily Irish enclave and slept in the salt air on the deck of the home her parents previously owned.

As an adult, she bought the place from her mom and dad 14 years ago, introducing her son to the house on the corner of Neptune Walk.

"The two of us made great memories there," she told the Daily News.

When Sandy tore into Breezy Point with a terrifying combination of roiling water and raging fire, Buckley and her son were staying with her sister on Long Island.

She recalled her heart-breaking post-Sandy return to the property, where the damage was almost impossible to comprehend.

"It was a disaster," she said. "We had to push our way into the house because the deck had been pushed up and pieces had been broken off. The awning that was over the deck was broken."

Almost nothing inside -- furniture, appliances, dinnerware -- survived intact.

The FEMA application was followed by divine intervention when Buckley met the Rev. Walter Sotelo of Inwood Church. The holy man and his parishioners were helping Breezy Pointers rebuild.

The only hitch: They needed the homeowners' insurance money up front. Buckley surrendered $75,000, plus another $15,000 from her parents and $5,000 raised by family and friends.

She now estimates the church group did about $15,000 worth of work on the house while keeping the remaining $80,000. But it was enough for mother and son to return at the end of November 2013.

Their high hopes soon came crashing down like waves on the Breezy Point sands.

Within months, the church said it was out of volunteers and could not complete the work. Even worse, Buckley became aware that she was out the rest of her rebuilding stake.

Habitat for Humanity stepped in to do some of the rehab, and Buckley was accepted into the city's Build it Back program in early 2014. She hoped the dark cloud over the shore house was starting to lift.

It lingered instead. Her father, who bought the place back when Maureen was 5, died in May 2014.

Over the next three years, a pair of contractors flip-flopped on the right way to go forward -- demolish or repair?

The answer, delivered by the BIB's second contractor, was finally made to demolish the old home and replace it with a new, modular unit.

The aging roof was removed and the siding taken down. The walls and the attic disappeared. One day before the demolition, the discrepancy in length was cited and halted the rebuilding. An appeal is planned, but the future of her property remains unsettled three months into year six after Sandy.

"Scary and upsetting," Buckley said of the future. "I am not looking for a mansion of any sort. My main focus is to get home to a comfortable home."

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