STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Thirteen Midland Beach homes belonging to members of Eileen Pepel's family were heavily damaged or completely destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.
While the Pepels are making strides to rebuild their homes that have been deemed "safe," they worry about neighbors' residences that are ridden with mold and appeared to have been abandoned by homeowners.
"There are quite a few homes around here that still have mold in them and haven't been treated," said Ms. Pepel, whose Sioux Street home was flooded with 7 1/2 feet of Sandy waters.
"I had the mold remediated before the city came out with programs. I'd like people to let the city into their homes to do the mold treatment. On a hot day, you can really smell the mold," she added.
Ms. Pepel's neighbor, Dawn Borst, said she'd like to see the city reach out to homeowners "and ask their permission to clean the mold off their homes."
The pervasive mold issue -- rampant in abandoned homes hit hard by Sandy -- was addressed Monday at a press conference held in a Sandy-ravaged New Dorp Beach home by Rep. Michael Grimm.
Citing complaints his office has received about at least 60 mold-ridden homes, Grimm is calling on the city Health Department to declare these residences "health hazards."
"We are calling on the Department of Health to come into homes that have been abandoned, and are obviously a hazard. When you have garbage thrown all over and there are vermin running around, the house's integrity may not be there anymore... it's a public nuisance and hazard," said Grimm.
"We are calling on the Department of Health to declare these hazards so these houses can be taken down or fully remediated (for mold) to make the neighborhood safe," he added.
The city Health Department issued the following statement in response to Grimm's claim: "Mold in an abandoned home does not generally pose a health risk to neighbors."
RESIDENTS TURN TO THE CITY FOR RELIEF
Stacey Sclafani, who lives in a semi-attached home in Midland Beach, said she was able to remediate her home from mold via Yellow Boots, a volunteer group which offered the manpower, but she is unsure if the attached homeowner has done so as well.
"I'm rebuilding; I'm almost done. I don't want to find out after I spent all this money that I have mold anyway, even though I did everything I was supposed to do ... The city Health Department should hold these homeowners responsible for remediating mold," she said.
Peter Spencer, spokesman for the Mayor's Office of Housing Recovery Operations, noted that the city has assisted semi-attached homeowners by having mold removed from "party walls," or the common wall shared by attached homes.
However, many residents expressed health concerns relating to pervasive mold growing both inside and on the outside of abandoned Sandy-ravaged homes.
New Dorp Beach resident Debbie Ingenito said she is immune-compromised and worries greatly about the mold growth on the vacant homes in her neighborhood.
Other homeowners expressed concern over air quality.
Scott McGrath of Beacon of Hope New York, who dealt with a mold issue in a vacant home neighboring his Roma Avenue residence, said "Ten years after 9/11, people were passing away from all kinds of cancer, including my brother, a first responder. I don't want to find out in 10 years that people died from mold exposure."
Several volunteer groups, including Yellow Boots, have been remediating mold from Sandy-damaged homes across the Island. "This is becoming a forgotten issue and it really needs to be addressed," said Mike "Loco" Hoffman, co-founder of Yellow Boots.
Grimm said that the $15 million mold remediation program made possible through the American Red Cross, Robin Hood Foundation and Mayor's Fund partnership doesn't have a provision to remove
The program is being overseen by LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) NYC.
"LISC will do a full comprehensive mold clean up, but they won't do it on the exterior because that requires them to remove the exterior walls," said Spencer.
He noted that the
offers free consultations to any homeowners who have suffered damage from Sandy. However, he said the city's hands are tied when it comes to abandoned homes.
"When you sign up for the program an assessor will come to the house and do everything you need to get back into the house," said Spencer.
"I implore homeowners to apply for our programs and we will try to get the resources to help you. But we need the homeowners to do this. We can't do it without the homeowners," he added.
OTHER REBUILDING ISSUES
The press conference was held in the Topping Street home of Nicole Chati, who says she's been dealing with "red tape" involved with having her home deemed, "not salvageable," so she could knock it down and rebuild.
"My home was yellow tagged, but it's a knock down," she contends. "I want the Department of Buildings to 'red tag' it as it should have been. Engineer's reports, architect reports and flood insurance all deem the home a total loss."
Grimm said, "The Building Department is dragging its feet," when it comes to helping homeowners, like Ms. Chati, obtain permission to rebuild their homes.
Said Tony Sclafani, a Buildings Department spokesman, "In the days and weeks following the storm, the Department of Buildings met with over 700 property owners to counsel them on the demolition of their homes. Following the demolition, the Department is offering free consultations to homeowners looking to rebuild their homes so the homes are built stronger and safer that ever before."
"Anyone who has any concerns about a particular structure -- or feels a home is abandoned and poses some sort of risk -- should call 311 and our inspectors will investigate," he added.
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