Rock Center
Since Hurricane Sandy destroyed her Staten Island home a week and a half ago, Phyllis Puglia has returned every day to the area where she used to live.
“Everybody understands we’re homeless,” Puglia told NBC News’ Ann Curry. “You know, you’re homeless in the place you love. You’re homeless where your family is… You know, you build memories there. You build a life there and that’s what ripped my heart apart, you know? Because I loved my home that much.”
Puglia is one of the estimated 40,000 newly homeless in New York because of Sandy. She and her husband have lived on Staten Island, just a 25-minute ferry ride from Manhattan, for 25 years.
NBC News
Phyllis Puglia has lived on Staten Island for 25 years. Amid this debris from Hurricane Sandy are all that's left of her home.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Rock Center's list of resources to help Phyllis and other hurricane victims
“It’s hard at 62 years old to say, ‘All right, I got to start over,’” Puglia said. “My cousins keep calling me: “Don’t worry. You can do it, you’ll do it. We’ll help you.’”
Staten Island bore some of the worst of Sandy’s wrath. Of the 121 people Sandy killed, 22 people died on Staten Island, where a storm surge at times 16 feet high crashed 14 blocks inland from the shore. Hundreds of houses were destroyed or made unlivable. Many people remain without heat and power and efforts to restore electricity were slowed even further after Wednesday’s nor’easter dropped snow and high winds on the already beleaguered East Coast.
Damage in New York state from Superstorm Sandy could total $33 billion when all is said and done, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday as the state began cleaning up from the nor'easter.
NBC News
Phyllis Puglia grips her mother's wedding photo. She is still searching for her mom's wedding ring.
Throughout Staten Island's beach area, the storm had blanketed growing piles of debris with several inches of snow. By mid-morning, it was starting to melt, filling the streets with filthy sludge.
NBC News first spotted Puglia last week when she was searching for what was left of her home. Nearly a mile away from where her home had stood, she found her belongings scattered. Among them were family heirlooms such as her mother’s wedding photo, an antique sewing machine and framed pictures that once decorated her two-story home.
“I didn’t think we would come up the block and my house is gone and everything I own and everything I have is not there anymore,” an emotional Puglia told NBC. “All the things I cherished and saved over the years from my kids and my mother and my grandchildren, my mother’s wedding ring, and it’s breaking my heart because it’s all gone. “
With the flood waters receded, Puglia has returned to the site where her belongings are scattered every day, but the journey hasn’t gotten any easier.
“Every time I come here for the first time, I can’t breathe, you know. And I start to cry and then I say, you know, ‘Shut off and just do the job. Do what you got to do,’” Puglia said.
Her job has turned into a treasure hunt. Wearing blue latex gloves and an FDNY sweatshirt, she sifts through the debris field that holds the life she was building. As much as she’s lost, Puglia is sometimes surprised by what she finds: intact plates she got as an engagement present from her mother, a photo of her father and Uncle Angelo. She said that finding those things makes her feel as though she’s getting something back, despite the devastation.
NBC News
Phyllis Puglia, the daughter of a seamstress and sanitation worker, found this antique sewing machine among her belongings scattered by Hurricane Sandy.
“It helps take away that helpless, empty feeling you have, you know?” Puglia said.
Holding on in the face of adversity has always defined Puglia, an Irish- Italian mother of three and the daughter of a sanitation worker and a seamstress.
Puglia’s sister, Gladys, became emotional when asked about her worries for her sister, saying, “I thank God for her every day of my life.”
Puglia is learning to rely on her friends, family and even the kindness of strangers. A group of firefighters arrived unannounced this week to help her clean up. They were from the same station house as her firefighter son.
“She’s a beautiful woman and she’s a mother to all of us. Whatever she needs, we’ll be there for her,” one firefighter said.
As the kindness of the firefighters sunk in, Puglia started to cry.
“With all the darkness, all the tragedy, they make me cry because they’re so generous and so loving and they want to do anything they can for me, no matter what it is, they’ll do it for me,” she said.
Puglia’s family has started a website where people can make donations. The idea, at first, embarrassed her.
“I said, ‘Oh, don’t do that,’” said Puglia of what she initially told her family. “They say… this is offerings to start new.”
Puglia said she dreams that her neighborhood will one day rebuild.
“I say I want to close my eyes and I open my eyes and everything be back the way it was,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Thank you for the update on Phyllis! I have not stopped thinking about her and praying for her since I say her in your first story...She broke my heart...Tonight she has lifted my spirits. God bless you, Phyllis...My prayer is that you find your mom's wedding ring...
I feel so sorry for those people. We have had our share of storms here. So many people have come together for these people but there would have been more if the Unions hadn't told these guys that they had to be Union or they couldn't work !! 6 trucks from Alabama came to help NJ & they got turned away by the Unions !! At least a couple of semis came from Mich, to NY & again the same thing !!!! That was published in the paper in Mich. I don't think anyone would have cared if these people were Union or not !!! All these people want is lights, heat & their life back !!! God Bless You All
I watched Rock Center tonight and was truly thankful that Brian Williams is continuing to focus attention on the area of the northeast that needs so much help. I read a post on Facebook about a crew of volunteers who went to Rockaway from Louisiana today and said the area looked worse than New Orleans after Katrina. FEMA showed up and filmed these people to air on their website. I wonder if they intend to take credit for these volunteers. There is no help going to the Rockaways. And then Brian Williams said Barack Obama won the presidential election because the Republicans do not see that this nation has changed. Yes it is changing and it is because the media does not get outraged when we welcome new people to our soil and then they want to change it instead of assimilating as our parents and grandparents did. They brought something to America, added to it and were proud to be Americans. The election is over. Where is Barack Obama now that it is snowing in New York and New Jersey. He apparently does not need any more coverage. Is this the new American way?
Please before you make comments that are not true, get the facts straight! The crews that came into NJ & NY from other states were NOT turned away. The trucks and crews are still here and have been of great help and we are very thankful for everyone who sent crews to help restore power. Wishing everyone had power back but not yet as of this morning we still have approx. 490,000 still without it.
My husband is General Mgr. of a non-union electric company in Tennessee, and he got to the bottom of this false story with the folks from Alabama. There was confusion while these guys were on their way because of paperwork that was sent by FAX to their manager. They were NEVER told by anybody that they could not work because they were not union. In fact, even the IBEW and the Governor have gone on TV stating that this is a false rumour and that they welcome help from everywhere and anybody in times of emergencies such as Sandy. It was the inability of the Alabama manager to get clarification due to the power being out and the phones being out that caused such difficulty and time for rampant rumours to fly. What a shame that people wish to believe the worst of those whose political positions they oppose!
Are you kidding?? This is shameful! Turning away the help because they aren't part of the union? I am embarrassed and ashamed. I hadn't heard this before and it makes me livid. My son-in-law's family lost everything, EVERYTHING, in Breezy Point. Hard working, salt of the earth, generous to a fault people who lost all of their possessions but not their appreciation for the help and kindness shown to them. I'd like this to be investigated and a report issued. I'm emailing the governor right now. Blessings to all for your courage and strength, you are the true American spirit and we are blessed to know you.
That has been debunked. They were not turned away!
If anyone has to rebuild, I hope they look into ICF, insulated concrete forms, and no I don't work in home building, I've just been looking at building a home. It's a little more expensive, but it makes a home so much safer, google ICF and disaster or tornados, fires, and you can find pictures of the ICF house still standing, while every other house is kindling, or you can find a house with a couple of scratches after a tree fell on it. It's also more soundproof, which in our family is a major plus and cheaper to heat and cool, oh and it goes up very quickly, there are great youtube videos of how quickly it can be built.
Stay strong Phyllis! You broke my heart! Praying for you and your neighbors.
Phyllis was my inspiration to make a donation to the Red Cross; she broke me down and I cried while watching her. I am hoping Phyllis can find peace and a new start to her life. It is so, so sad to see what these people are going through. We were spared this time with no Sandy problems, but lived through Irene's damage last year. Stay strong, Phyllis; you have so many people rooting for you.
I too am from FL and the President is still sending aid to this area!!! I know there is still sour grapes by people who lost in this election and that is sad. We need to come together as a nation and work together to get things done. Not attack and have haterd in our hearts. Let help our neigbhors to the North and work together as a country; not as Democrats and Republicans.
This campaign season demonstrated what a despicable petty little man barack obama is.
where do you get your information from ? the Fox channel evidently. You, poor thing.
Earl,
You are the despicable little petty man....
I drove down to Staten Island the other day. Got off the Verazano bridge and everything is fine. Then you get to the bottom of the hill, and it looks like a tornado hit or something exploded everybody's basements onto their lawns. A real disaster area, with looters and people made a makeshift supply drop off on the street. The city is taking dump trucks and piling everyone's stuff in a big pile in a parking lot.
i work with a group called remote area medical. we were in new orleans after katrina as well as haiti and plan to be in new york the second week of dec with docs, nurses, dentists and eye docs. we are all volunteers and happy to serve and help and will be there. contact jean jolly at remote area medical for questions etc. she is working on helping out of state docs like myself get temp licenses to provide free care. we are working on getting meds etc to those who need it. if others want to partner contact jean at ram headquarters. website is www.ramusa.org
we are also trying to collect clothes, blankets, warm clothing etc for those in need as the weather gets colder. all i can do is spread the word and hope enough people will pitch in at whatever level to help those in need. as we approach thanksgiving we need to remind ourselves of how thankful we all are for what we have and what we can do to help others. it is not a platitude......help is on the way.............rbi
Thank you. It has been so difficult for those with medical issues because of lost paperwork, transportation, lost power and phones.
The workers who cam from other states to help us DID NOT!!!!! get turned away, please before you make statements get your FACTS straight, Thanks
you i am with Carolyn please get the facts straight it is getting people very upset in these areas as are communications have been limited and false rumors can have very negative effects as people still don't have power heat and their homes
thanks
hopefully their homes rebuilt will be hurricane resistant. like they do in florida
I would go inland. Especially if you believe the predictions per global warming.
To read of all the destruction from Sandy and see the pictures is heartwrenching and I certainly wish I could be there to help in any way. Thoughts and prayers to all those who lost loved ones and property. I want to give back and hope to volunteer rebuilding or cleanup efforts because that is the american way, help your neighbors in a time of need.
seems like the potential for more destruction is there. Maybe people should build different types of house....on stilts for sure....that can tolerate storms and storm surges. About 30 feet high maybe ? for starter.
Yes. This lady and her family were fortunately able to live in the surge zone for 25 years before disaster struck. The hurricanes may be infrequent here, but they could occur any year. If they rebuild in the same location, the chance of a repeat flood next year will be the same as this year (higher, with global warming scenarios / sea level rise / weather extremes).
The building codes in sea level areas need to allow for 20-foot surges, with 10-foot waves, at high tide. Building on sand, only 8 feet above sea level, is obviously unwise. Construction on tall pilings has the advantage of a nice parking/garage area under the house - handy in the crowded beach-area lots. You can continue to live in the area you love, evacuate when storms approach, and have a livable structure after the streets are plowed out.
Clearly, to rebuild the same kinds of homes that were destroyed is not a good idea. As the climate continues to change, storms like this one will come again. So there must be a way to protect any structures built in low lying areas. I am not an expert on hurricanes or an engineer, so I don't have anything constructive to suggest, only that it is a problem that must be addressed before rebuilding begins.
Sadly on the opening Google News page, there is only one story (about gas rationing) on this topic....One would think there would be more, at least on the Bloomberg news page. Suppose, out of sight out of mind, is more convenient for most news outlets.
Internet news media is almost instantaneous - but fleeting. Stories do not have much depth, and there is little followup. The cycle from "breaking news" to irrelevant been-there-reported-that becomes shorter and shorter. The compression is like that of the life cycle of personal electronics technology.
I wish I could afford to go to the area ravaged by Sandy and help, or even to send a donation. I remember all the help we got here in Louisiana after Katrina and I wish I could return the favor in my own small way. Unfortunately, all I can do is pray for you. The North Shore community where I live is pretty well recovered now from Katrina, but I am afraid that I myself have not recovered well yet. I'll try to donate to the Red Cross from my next check. Meanwhile, I survived, and you can too!
I hope they have the common sense to rebuild their houses on large, 10 to 12 foot pylons, sunk deep in to the ground, with a stair case, ramp, or elevator leading up to the houses, so their houses will withstand the next surge. Good Luck.
If FEMA is doing it's job, as they have done for DECADES in other areas of the USA...
Many people are NEVER going to be able to rebuild, in their original location...
Others that are making repairs, will have many restrictions and new codes to follow...
In a 100+year flood zone, which this is. NO new construction is allowed and repairs are allowed only on ELEVATED sites. This elevation is determined by the height of the previous floods...
They were also flooded during;
Hurricane Irene - Aug 28, 2011...
Hurricane Hazel - Oct 16, 1954 - Though not near the center, a gust of 182 km/h (113 mph) was recorded in Battery Park, the highest wind speed ever recorded within the municipal boundaries of New York City.
Unless you have money, then you can build anywhere, and do not need insurance coverage...
The NC coastal area buildings are now built to 150+MPH standards, this adds about 30% to the construction cost. When you have 50% or more damage, the entire building must meet the NEW Codes...
This story breaks my heart, i had tears in my eyes as im reading. Im not happy that Obama won but with all the people in need of help, i agree that our concern right at this very moment should be coming together & helping them. All of the countries other problems will still be there tomorrow...
When you see a spider respin her web in a downspout after the rain has washed it away, and you see her do it over and over again, you can admire her tenacity but not her judgement.
Those that were not effected by this storm, should not forget or dismiss the terrible suffering in our own back yard. I pray for these people and will do what I can. These are our "brothers and sisters" in this great country of ours. I will gladly give up, take less, and help more if it helps to alleviate their suffering. I can only pray for their emotional pain and hope in time it dims. May God and these United States of America and it's people help all of you through this.
Stand strong! The storm may have ripped your home apart but not the foundation of who & what you are, all that is still standing, proudly and with steadfast determination. You have an entire country behind you supporting and hoping - you WILL have a better future. Yeah for you. Our thoughts, prayers and hope hug your beautiful being.