Life after Superstorm Sandy includes a health hazard that is sometimes pesky, sometimes serious and continues to keep many out of their homes.
Now some are saying the city should be doing more to help get rid of it.
City Hall is being accused of not doing enough.
A new survey by the New York Communities for Change said 65 percent of Rockaway residents still have mold or paid for its removal and that “..mold has been growing in thousands of households.”
The problem is so prevalent the survey said more than a third of the homes in the Rockaways have mold.
On Wednesday, that organization and the city’s public advocate, Bill de Blasio, criticized what they called the administration’s inaction.
But the city said “While mold in homes can exacerbate asthma, it can be successfully managed by homeowners and contractors.”
The survey also found that many who did pay to have mold removed now cannot afford to begin rebuilding their homes.
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One Response
I live in the Far Rockaway area and my home was badly damaged by the storm. I can tell you from experience that a big part of the problem is that people are being taken advantage of.
We too had a mold issue. We had to hire 3 separate companies to remediate the mold. The first two were owned and operated by Yidden. I paid them nearly $10,000 combined and they didnt do the job! They both told me that they would come back as needed to treat the mold as we progressed with demolishing the first floor of the house (certain areas- such as the beams under the floors and inside the walls- aren’t accesible until demolition is performed). They both used a ligitimate chemical to kill the mold the first time they came to my house. However, on subsequent visits as more beams were exposed neither of them used real chemicals! The first guy used bleach!! I’m not sure the second guy used anything (he sent 2 young kids to the house and when I came back to lock up the house about 30 minutes after they were supposed to have been done spraying I didnt smell ANY chemicals!!!) When I asked him about this, the 2nd guy promised to come to the house to take a look for himslef, not surprisingly, he never did!
In addition to not doing what they were paid to do, neither of them told me about fumigating the house (spraying alone-which is what most people focus on- is NOT ENOUGH), negative air machines, or painting the beams with a special “primer” that kills mold and prevents reinfestation.
So then I needed to hire a 3rd company! One of the local Yeshivas was recommending a particular company which was owned by a shomer Shabbos Yid. I called him for an estimate. He wanted $7,500 to respray my house (no fumigation, just spraying with a “wand”) and to paint with that special “primer”. I got an additional estimate from someone outside the community (also licensed, insured and highly recommended), this “outsider” sprayed, fumigated, painted, used a negative air machine and installed a de-humidifier in my crawl space for $5,300 (labor and materials)!!!! Clearly, he doesnt have to pay for yeshiva tuition, kosher food, sheitles, shul membership, etc…. and, therefore, doesn’t have to rip anyone off!!!
People need to speak honestly about what’s going on. It’s a very sad situation. I know a retired couple that paid $19,000.00 to have a boiler and hot water heater changed!! It’s a rachmanus. Where is the leadership?????