"Now I can move on." Said as a demolition crew picked up what was left of his home. One year after Hurricane Sandy Staten Island waterfront neighborhood know as Ocean Breeze, residents begin to pick up their lives and put them back together- with the help of an angel. CNN's Evelio Contreras first met Carol Mittelsdorf shortly after the storm and chronicles her story. CNN interviewed many different stories of how they survived.
One woman, Diane EFfler, has lived in Ocean Breeze all her life. They took bungalos and made them as homes to survive. She says "I don't have any relatives left here anymore. I'm going to take the buyout. I'm 70 years old. I have two houses still standing and the one house, which is totally gone. I'm starting over again. It's like the storm wiped out my entire previous history and it's like being reborn." They are unknown on the timing of rebuilding the area. Not many people live their now, a woman rented a place next to her destroyed home, one man lives in a trailer. Other families live in taller, rebuilt homes. The rest of the buildings have either been demolished or are completely empty. Most families are trying to do the most for their communities by helping out neighbors, friends, and families. They say that building the home is easy compared to losing all the amazing memories that were destroyed. People are saying that they won't rebuild in a different location but that they will stay and show that they aren't leaving until someone begins to care and help. Many families feel as though no one is caring enough. Jean Laurie says "We need attention. We need to get everybody around here to see what's really going on. This is true life. This is real stuff that's going on. They have to walk a mile in our shoes. They're not." The residents are feeling ignored, unappreciated, and forgotten. In this situation people just need someone to be there for them and help them through their time of loss.
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