Homeless One Year After Sandy

David Weiss remembered the first time his wife, Rona, went back to their home on Len Drive after Hurricane Sandy hit. 

"It was the day before our 36th wedding anniversary," he said. "She went downstairs and saw her wedding dress and our wedding album floating past her." 

One year later, the Weisses are without the home that they lived in for 32 years, the home that they raised their three sons in, the home that stored years of memories. 

The house, a ranch style dwelling with parts of it built below grade, received extensive flood damage. The foundation of the home was destroyed and it was later deemed uninhabitable by the Town of Hempstead and demolished.

"We started rebuilding it about two weeks ago,'" Weiss said.

But Weiss does not know how long it will take since has received minimal money from his flood insurance company. He filed a claim which was denied.

"I am suing them," he said. "They will not negotiate and they will not settle."

On a recent day, Weiss, an attorney with a practice on Bedford Avenue, recalled the days before the storm. 

He said that he and his wife evacuated their house and went to stay with their son in Valley Stream.

"We decided it was better to be safe than sorry," he said. "I lived through Gloria and other storms, but this storm was different from any other that I have ever seen." 

The day after Sandy hit, Weiss returned to his house to find the bottom floor under three feet of water. 

"The house has always been high enough that we never had flooding, he said. "We were safe until that storm." 

The Weisses lost couches, televisions, computers and sentimental items. 

"It was a complete nightmare and we had no where to go," he said. 

The couple stayed in Weiss' office for about a week and slept on an air mattress.

"Some parts of the building had electricity so people would come in and charge their phones," he said. "And we told people where to file their claims." 

The two then rented an apartment from a friend and are now renting a house in Levittown. 

One year later, Weiss said that he is angry and frustrated. 

"So many people are in the same boat as us," he said. "They kept saying do what you have to do and that FEMA money and grant money is coming to us, but that is not happening." 

He said that he wants to move forward and rebuild his house, but it's extremely difficult.

"All I really want is what I paid for in flood insurance for 30 years," he said. "I had to pay everything out of pocket at this point." 

Weiss said that even though things have been hard, he is still thankful.

"We were not injured and we are in good health," he said. "People really banded together at that time." 

Though the foundation of their home was destroyed, the bond of Weiss and his wife has become even stronger. The couple will celebrate their 37th anniversary this week.

"All we had was each other," he said. "We had to really rely on one another."