House undergoing Superstorm Sandy renovation collapses in Brooklyn
Josh Einiger has the story.
By Josh Einiger
Wednesday, June 22, 2016 11:26PM
GERRITSEN BEACH, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A house getting renovated after Superstorm Sandy fell off its foundation and crashed to the ground in Brooklyn.
The home in Gerritsen Beach is now once again destroyed. Wednesday night work crews demolished what was left of the small beach bungalow. A family's home is now a pile of bricks.
It looks like something out of "The Wizard of Oz", but we're definitely not in Kansas.
The house on Beacon Court is completely on its side with beams and frames jutting in different directions out of the foundation.
Fortunately, nobody was inside at the time and there were no reported injuries.
NYPD Special Ops tweeted these photos out.
"They've been very strong, very resilient, for the last three years and they were very hopeful they were going to move back in July," said Linda Rozzotto, a neighbor.
Damaged during Superstorm Sandy, the homeowners had repaired it and moved back years ago, but then, applied for help from the city's "Build it Back" program.
The program covers the costs to raise homes out of flood danger. The family had moved out in January so the work could move forward and workers were making progress until it all fell apart.
"We're still trying to investigate what was happening. They lowered the house yesterday and there were some crews today doing some work, and so we're trying to figure out exactly what happened," said Amy Peterson, of NYC Build it Back.
"All construction has stopped right now until this company has been vetted, make sure we don't have any other collapses," State Senator Marty Golden said
Just last month, another Sandy house toppled. That time it was in Babylon, Long Island, part of the New York State funded recovery program called "New York Rising".
The two programs use different funding and different contractors, but had the same precarious outcome.
"It's a good thing houses are being rebuilt, but are they being rebuilt correctly? A little wind came and knocked the house over," said Dorothy Parker, a neighbor.