Leaving Long Beach?

Story by Joley Welkowitz

Four days after Hurricane Sandy slammed Long Beach, some residents and business owners on Friday are weighing their options as to whether they are going to stay in a storm ravaged city.

At C-Town supermarket on West Beech Street, owners Barry and Rob Koff, returned to their store to find 2 feet of water. It was the first time the store flooded since their father built the store in 1968.

As much as they would like to reopen, “The neighborhood is trashed, I do not know if people will stay in their home, about 40 percent of people will be gone,” estimated Rob Koff.

There is a possibility that the brothers may retire due to the cost of rebuilding. One of the unknown factors is what will insurance companies and FEMA cover.

As a resident of Long Beach himself, Barry Koff said, “I do not know if I can afford to stay here because they taxes are too high. I do not know what the answer will be.”

Narby, a street maintenance worker named Jackie McNeary, was clearing debris from West Beech Street on Friday morning.

“Everything was tainted here, it will take a lot of time and money for Long Beach to build from the ground back up,” she said. McNeary and other workers picked up someone’s deck, which was in the middle of the street.

McNeary was separated from her children during the storm and her apartment on East Pine Street was destroyed.  

“If I constantly get flooded, my children and I cannot keep dealing with this. At this point I may go back to Roosevelt and find an apartment there.”

Other residents aren’t ready to pack up and leave Long Beach.

“I definitely do not plan on leaving Long Beach,” said Bob Kraus who has lived on the barrier island  for 62 years.

Kraus lives on Lindell Boulevard with his 99-year-old mother, who is wheelchair-bound. He is most concerned about getting more food because his mother has to be fed intravenously. His car is still operable, but has been stuck in the sand, so he has been unable to go out.

Adnan Etike of Adnan’s Custom Tailoring on West Beech Street at Florida Street has no idea if he will relocate his business or not.

“It all depends on if my landlord thinks it is worth it to fix the store or not. I would like to stay, but I also need to know if I can make money to pay the rent.”

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