Revolting profiteering on the misfortunes of others, as usual. The meaning of capitalism has been distorted to mean making as much money as possible while at the same time ignoring anything that could be construed as remotely ethical behavior. The country's so-called leader is a master at this. Instead of making an honest living, it's make as much money as one can by whatever means that you can get away with on the backs of whomever you can deceive and abuse. We're becoming a nation of gun-packing immoral hateful liars and cheats who have no use for civilized rational discourse.
5
Well, try not to be dumb.......
I'm sitting back and reading this article after working for the 18th day straight just clearing my yard from Hurricane Micheal. Help we have it, tarps, food, water, fema and supplies. What's missing is contractors. Honest contractors. A tree I actually had a quote of $5thousand price tag on is now $9 thousand to remove now that it's uprooted and already cut off of my house. Thats half the work guys. Back side of house, just replace the whole back side, a simple 4000 dollar job, now, $12,000?? No punchers in roof, just a few blow off. And that's our local guys prices. I don't know where to begin to fix this mess.
3
This is the Erik Prince, Betsy Devos model of Disaster Capitalism. Being a sub-contractor and contractor on the taxpayer's dime you can ring it up to the billions if you know how.
8
I lived on the Long Island South Shore, so I know how sweet living on or near water can be. But Mother Nature can be a cruel mistress and wipe you out in a day. At some point climate change and rising seas will dictate Long Islands future. It's been obvious since the early 1970's that the population living on L.I. have little or no concern for the Island.
6
Who knew DJT was also a contractor?
6
Is there any place in America that is truly safe? I live in Tornado Ally. Now we have earthquakes, too. The whole center of the country has tornadoes and droughts. The coasts have flood. The mountains have wildfires. I lived 25 miles from Blanding, Utah for awhile. The town boasted that it was the town where you were least likely to die from a natural catastrophe. They had no tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricane, fires...but their cancer rate was four times the national average due to uranium mine tailings blowing over the town.
So many commenters tell people to move. But is anywhere truly safe?
5
Yep, so many stories of unethical contractors in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Harrison County, Mississippi, after Katrina. We were burned by several, and obtained a default judgment against one, who fled to California. Thankfully, we could absorb the losses, but so many could not. New Orleans District Attorney only prosecuted contractors who had defrauded his friends or big donors.
4
Meanwhile subcontractors and contractors are out on Fire Island raking it in by piling sand up in front of the Mighty Atlantic Ocean. See dollar signs slide back into the ocean while a select few profit.
2
My husband and I went to New Orleans a year after Katrina to do some volunteer work in the Holy Cross district of the 9th ward. Most of the residents of Holy Cross were gone but we talked to the hotel employees where we stayed. It was a year later and they were still waiting for roofs on their houses. One desk clerk told us the problem was that so many scammers came into town that nobody hired someone unless someone they knew and trusted, like a good friend or relative, had used them before. That made a long waiting list, some people waiting for years.
Short of waiting for years, or doing the roofing or mold gutting yourself, what can you do to protect yourself from scams?
5
When you need work done, the best thing is to hire someone you know. The second best is for someone you know who is in the trades to recommend someone to you.
The worst thing you can do is hire someone who just appears out of nowhere and offers their services.
We've had grifters galore around here for decades. They come out of the woodwork every Spring and they move around running home improvement swindles, usually pavement, concrete/brickwork, and especially roofing. You can tell who they are because they just show up and knock on your door offering their services. Heavy accents, unkempt appearance, and they're names are all Stanley, Snow, or Stone.
1
Turning other people's pain into profit. It's the American way.
14
and yet all we hear about in Long Island from Trump and King is MS 13.......
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I am not here to blame the victims of these at best well intended contractors or con men There are lessons to be learned. Check out the jobs the contractor has completed. Demand to speak with prior clients. Try to understand what needs to be done,and how it has to be done. Do not look only for the lowest price. You can always get it done cheaper. The unions along with signatory contractors spend millions on apprentice training. Young women and men go through 4 year programs while being paid to get an education. Not a bad model for a school
12
@Slow fuse These suggestions seem valuable. I implore you though to think about the desperate measures that people were forced to take when they lost everything.
9
@Slow fuse You don't really have the luxury of these options when construction prices have skyrocketed, everyone's homes are damaged, local/experienced contractors are overwhelmed, and you are just trying to get back into your own home as soon as you can. My lesson from Katrina? Max out or increase your insurance coverage NOW, including contents. After the storm, sell the damaged home or the land, and buy another home or move.
1
I see a total failure of local and state government to manage the reconstruction project and law enforcement for not putting these conmen at Turnkey away.
15
Spending over $300K of tax payer money to raise a $200K house just seems ludicrous to me. You are living in a flood plane, move. It is hard to feel sorry for someone who has six years of self-inflicted problems. All this could have been prevented by taking the money and moving to a area that doesn't get flooded.
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@David How ignorant of you to say that to these people. There are only so many places to live and there is more and more "flood areas" as we continue to ignore global climate change and as we continue to over populate. These people have kids and jobs. Relocating is not easy and there will be floods next year in places that have never flooded before. Open eyes, be aware and wake up.
6
@David Insurance companies will not pay you to move. . A lot of people who lose everything can't afford to move since insurance companies won't pay to move.
2
Why aren’t these 2 predators in jail?
22
Welcome to the 2008 Financial Crisis and Trump World (GRATE AMERICA AGAIN) story. The plot: unsuspecting gullible citizens, a conman , a transfer of billions from hard working citizens to a shell company, corrupt bank or corporation; no regulations; no accountability; and the conman gets to keep all the money and moves on to his next victim: end of story. Hurricane Florence and Michael victims it is your turn.
17
Florida offers one step to correct part of the problem moving forward:
"45 year sentence in prison for robbing homeowners out of repairs. 'You stole the rest of these people's lives, their money ... their right to rest,' the judge said in his final remarks. 'It’s only right that you forfeit the rest of your life.'
Prosecutors say it’s hard to calculate how much damage Duane Cottier did to the wallets of the Sugarmill Woods homeowners who were cheated out of roof repairs. 'The financial harm in this case is hard to quantify,' Assistant State Attorney Erik Rauba said Monday morning at the property restorer’s sentencing hearing. 'This economic harm will continue for the rest of their lives."
https://www.chronicleonline.com/news/crime_and_courts/judge-sentences-pr...
11
Don't forget, a lot of tradesman are burglars too. Once they are in your house....
5
Those houses on stilts look like offerings on the altars of American consumerism. One cannot help but feel sorry for these poor homeowners. Surely the taxpayers should contribute more to salvage their possessions. The monies should be taken away from programs (if any) for the poor, who have no possessions, and given to those who have it all. It's the American way.
5
I know that Dr. Carson is doing a great, beautiful job at HUD (believe me) but wouldn't it be more on-brand for the administration to have Cody Trey Lawrence run it? Or maybe put him in at FEMA? Homeland Security?
7
@Albert Ross
Why the misstated reference to Trey Gowdy? Although I agree that Washington will be the lesser with his departure.
One of the two "M" hallmarks of our economic system: Mendacious advertising; the second being Mediocrity in product or service, which seems likely to have been the outcome had Turnkey actually done the work. Both are by design, of course, to squeeze profit unethically from the pockets of working folks. When I hear or read about people defending this system because of its creative entrepreneurial characteristics, I immediately think of the two Ms.
13
Where is the Long Island congressional delegation on this? I guess they are too busy providing tax cuts for the rich rather than tending to their constituents. Long Island consistently votes republican. You get what you vote for, people.
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@Joe
I totally agree. There has been indictment after indictment of government officials from both Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead. Currently the Republican Town of Hempstead board, of which several have never been elected by the townspeople, has done nothing but stall and criticize the efforts by the newly elected Democrat Town Supervisor to allow her to pass a sound budget and improve the quality of life for the people who are fed up with the Republican efforts to protect their jobs and their patronage.
15
@Terry Town of Oyster Bay here. As one of a handful of Democrats living in Oyster Bay it astounds me that after 20 years of indictments, nepotism, mismanagement and outright theft, the voters keep returning the same crooked Republicans to office, year after year. They then complain on local FB groups about the Democrats. I've come to the conclusion that they just aren't very smart. Not much you can do to fix that.
11
Why were shoreline homes even being rebuilt, rather than owners being compensated for their loss and assisted in relocation to places less likely to be underwater in a few years?
87
@Working Mama - do we ask the same of the people living in area prone to tornadoes or wildfires? S.F. suffered a huge earthquake, shouldn't it be evacuated? NYC is not immune from disasters either. Nor is NYC going to to be spared rising waters.
@Working Mama I think you completely missed the point here - these homes were being raised up several feet to prevent future damage and loss. That is generally far more appropriate and far LESS expensive than moving people off their properties. The process is called "adaptation".
6
@Marie
Over half of the residents of San Francisco left the city after the 1906 earthquake and never returned.
1
I'm sorry, but I'm alternating between sipping coffee, putting off the paper work I need to do, grinning and smirking as I read this article.
This story could be set anywhere in this country. Disaster or not.
I feel bad for people, but on the other hand I don't. Contracting is a very very shady fly by night business. Here today gone tomorrow. Rich as can be one day and broke and bankrupt the next.
How do I know? Well I'm a contractor. I pride myself on charging some of the highest rates the market will bare. I am at the top tier of cost per square foot in my area.
What do you get for that? Someone who has been in business for a long time. Someone who has employees that are covered by insurance, someone who pays payroll taxes.
I also deliver when I take on a job.
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@frank w
I am a retired contractor. Often people pay top dollar and still get cheated. Sadly, most government agencies that regulate our business are almost useless in helping customers who have been cheated. I feel much more empathy than you obviously do for customers who were cheated.
34
@frank w As a completely different kind of contractor (with bits and bytes rather than beams and bolts): There's a right way to do business. There's a wrong way to do business. In an environment where nobody is forcing businesses to do business the right way, the bad guys under-price the good guys, which not only hurts their customers but hurts the good guys by draining their base of potential customers. That's why business owners should support efforts to hold those who do business the wrong way to account. Sure, reputation can help, but for first-time buyers they aren't necessarily going to know your reputation.
13
@Dave
Homeowners too often underestimate, especially today, what it really costs to build anything the right way. Insurance very rarely covers all of those true costs. Anyone who continues to live in natural disaster-prone areas needs to have some form of self-insurance set aside. (That "self-insurance" might include cash, the ability to rebuild by oneself, and/or the ability to walk away and take the loss (which could include the costs to clean up the debris and sell the remaining land at a deep discount).)
3
Given the costs of fixing and raising houses, it would have made more sense to tear down the flooded houses and build new ones on stilts. With rising sea levels, a huge number of houses on Long Island are going to face the same issues.
19
@George My home was raised for almost twice the cost of tearing it down and rebuilding it to code(elevated). Crazy!
6
A horrible situation which appears to be common after a disaster. The NY Rising Homeowner Recovery Program needs to come up with a system of vetting these contractors. It's unfortunate that the Bacigalupo family got hoodwinked by out-of-state contractors as well as getting very little solid support from the state for the extreme project of lifting their home.
I feel for the family. But after "the Bacigalupos’ first round of renovations had been completed by a local contractor, resulting in a brand new kitchen and an extra bathroom" I would have put up a for sale sign and moved to higher ground. But that's just me.
13
@Tom Swift
Cuomo's New York Rising has been demanding repayment of disaster relief grants on the most specious of grounds. They are not our friends. Don't expect any relief from them.
3
I’m a licensed contractor here on Long Island and am saddened by the situation to homeowners. But, when you make a free choice to take the lowball price in construction you are generally in for a ride. No one wants to blame themselves, but if you were buying a car and you see one that is half the price of one you have been shopping for, well. Also, this isn’t a one shot deal, it’s a continuous service of both materials and labor on a schedule. They are depending on people to show up, with the goods and perform specific tasks, all for half the price of everyone else? Oh, and there is cross bracing missing on the picture of the elevated house, they could come by some morning and it could be sitting on it’s side.
34
@Prant "Initially, the Bacigalupos were told that they would receive about $170,000, a low figure that surprised them. They called their caseworker (assigned to them by the state recovery agency) to report that contractors were quoting them a figure of about $330,000 to elevate their house. They were told that these companies were price gouging; the state would not be offering more money."
7
Why is there a lack of skilled labor in a place like Long Island that still had high unemployment numbers in the years after 2012?
Because vocational training opportunities for young people are zero to non existent to unaffordable..
Why?
Because the brilliant powers-that-be studied the life-long earnings potential of college graduates vs high school graduates, and decided that every kid should go to college. And higher education was the priority for our taxpayers.
Government passed legislation that enables banks to lend money for higher education at little risk to the bank, but at great risk to the borrowers and tax payers. Meanwhile the colleges and universities double and triple the cost of attending their institutions to help them "compete" by adding expensive athletic facilities and other comfy amenities.
What we should be funding with taxpayers dollars are "colleges" for electricians, hvac technicians, carpenters and plumbers.
78
@Billy "The Government" i.e. your representatives, made choices based on the necessities of their campaign fundraisers, among whom are various kinds of financiers. Let us not forget that in the last ten years since Sandy, member banks and big-time real estate "operators" have had access to cheap money from the Federal Reserve System and instead of investing in infrastructure, like education of skill labor, rebuilding our failing bridges, zoning for impending climate consequences, collapsing pensions for retired skilled workers, CEO's and our representatives have emphasized financialization, including student debt, debt to schools to build new buildings, debt to stockholders to buy more equities and bonds (because we all know it's going to the moon). debt for "stock buy back programs", debt to buy more, risker bonds to prop-up the failing pensions of the aging skilled work force ie labor. The tide has gone out dramatically and all the evidence one needs is observing the slime revealed in politics, in media, in banking, in education, etc.
The ocean of debt is coming back in soon. You can either go out and pick-up fish or run for the hills.
4
@Billy Would more tradespeople rwally solve the problem? I'm from Boston, where the trades are a closed shop and connections (preferably family connections) are everything.
3
Let this be a lesson about GOP cutting back regulations. Sham contractors that no one keeps track of.
At some point we need to pull our heads out of of... Then stop building in flood zones. Stop insuring in Flood zones.Redraw the maps that are habitable .
Some one should go see those two gentlemen contractors and give them Plains justice.
30
We need to stop building houses in flood prone areas, FEMA should have a one time limit on flood insurance, once a lot gets flooded and paid it is no longer eligible for flood coverage.
89
Shameful! But here's the bigger problem: rising seas. My recollection is that the NYT recently ran a story or op-ed that spoke to us literally treading water as we keep rebuilding in places that will inevitably be flooded and destroyed again. Lift your house, if you want, and you may even get to live in it if you ever get it finished, but sooner or later it is getting washed away in the next generation or two.
39
Are we aware that the New York Governor Cuomo's New York Rising, which provided disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Sandy is presently demanding, using specious grounds, that those who received grants repay them. Which is the bigger ripoff?
Good going Andrew!
4
@MIKEinNYC We need Giuliani back for NYC! No more Dems! Ripoff artists.
1
None of the NY State institutions in place to protect or aid citizens actually work.
My NY-based contractor actually did MORE damage to my home than the initial problem he was hired to fix.
After years of delay and broken promises I contacted my insurance company. They denied my claims, then they canceled my policy. A policy I paid for 16 years with no claims.
I contacted the County District Attorney. She said I had to prove a crime occurred via the State Police.
I contacted the State Police. They never bothered to come to the site, telling me simply on the phone: "It doesn't sound criminal to me".
I contacted the insurance company of the contractor. They said they don't work for me.
I contacted the NY State Attorney General who actually solicited for citizens who have been defrauded by contractors. After 6 weeks the NYAG referred me to the local office. After 6 weeks I still have not heard back.
I have hired a law firm to sue the contractor. The contractor has no assets in his name. He does not have to pay any judgement, and is free to continue defrauding citizens across the state.
My home is uninhabitable, unsalable, and unsafe.
56
@Georgi
I believe you have a criminal case against the contractor. In Nassau and Suffolk County, there is an escrow law. Funds taken by your contractor are to deposited into his escrow account and only be used to pay for construction related expense. Look into this law. I believe it makes it a criminal offense to steal your money because it was escrow funds. Good luck...
11
@Stephen
Good luck pursuing anything through a court system. Seems to be an exercise in futility, based on my victim experience. I'd like to know of ANY similar contractor fraud story that has (via laws, courts) turned out favorably for the homeowner. Seriously. There is no such thing as "fraud insurance": these sorts of contractors don't make restitution, issue refunds, and no one, no court is in a position to enforce these matters.
2
'It’s very clear that our country’s disaster recovery system is broken, Mr. Bacigalupo said.'
Yeah, like we don't have one. Systems take decades (or longer) to develop and become reliable and effective. Look at one of our most longstanding and massive institutions, the military. Procurement scandals and failures in accounting and inventory continue to occur on almost a regular basis. Any human system implemented by imperfect humans will have problems, which are either accidental or intentional, or both. And without built-in regulation and review and enforcement, such problems will fester.
12
The extreme labor shortages in skilled trades (carpenters, masons, roofers, plumbers, electricians, and equipment operators), the massive amounts of damage from these increasingly ferocious storms combined with shock and dislocation of homeowners all combine to be a formula for fraud. The reality is that a Sandy or Irene that spreads massive damages across multiple states exceeds our workforce's capacity. Even when workers are readily available during normal times, have thousands of percent more work isn't something that can be readily accommodated. The crooks show up like vultures on roadkill at this point. They promise, they comfort, they commiserate, they're absolutely charming and they steal. They prey on people desperate to return home, desperate to restore some normalcy. The State can help with licensing, but even here it was more sham than anything else. They permitted the licensing of a company that had no capital reserves, no established labor force - it was simply a shell. The homeowners all, rightfully, thought the license conveyed some sort of legitimacy - it didn't. Perhaps, the State could add something to the licensing that really could help. For licensing to support disaster recovery, the contractor is required to file a performance bond equivalent to how much work they intend to do. The insurance company that issues the bond would make sure that was a responsible and solvent contractor. It weeds out the "fly by night" guys fairly quickly.
55
@AnObserver
Your recommendation about bonding disaster-chasing contractors is a good one. They rushed here after Hurricane Matthew, camping out in the RV park near my office. I'm trying to think about how to add it to the upcoming update of Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation Plans we will be doing for a few counties here next year. Most of the funding for these plans comes from FEMA's Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) funding program, which focuses on the community-level (as opposed to individual homes); the goal of the plans is "to reduce overall risk to the population and structures from future hazard events, while also reducing reliance on Federal funding in future disasters."
1
@Ginnie Kozak The post disaster ground is Is truly rich for crooks. Disaster victims want normalcy now. Not 6 months or a year from now. The reality is that the labor force can’t be found to do the work. The honest contractors tell people the harsh truths about schedules and then the crooks swoop in. Bonding, for each contractor & job would force the financial scrutiny by the insurers and provide protection for the homeowners. The bonding companies do the lions share of work verifying contractors too.
1
There is no "disaster recovery system" in this country to rebuild private residences. FEMA gives out bottled water, tarps, and puts people up in hotels for a while. Those who think the federal government has a plan to quickly rebuild their house need to reconsider and prepare to fend for themselves.
30
I worked as the office manager for a contractor for 24 years. It is my experience that people go with the cheapest estimate. It ends up costing a lot more in the long run.
29
I could have written this story. I am so sorry ya'll had to go threw this. There are no protections, guidelines or overseers. We were robbed of all of our savings and then had to use whatever cash we had on hand to finally complete the job over the course of several years. It broke my belief that my country had my back. We relocated to England. Our experiences here with plumbers, electricians, etc. is far, far different than in the U.S.
26
@Nolalily I am very sorry about your experience. And speaking just generally, I always wonder where folks get the idea that the country has our back. We do certainly have some systems -- socialized though they may be (ever try to not contribute to the police, the fire department, or the military?) -- that try to do their best, especially for preferred members of society. But for many of us, we must negotiate a poorly-regulated private market, in which 'buyer beware' only begins to predict our difficulties.
25