Help for Five Towns homes struck by Sandy

Staff members from Hempstead Town’s building department will assist residents in Inwood and the Five Towns communities seeking to rebuild or reconstruct their homes damaged or destroyed by superstorm Sandy.

The town’s Mobile Town Building Department will be at the Inwood Marina, on Bayswater Boulevard in Inwood, on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The building staff will address concerns of residents from unincorporated areas about building permit regulations, variances and other inquiries related to the repair and reconstruction of storm-damaged homes. Residents can also obtain permit applications from this mobile location.

The building department will waive all permit fees for storm-related structural repairs and temporary housing trailers within the unincorporated areas of the town. The town will also be doing away with a requirement for a building variance for those residents who wish to rebuild homes with elevated foundations to meet FEMA flood standards.

Residents applying for building permits will need to furnish a copy of an insurance claim related to the repair or replacement along with architectural plans submitted to the building department.

The event may need to be cancelled, if the weather is bad. For more information, call 516-812-3303 after 9 a.m. to confirm that the mobile building department is going to be at the location as scheduled.

Above: The Town of Hempstead bay houses suffered massive damage and loss from Superstorm Sandy. This bay house has collapsed into Woodmere Creek, yet the flag still flies. (Nov. 21, 2012)