Thousands of Still Displaced in N.Y. 3:17AM Central

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Thousands of Still Displaced in N.Y.

By KATHERINE ROTH Associated Press Writer

October 11, 2001, 2:16 AM EDT

NEW YORK -- Mami Ogawa can go to her apartment -- she just can't live there. She borrows clothing and carries scraps of paper scrawled with the details that tenuously hold her life together.

Robert Kolb is no better off. In his home, layers of soot cover the couch, mattress and his son's toys. To get in, he must negotiate a military checkpoint.

A month after the World Trade Center attacks, Ogawa and Kolb continue to suffer along with hundreds of others, even as much of the city has resumed its regular bustle.

They are among more than 4,000 displaced residents of Gateway Plaza, a section of the high-end rental community of Battery Park City that remains uninhabitable.

"People say you just have to get on with your life, but how can you heal when you don't have a home?" Ogawa asked. She and her husband have been able to return for just short periods to retrieve a few belongings.

"We still don't have any idea how long it will be before we can go home," she said.

Most of the city's displaced residents are tenants of Gateway, said Valerie Lewis, a spokeswoman for the Alliance for Downtown New York, a business improvement district.

Surrounded by leafy parks and a bench-lined boardwalk along the Hudson River near the southern tip of Manhattan, Gateway was heavily damaged in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Because the area is across the street from the trade center, it took time before maintenance workers could even gain access to Gateway's six buildings, said Richard LeFrak, president of the Lefrak Organization, which owns the complex.

Rents range from $1,200 for studios to about $3,500 for large two-bedroom apartments. Residents have been told they will not be charged for the period during which they are displaced, and will get one month free rent once they move back.

When that happens is unclear.

LeFrak said about 500 of the 1,712 apartments had windows blown out. Authorities had to carefully clear some apartments of debris _ and, in some cases, human remains from the trade center wreckage _ before cleaning could begin.

"Getting the buildings ready is a laborious process," LeFrak said. "We're working on them and we're opening the first building on Saturday. We're not sure how long it will take to get the other buildings ready."

He said the company has to clean every apartment, replace filters on the air conditioners, and thoroughly wash the outside of all of the buildings.

Several apartments were burned, apparently from flaming debris. Inches of soot and dust permeated carpets, computer keyboards and children's toys, said Kolb, a money manager whose windows faced the trade center and were blown out.

"The windows were finally replaced and we're busy getting rid of everything penetrated by the soot: The couch, the mattresses, toys, some of the clothing. My sons' piano has two inches of soot on it and it's painful to look at," he said.

At the post office several blocks away, Gateway residents gathered this week to collect some of the mail that has piled up since Sept. 11. For many, it was the first mail they received since the attack.

"This letter is postmarked Sept. 19. It's from my friend in Michigan," Ogawa said, tears streaming down her face.

Like many of Gateway's residents, Ogawa works for a company that had offices in the World Trade Center. She grieves over a colleague who was on one of the hijacked planes, and 10 others who were in the towers. She's unsure how many of her neighbors were killed.

"I'm afraid to find out," she said.

Ed Cortese, a spokesman for Lefrak, said no one was killed inside the complex, but he was unsure how many tenants may have died while working at the trade center.

Ogawa said she is luckier than many.

The accountant and her husband, Jeffrey Erber, an eyeglasses shop owner, still have jobs when thousands do not. They're staying with relatives in Teaneck, N.J., while many of their neighbors pay for costly hotel rooms.

"We just want to get grounded," Erber said. "We want to go back home."

___

On the Net:

Lefrak Organization: http://www.lefrak.com

Battery Park City: http://bpc.mobile123.com

http://www.batteryparkcityonline.com Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001

Answers

Hi, Maggie! Really feel sorry for all these other victims of the 911 tragedy.

Heard one guy who lives near the WTC say that his wife was absolutely brilliant during the first hours of the emergency.

She filled their bathtub with water! So, now they at least had water to flush the toilet! (Guess she was a GI!)

Also saw that a lot of folks not only did not have water, they did not have electricity either. TV report showed one family with two small children staying put in their apartment. Noticed that they were using various battery run lamps, etc.

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001


Hi Lurkess!

Looks like preparing for what ever comes... really pays off ten fold and more. Thank goodness some of the people there had the fore thought to have some things on hand and to know what to do to protect their families.

It feels like we are at the beginning of the year 2000, with all the problems we feared and more. For example, the time between 1-01-00 and 9-11-01 was just a gap in time, a fill in space. Not sure if that make any sense but, that's the way it feels. As in preparation, delay, action.

Maggie

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001


We'll call it extended prep time, Maggie. heh heh

Glad to hear some were thinking. That bathtub filled with water is the first thing we do down here in case of hurricane. And that is why I want a tub in both bathrooms, even with a shower in the master already. Those tubs are really necessary when water is short or tainted.

PS rule of 'left hand' is:

If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001


And you forgot to mention you can fill up the washer too. (Greta thing about that is you don't have to clean it first, lol!

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001

Barefoot,

I remember that saying well. When Cally was in a drought, it was put into effect by alot of people.

I see why the want of two bath tubs. Are planning to stay there or move to another place when the house is repaired?

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001



I'm sorry, but I can't feel very sorry for these "homeless." They took a heck of a risk moving into that type of situation and taking a job in NYC. This is the same risk that I take remaining in a metro area. If I get burnt out, I'm not going to stand around wondering when I'm going to get to move home. I will relocate with whatever I can salvage.

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001

never occured to me to fill up the washer! I did think to put some clothes in the dryer since it was sealed and they would stay dry. as a matter of fact, the inside of the dryer was undamaged by the fire, and those few clothes and towels, rags really, were okay. we used them to wipe things down that we took with us to the hotel.

We are thinking very hard about selling and moving to a new house when this is over. we will refinance once we get back in. rates are so low now, compared to the 9.5 we are at right now.

course, our being out for only a month pales when you consder that those in ny are already out for a month and looking at a longer displacement. whew! reminds us of Andrew. :(

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2001


Is now a good time to sell? Seems like it would be a bad time, with all the layoffs and uncertainty. Anyway, once you've had the place freshened up, you might decide you want to stay after all!

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2001

I'm with Barefoot on this one: after looking over his house plans and looking at the interest rates, I think he'll be further ahead moving into a house that better suits his needs. I doubt he'll have a hard time selling his home. The FL real estate market rarely goes soft because of the number of retirees who continue to buy and sell homes.

But this is the time to do it. My guess is that the "window" will only remain open this quarter. I expect to see us deeper into a recession by February.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2001


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