Floodwaters have long receded, but residents of Rotterdam Junction are facing a new challenge of a colder nature.
Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino delivered a $1,000 donation on behalf of the county Conservative Party to Rotterdam Junction Fire Department Chief Shawn Taylor last week. Dagostino, a registered Conservative, said Mike Viscusi, a Conservative candidate for the Rotterdam Town Board, visited the area as clean-up efforts were under way and brought a request to the county Conservative Executive Board to donate money to help with relief efforts. Dagostino said the donation is two-fold, to both thank the department and hopefully spur additional donations from other community organizations.
“[The donation is] to say ‘thank you’ to the fine job that those firefighters did during the hurricane down there attending to needs of the community,” Dagostino said. “Also, to bring attention to the plight that those people are up against down here in the hopes other community organizations would help in the same way or any way they could.”
Despite dire circumstances, Dagostino said the firefighters and community came together to help each other out and start rebuilding the community.
“I was very, very impressed with their efforts to take care of their own community,” Dagostino said. “Those folks did one hell of a job down there. Quite a few of these [firefighter] volunteers themselves had lost quite a bit if not everything and yet they were still out assisting their community and the people that live in that community with their needs.”
Chief Taylor said many of the residents are beyond the cleaning stage and the ones deciding to remain in the area are starting to rebuild and get their homes ready for the winter.
“The heating in the houses is a big priority to get the heat back online with cold coming,” Taylor said.
There are a few people Taylor personally knew took advantage of reimbursement programs offered by FEMA for temporary housing in hotels or rental assistance, but he said each case is a little different.
“Most people are staying with relatives or family for the time being right now,” Taylor said.
Donations received by the fire department previously allowed the department to hand out around $700 to the 91 affected homeowners to provide assistance. Funds are still trickling in, Taylor said, but once more donations are received another round of handouts will go to homeowners.
Giving the same amount to every homeowner was a way to “fairly” distribute the money. There is a committee overseeing the distribution of funds, which include a member of the community, fire department, fire commissioners, fire department ladies auxiliary and business owners.
“What we did way early in the process, days after the flooding, we set up the [relief fund] for the people affected by the flood to get whatever they needed to get back up on their feet,” Taylor said. “Some of the donations really couldn’t be used until now. Now is when the donations are starting to really be needed and unfortunately as time goes on … people forget about the urgency.”
He said people are mostly focused on bringing their home up to code now, which can be a costly process since many of the homes are older. This could involve rewiring a home to plumbing repairs and updates.
“It is not just the flood water damage they have to deal with, it is all the other hidden expenses that go along with it,” Taylor said.
Anyone interested in donating to help flood victims in Rotterdam Junction can make a check payable to the Rotterdam Junction Fire Department Relief Fund. Those funds are distributed directly to residents by the department. For information on how to deliver a donation call Chief Shawn Taylor at 441-8746.