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The trailer park had to be evacuated on the night of Hurricane Sandy as the Hudson River rose over its banks, and the park suffered extensive damage.
“Everybody was evacuated by the Verplanck Fire Department, and our people went down with them in the middle of this hurricane to oversee this evacuation," said Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi. "It could have been a tragedy and someone could have been electrocuted. We had knocked three times on their doors during the course of the day saying the high tide is going to be in the middle of the storm and there’s going to be huge surge so get out. Only three of them did.”
Five of the trailers have been condemned by the state electrical inspector and the owners were given relocation money to find shelter elsewhere, Puglisi said.
Of the 36 remaining trailers, seven already have agreed to take Federal Emergency Management Agency money to move elsewhere. All are in need of serious electrical repairs, Puglisi said.
“We have two electrical reports that say that all of these trailers are beyond repair, but they can get an electrician and they can attempt to make the repairs,” Puglsisi said. “But the same electrical inspector from the state has to say it’s up to code. Our code enforcement person then has to go in and say it’s up to code.”
There also is structural damage to the trailers that needs to inspected by town staff, she added.
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