01/24/2013

<--Eddie Saman shows off his Staten Island home Wednesday which he has insulated with blankets donated by the Red Cross. The house was badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy and will have to be renovated. Meanwhile, because of the extreme cold weather, Saman has been spending the night in a tent nearby operated by the volunteer group Cedar Grove Community Hub.

The superstorm destroyed their homes — and the cold weather is playing havoc with their lives.

Sandy-ravaged homeowners have been driven to extremes as they try to survive in houses that are essentially construction sites.

“It’s colder here because of the water,” said Mary Lou Foley, a Breezy Point, Queens, resident who has spent the past week huddling under a slew of comforters and carrying a space heater from room to room.

“It’s 18 degrees in the city, but it feels like 5 because of the wind. It’s just too cold,” the 56-year-old said Thursday.

Mary Lou Foley tries to stay warm in her Hurricane Sandy ravaged house in Breezy Point. She has been staying here for the past month without heat, sleeping on a comforter on the floor but she has remained optimistic and says she is "happy."

Foley is one of the lucky ones because she has power in some parts of her partially rebuilt house, allowing her to use an electric heater.

But she can only plug in one at a time.

“If I plug in two heaters, I’m afraid I will blow a fuse. So I plug in one heater and try to stay close to it,” she said. “I have to do this until I have power restored.”

Construction crews are working as fast as they can in Sandy-afflicted areas like the Rockaways, but no one can slow down Mother Nature.

"It's colder here because of the water," says Mary Lou Foley, who has been living in her frigid Breezy Point home without heat. It is under construction after Hurricane Sandy devastated the neighborhood.

“My house is nothing but floor and walls. At least they added insulation on my wall,” Foley said. At night she lies on the hard floor, keeps on her hat and jacket and covers herself with comforters.

Susan Starace and her 18-year-old daughter, Victoria, stopped to pick up a heater Thursday from the Breezy Point donation hub.

“It’s freezing in my house,” the mom said. “I’m hearing a lot of horror stories from my neighbors. Their pipes are bursting. It’s that cold.”

Eddie Saman, 47, of New Dorp Beach in Staten Island, insulated his walls with donated blankets in a futile attempt to trap his radiator’s weak heat.

Mary Lou Foley carries a space heater with her from room to room as she tries to keep warm in her Hurricane Sandy-ravaged home in Breezy Point.

The fierce cold drove him to a nearby tent city run by volunteers. Saman said he’s slept there for the past week.

“I can’t stay at home, I will not survive,” said the Egyptian immigrant, who lost most of his clothes and possessions in Sandy’s floods.

“I even tried to sleep on the radiator. Thank God they have a big heater here, and warm food.”

Sandy victims were dealt another cold blast by Congress Thursday, when the main storm-relief bill hit another delay as the Senate delayed action due to a spat over the body’s rules.

Senate leaders did cut a deal on the rules fight, but they said they did not have time to vote and send the bill to President Obama before leaving town Thursday night.

The chamber is set to tackle the $50 billion disaster aid bill early next week.

NYDailyNews.com