Belle Harbor Businesses Still Struggling After Sandy
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Belle Harbor, Queens was one of the New York City neighborhoods hit particularly hard by superstorm Sandy.
For the businesses there, coming back has been and continues to be a struggle.
The ceiling beams in the back of Bill Keating's restaurant are charred and the roof is still gone.
Belle Harbor Businesses Still Struggling After Sandy
"This entire room was burned out," he told WCBS 880 reporter Peter Haskell. "We received no assistance from the Small Business Administration, from the city of New York, from the state."
He's exhausted all the money he had.
Joy Choi has reopened her grocery store, but it was all on her own. It cost a half million dollars.
"We borrowed from a friend or whatever. We saved a little bit," she said.
Thoughts of an early retirement are now but a memory.
The rebuilding of Maria Bonadonna's pastry shop is almost finished.
She had to borrow a quarter of a million dollars, but she felt compelled to come back.
"I don't want to feel like the neighbors will think that I didn't have the strength to come back and the courage," she said.
How is your business doing in the wake of superstorm Sandy? Share your story below.
