With the storm surge threatening their Union Beach neighborhood, Jessica and Patrick Cogan loaded up their three children (seven-year-old Declan, nine-year-old Miranda and 11-year-old Kevin) into the minivan to seek higher ground at a local school. The school then flooded (along with the Cogan minivan) necessitating another leg of evacuation.
Back home, the Cogan’s sedan also flooded, leaving the couple carless, lacking electricity and with more than four-feet of floodwater and sludge oozing through their finished basement. With the help of a neighbor’s generator and pool pumps, the couple got the water out and started cleaning.
Despite assessing the storm damage to be upwards of $55,000, the Cogans consider themselves fortunate in comparison with many neighbors whose homes were washed away or had to be demolished. Patrick describes the couple as “glass half full” types who view the adversity as an opportunity to teach valuable lessons of resilience to their children. Jessica proudly describes her daughters’ appreciation of the value of mutual assistance around the town and finishes long cleanup days by sharing recovery resources on social media before relaxing with episodes of Doctor Who.
Since they have flood insurance, the Cogans are not eligible for a FEMA grant, although they do qualify for a SBA loan. Between deductibles, uncovered appliances and home repairs, the storm is a significant financial setback for the couple. They list several charitable donations they received ranging from cash from a large law firm, donations from non-profits like the Tzu-Chi and the RAINE Foundations, as well as grants from their AFT local (both Cogans work at Rutgers and are members of the Union of Rutgers Administrators-AFT) and AFTNJ state federation.
Local school district leadership and teachers played a key role in assisting residents and providing a sense of community, sending out voice messages with information, and working with parents to clean up the schools and support relief efforts. Gateway church likewise stepped in to play a lead role in coordinating volunteers and soliciting then distributing donations to survivors.
The children missed several weeks of school due to damage to the buildings. Upon their return, they received gift cards and letters from pen pals in places like Gulfport, Mississippi where people know the after-effects of disaster all too well.
While they calculate losses for tax write offs and work on rebuilding a credit rating damaged by using credit cards for repairs, the Cogans settle in to wait to learn whether they will have to elevate their home. That is the big question mark for everyone in town, according to Jessica. The residents of Union Beach and other towns along the shore have big questions to address as they decide whether and how to rebuild, she said, based on the possibility of recurring flooding. The Cogans home is twelve-feet above sea-level, adequate for current standards, but below where new standards may be set, which would have significant insurance implications.
Jessica characterizes the town as “blue-collar” with many families who have lived on the same streets for generations, making the decision of rebuilding even more complex. “Even if anyone in Union Beach could afford taking the loss out-of-pocket on their property, the multi-generational aspect of the town makes that much more complicated. Sandy didn’t only rip apart homes. It ripped apart families.”
In the meantime, Patrick and Jessica try to buffer the children from additional stressors where possible. With generous support of the NJEA, which provided “volunteers and supplies galore,” according to Jessica, the children returned to two different remote locations for school with classmates whose families completely lost their homes. The younger two required a second move after the New Year due to lack of space. Patrick said they all share in the community-wide nerves when additional storms, rain and wind whip through the shore town but are otherwise resilient.