The Life of O’Reilly

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Damage report
Like so many victims of the storm, O’Reilly was quick to point out that other people had it worse. She talked about the damage in the Rockaways, Oceanside and Long Beach, but when her own stories include escaping through a window and returning to find her living room dotted with chunks of human feces, it’s hard to say her suffering wasn’t significant.

Thea and Jean first attempted to shelter from Sandy in their home. Thea owns the house, and doesn’t carry flood insurance because in the half century she has lived across from Silver Lake Park, she never experienced any flooding. But on the night Sandy struck, three feet of water poured into the one-floor structure, forcing Thea and Jean to grab their dog, Reilly O’Reilly, and escape through a side window to a neighbor’s house. 

When mother and daughter returned after the waters receded, they were sickened — literally, in Jean’s case — to discover chunks of excrement clinging to their carpets and in the corners of their rooms. They believe this was the same discharge that affected the Barnes Avenue area when the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant backed up. 

Parsonage Creek, which runs north-south through Baldwin from Middle Bay, pools in Silver Lake Park, about 100 yards from the O’Reilly house. The waterway is known to have distributed untreated sewage along Barnes Avenue, less than half a mile from the O’Reilly home.
“You couldn’t walk in here,” O’Reilly said. “The odor was so bad you couldn’t stay in here for 15 minutes.”

Out of house and home
Acting quickly, O’Reilly battled to save her beloved home. She paid for a rip-out to prevent water damage, mold and bacteria from setting in, and even waded in herself, using the broiler drawer from her oven to bail water from the kitchen.

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