“We’re very grateful for what they did do, but they didn’t complete everything,” said an exhausted Frances Orietta Scarantino, as she cleaned up flooding from the storm on Sunday, August 22.
The director of Reach for the S.T.A.R.S. in Howard Beach explained that when Discovery Channel’s series “Construction Intervention” did between $200,000 and $300,000 worth of work on the youth center at 8 Coleman Square earlier this year, “we didn’t know we had all these issues.”
At the time, Discovery Channel executive producer Chris Rantamaki said, “Short of tearing the place down and starting from zero, we’re gutting it. We will fix the leaking roof, install a second staircase for code requirements, make the building handicap accessible, and fix the floors. On top of that, we will reface the existing façade. We will make sure that the youth center is not only redesigned, but that it is brought up to code, the structural integrity is intact, so the building will be around for another 100 years.”
And though Scarantino does acknowledge that the building’s foundations are secure, she told The Courier, “There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”
At the beginning of the summer, air conditioner repairs cost her $600, she said. And the recent rain proved that the roof still leaks.
“When they redid the building, they moved the drain on the roof,” said Scarantino. “Now I’m getting leaks. Last night’s [Sunday] storm was crazy. I’ve been up all night long. There’s a lot of water damage.”
In fact, estimates for roof repairs range from $4,400 to $10,000, she said – and she may need a new roof altogether.
Repeated calls to Discovery Channel went unanswered as of press time.
“At the time it was a good distraction because of what was going on in my personal life,” said Scarantino, who lost her husband, Robert Foerderer, 45, earlier this year.
At the big reveal, Scarantino blown away.
“It’s a huge difference,” said a beaming Scarantino. “I’m completely amazed. It looks fantastic.”
But, she admits, a lot of the work was done for the cameras.
On the September 2 episode of “Construction Intervention,” host Charlie “The Bulldog” Frattini revisits the struggling businesses he helped save. He stops by six different businesses, including S.T.A.R.S., to see how business and life has changed after their “construction intervention.”
S.T.A.R.S.’s next T.V. appearance will be on September 2 at 11 a.m. on the Discovery Channel.
