Jersey City — A flooded warehouse, decomposed wall beams, sodden sheetrock, crumbling brick walls, a fried electrical system and about $2 million worth of rotten cheese waiting to be chucked: That’s only a glimpse of the woes facing Brigitte Mizrahi.
Mizrahi owns Anderson International Foods, a small kosher cheese company she founded in 1995, and her warehouse is located in an industrial area of Jersey City about a mile from the Hudson River waterfront. Although the facility isn’t in the designated flood zone, it was under four feet of water soon after superstorm Sandy blew through town two weeks ago.
“The only reason why I look calm is because I’ve already had time to decompress,” said the petite native of France while standing outside what was once her office.
“It was such a beautiful building. The roof over here blew off, it’s pretty much gone, and all that used to be brick,” she adds, pointing to a wall with a mound of brick rubble piled high.
More than two weeks after the worst storm to hit the northeastern United States in memory, life has returned to normal for most of the millions of residents in the storm’s path. Still, thousands remain without power. And for those with homes and businesses that took the brunt of Sandy’s beating, the cleanup and restoration work is just beginning.
Inside the AIF warehouse, a team of workers from a recovery company is working on repairs. Three men in masks are power washing the floors with bleach and sanitation solution to get rid of the dirty residue from the floodwater, attempting to restore the facility to the pristine cleanliness required of a commercial dairy.
Out front, a Dumpster teems with removed sheetrock and beams. The walls must be completely redone, ensuring that employees won’t become sick from inhaling mold or mildew. A pile of computers, printers, fax machines, desks, chairs and wires is stacked to the left, boxes of the company’s paperwork are stacked to the right. Two forklifts with blown electrical systems droop in the corner waiting to be trashed.
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