A White Road family in Mineola received a much-needed gift on Monday, April 27 when construction crews arrived to build a handicap ramp for Angelo Scuccimarri, the kinfolk patriarch. However, the workers that canvassed Scuccimarri’s property were not of the contractor or big-business type. The bulk of the group belonged to the nonprofit organization Rebuilding Together Long Island and volunteers from the Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR).
Scuccimarri just completed a lengthy hospital stay after going into respiratory failure on Dec. 8, 2014 while battling the beginning states of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). A Vietnam veteran, Scuccimarri will be 70 on May 9.
“It’s amazing,” Angelo’s wife, Marie said. “I can’t even explain it. These are great people. It’s unbelievable that a stranger would do this for someone they don’t even know.”
Marie and Angelo’s daughter, Melissa, left her job in Massachusetts in July 2014 to help care for Angelo and recently accepted a position as associate director for student involvement and leadership at Stony Brook University. Last April, the family was told Angelo’s bout with ALS was taking a turn. Melissa felt being three hours away wasn’t an option.
“I wanted to be home and help my mom and dad,” she said. “I wanted to be able to spend time with him before that happened. I didn’t expect this many people to come. I had called the VA and they gave us the phone number for Project Independence, who hooked us up with [Rebuild]. It’s amazing they’re here to do all this work.”
Rebuild is a subcontractor with the Town of North Hempstead’s Department of Service For the Aging, which handles Project Independence, a senior citizen assistance program. The department’s deputy commissioner, Paula Uhl, feels the partnership is two-fold since both groups help out those in need.
“They’re an amazing organization,” Uhl said. “They go into the home and we give [Rebuild] a general sense of what the senior is requesting. For our process, the social worker meets with the homeowner first then we make a referral and Rebuild does on-site visits to see if they can help.”
Rebuild is not just a ramp constructor. They do home safety checklists, window replacements and other handyman work.
“The town offers some financial support with a budget,” Uhl said. “But if someone else needs more [Rebuild] looks to find other resources.”
Confined to a wheelchair, the hospital would not release Angelo unless they were notified the home was accessible. Joe Botkin, a founding member of Rebuild’s Long Island Chapter, knew time was crucial.
“We got a frantic call from Marie a few weeks ago and she explained Angelo was coming home, however they couldn’t release him unless they were assured that he had access to the house,” Botkin, formerly of Williston Park, said. “We put this job on high priority. We went over and scoped out the job and lined up volunteers.”
Rebuild’s connection with LIBOR saw 17 volunteers descend on the Mineola home. Earlier this year, LIBOR made a $2,500 donation to Rebuild.
“Veterans did so much for us and to give back to them is really nice,” 22-year LIBOR member and volunteer Donna Wolfe said. “It was a rewarding experience.”
Wolfe has been volunteering for Rebuild since 2005. For her, it’s gives her a chance to help in other capacities outside of realty.
“It also gets the word out that we are more than realtors,” she said. “We try to be involved in our communities.”
But for Botkin and the 23 years of work with the group he co-founded with Sol Goldstein, retirement has been that much sweeter, one hammer and nail at a time.
“Our mission is to keep families that are in financial need in the home by doing necessary repairs that keep them there, particularly of families with a handicapped individual,” Botkin said.
