Seniors gathered at the Merrick Senior Center Monday to celebrate the ribbon cutting for the freshly renovated building that needed to be gutted due to Hurricane Sandy.
Construction of the new facility was just completed, which included new insulation, a new boiler, rewiring of electric, a new refrigerator and freezer, a retiled kitchen, a new handicapped bathroom, a new stove, new ceiling tiles, electrically cleaned ducts, two new transformers, new molding and a new kitchen floor.
More than four feet of water filled the Merrick Senior Center when Sandy struck, Town Supervisor Kate Murray said.
"Many south shore seniors were flooded out of their homes during Hurricane Sandy," Murray said. "Adding insult to injury these same seniors lost their home-away-from-home to Mother Nature when the Merrick Senior Center was destroyed during the superstorm."
One of those residents was 106-year-old Sadie Salerno, who also lost her Merrick home. On Monday, Salerno joined with gleeful seniors to celebrate the reopening.
"Today's opening is an important day as we continue to recover from Hurricane Sandy," Councilwoman Angie Cullin said.
The Merrick Senior Center is open five days a week and provides recreational services to more than 170 seniors, including some in fitness, education, entertainment and trips. One of the first programs to come to the newly revitalized Merrick Senior Center will be on April 23, when a Town Veterans Services counselor will visit from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to assist veterans with resources available to them.
"Today's celebration is a shining symbol of recovery and renewal from the superstorm as we re-open the doors to what is a second home to many of our golden-aged residents," Murray said. "The forces of nature are no match for the determination of our energetic seniors."
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