GREENE – Days after moving into her Town of Greene home, the disaster of the century took over, leaving Elaina Crosby, 31, and her daughter, Rebecca, 4, to start all over again.
“The entire place is ruined,” Crosby said. “I honestly don’t even know where to begin.”
The young mother said she purchased the house a month ago as a secondary living space for summers and vacations with her daughter.
“My husband builds bridges, and most of his work is done on the road,” she said. “So I wanted to have a nice, quiet, cozy place where I felt safe being alone with Becca. We found this spot and I fell in love with it.”
Although it was not her primary living space, Crosby said everything she put into the house was hers.
“Antiques, heirlooms. Things I’ve had since I was a kid that I couldn’t get rid of,” she said. “Everything that I couldn’t fit in our house, and all the furniture that my grandmother passed down to me. Gone.”
But one positive thing this Syracuse native said came out of this was the quick and caring response from the community.
“We were told we needed to get out as soon as possible, so I grabbed Becca and whatever else I could and started out the door,” she said. “I was beginning to get worried that we weren’t going to make it out - there was water everywhere. But the fire department showed up, got us out, and brought us to shelter. They were amazing.”
The mother of one said she was lucky enough to have insurance, and although her memories can not be replaced, she will spend the next few weeks trying to take care of the mess that was left behind.
“There is still a significant amount of water that is keeping me from being able to get inside the place, but we have the option of doing things from home (in Trenton, N.J.), she said. “I’ve spent the last few nights in a hotel and will continue to do so until things clear up. But this has really been an experience for me.”
Crosby said her husband, currently in California, told her to “stay put and listen to whatever they have to say,” and with a smile added, “I don’t think he knows what to do. He’s over there and we’re here. But that’s OK because I feel safe here. Everyone took such great care of us. They didn’t even know us. That is exactly what we were looking for.”