Rebuilding Schoharie

El-Wise Noisette

Preparing the insulation are UFT Bronx Borough Representative Jose Vargas (left) and Director of Community and Parent Outreach Anthony Harmon. More photos >>

El-Wise Noisette

UFT President Michael Mulgrew prepares to install Sheetrock.

El-Wise Noisette

An example of the devastation that hit upstate New York during Hurricane Irene.

While New York City shrugged off Hurricane Irene as the disaster that never materialized, the residents of Schoharie in upstate New York watched as the water in nearby rivers reached record levels. When the rivers finally peaked, every single business on Main Street was gone and 275 of the town’s 350 homes were under four-to-eight feet of water.

Many families were left homeless, government services were paralyzed and the town’s tax base was all but gone. Despite the long odds, the residents of Schoharie are determined to rebuild, and leading the way are its teachers, a hearty bunch who are working night and day to bring the town back, one house and one family at a time.

“We’re part of the community,” said Martin Messner, the president of the Schoharie Teachers’ Association. “We’re not going anywhere, and we’re going to help rebuild.”

Since the water receded, the teachers have gone house to house, shoveling out the muck and mud and ripping them down to the studs. They are coordinating a large-scale volunteer effort based out of the school that operates seven days a week.

On Sunday, Oct. 9, a busload of UFT members and staff traveled to Schoharie, which is 40 miles west of Albany, to lend a hand. Led by UFT President Michael Mulgrew, the volunteers fanned out to three different sites to help install insulation and sheetrock.

“I didn’t just want to donate money,” said Joanne Bullaro, a teacher and chapter leader at PS 100 in Brooklyn. “I wanted to be able to meet the people we were helping and work hands-on with other UFT members.”

The UFT volunteers got a crash course in some construction techniques and quickly got to work. Like most of the town, the first floors and basements of the three sites had been completely gutted.

Messner said the UFT members had made a pivotal contribution.

“People are just trying to get back on their feet,” he said. “Winter is coming. By putting in insulation, it allows the homeowner to heat their home while they continue to make the repairs throughout the winter.”

The damage done by the flooding remains palpable around the town. The smell of dampness and river silt permeates the neighborhoods, and piles of debris still line the streets. Roads remain closed. But the sounds of hammers and saws can be heard everywhere.

The trip was organized by UFT Vice President Karen Alford, who also heads the UFT Disaster Relief Fund, which is collecting donations to help flood victims in upstate New York. “Today was about helping our NYSUT brothers and sisters, working together as a community and making sure that families can come back to the town that they love.”

Anthony Harmon, the UFT director of parent and community outreach, agreed. “This is unionism at its finest,” he said.

“It makes you feel so good to have strangers come and help,” said Marion Burghart, a librarian at the Schoharie Central School whose own home was engulfed in eight feet of water. “We’ve been trying to do things to keep the town and school viable because if everyone leaves, there is no school.”

NYSUT Executive Vice President Andy Pallotta, a former UFT district representative who led the NYSUT contingent of volunteers that day, said, “Throughout this project I’ve thought a lot about the ties that bind us, and of course I’ve thought a lot about warmth and security.”

“It means everything to the community,” said Mark Pracher, a Schoharie teacher, of the volunteers who are helping them rebuild. “When you see lights come on in the village finally, that gives you that little spark of hope.”