12-year Holgate summer resident Jack Valyo is slowly rebuilding.
"It's going. Stay positive and improve every day; that's all I can do," Valyo said.
His home at Lindy's Trailer Park was gutted. He says insurance doesn't cover the damage, but he and his neighbors consider themselves lucky.
Hurricane Sandy levelled the LBI trailer park. All that's left is a vacant lot and memories.
"We come down to the space and have coffee in the morning. I just picked a tomato off an existing tomato plant on my spot just a little while ago. Something is alive there," Holgate resident Joe Shields said.
Construction business is very much alive in Long Beach Township.
Sandy damaged more than 4,000 homes.
A cottage industry of elevating homes has literally sprung up. But, about a quarter of residents are still awaiting insurance and government assistance.
Elizabeth Burke Beaty's family has lived in Holgate year round since the 1960s.
They are now renters. Sandy demolished their home and they can't rebuild.
"We lost everything. Everything, except for our lives, which is most important. We gained an amazing community," Beaty said.
