Debbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News
Carmel Costello Heffernan in the basement of her home at 169 Beach 91st St. in the Rockaways. She and her husband, Brian, will attend President Obama's Inauguration on Monday as part of an Irish delegation travelling to the ceremony.
WASHINGTON â€" For one Queens couple, a trip to Washington on the eve of President Obama's inauguration was less about politics than about finding some peace after Hurricane Sandy.
Brian and Carmel Heffernan have spent nearly three months in rebuilding mode, trying to fix up their home in Rockaway Beach after it was swamped by the superstorm.
So when they were offered an opportunity to visit Washington on Sunday, they jumped at the chance. They needed a break.
They also wanted to bring a message for Congress: "It's not over."
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While much of the storm debris may have been cleaned off the streets, many residents of the Rockaways are still struggling, they said.
And while the Heffernans said they're grateful that Congress is on the verge of approving $ 50.7 billion in disaster aid, they are worried that the money won't go directly to many of the families who desperately need aid.
"We're still waiting for help," Carmel said.
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The couple defied Mayor Bloomberg's evacuation order and rode out Sandy at home. After the storm passed, they found the floodwaters had filled their finished basement and rose a foot on their first floor.
The waters had climbed even higher in the two bungalows behind their home that they rent out in the summer months.
The Heffernans, who didn't have flood insurance, have shouldered the burden of repairs themselves.
"We can't afford to have someone come in and rebuild three homes," said Brian Heffernan, whose real estate office in Rockaway Park was also badly damaged.
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Instead, the couple - who emigrated from Ireland about 15 years ago - have relied on volunteers, including some from Irish and Irish-American groups. Indeed, many of the roughly 40 other passengers on the bus to Washington said they had volunteered in the Rockaways in the weeks after the storm.
During the four-hour long bus ride - organized by C.A.I.R., the Council on American Ireland Relations, and the Emerald Isle Immigration Center - the Heffernans grabbed the chance to read, rest and chat with them - discovering hometown connections with some of the other Ireland natives.
The passengers included six volunteers from a church in Ireland who have been helping the Heffernans repair their home.
The group's first stop in D.C. was a brunch hosted by C.A.I.R. celebrating Obama's inauguration. New Yorkers and Democrats dominated the event, with appearances by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens) and State Sen. Tim Kennedy (D-Queens).
Over the spread of eggs and the occasional Guinness, a banner in Gaelic translated to "There is no one more Irish than Barack Obama!"
The group then took a tour of the Capitol and got a glimpse of the pre-Inauguration preparations before boarding the same bus back to New York - tired but smiling.
Brian Heffernan said they are trying not to dwell on the challenges ahead - the cost of rebuilding, danger of mold, or, worse, a future storm unleashing yet another flood on the Rockaways.
They are still in the process of applying for FEMA funds.
"I have no idea how I'm going to complete the work in front of me," he said. "However, I'm staying in the game."
He said he was grateful not only to the half-dozen volunteers working on his home, but to everyone who swarmed the Rockaways to help in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
"If they had not been in Rockaway, we really, really would have suffered," he said.
He was happy that the trip to Washington could serve as a small token of thanks for some of those who have helped.
"They deserve it and so much more."
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