STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Along the borough's hard-hit shores, there are signs of life.
People return to their badly damaged homes to rebuild. Contractor vans are a common sight in driveways.
Restaurants and businesses shuttered by the storm have opened their doors, familiar neighborhood spots welcoming back those who had been hit hardest.
But for many people hit by Hurricane Sandy, even as some are able to return to their homes, normal still seems far away.
NEW DRYWALL
The basement level of Joseph Rodriguez's home on Slater Boulevard in Midland Beach was utterly destroyed by Sandy. But yesterday, contractors were putting up new drywall, replacing what had to be ripped out due to the storm surge.
"We lost everything. We had at least 15 feet of water," Rodriguez said.
But upstairs, the freshly cleaned house is in working order, and Rodriguez and his family are living there now. But his block is still a picture of destruction.
"It's normal because you're back in your house, you're not cooped up with your friends," Rodriguez said. "But when you look outside, it like a war zone. It's not normal."
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Three weeks ago, a massive boat blocked the entire street in front of Cole's Dockside, at the corner of Cleveland and Mansion Avenues in Great Kills. But Sunday, the restaurant was open for business - with a spray-painted sign at Hylan Boulevard alerting those driving by.
"It took about three weeks," owner Larry Cole said, adding the restaurant opened up on Friday.
The first step was getting an electrician in to repair his systems and get the power back on.
"We gutted the entire restaurant," Cole said. "We lost everything."
Instead of slinging drinks, workers at the bar were talking to an insurance adjustor.
"We're fighting to get paid," Cole said.
Workers painted the porch and swept a patio, but the restaurant seemed good as new, despite having been badly damaged by the storm. Cole said he couldn't even check on the place at first, stuck in New Jersey with the bridges closed. For days, huge boats blocked the streets around his restaurant.
"My goal was to get those doors open and keep my help," he said.
Employees helped with the demolition and rebuilding effort, he said, and they were back to their usual jobs on Friday. And while business has been slow, Cole said he's ready to book holiday parties and has already welcomed back his customers.
"All my regulars were here at the bar on Friday," he said.
ABANDONED BOATS
On Mansion Avenue, Larry Wunderlich lost everything he had in his basement - and was just getting to ripping it apart.
"We had about 15 boats around us," he said. "We weren't able to get into the garage."
One boat in particular was in his driveway, fully blocking his access to the hard-hit areas of his house. Yesterday, that boat was across the street and being moved by a giant forklift. Wunderlich wasn't thrilled with the behavior of many of the boat owners.
"We couldn't tow the boats without their permission, and they just came and took what they needed of the boats and abandoned them," Wunderlich said.
He was hoping to finally get his boiler and electrical system replaced so he and his wife could move back in.
"I'm two weeks behind," he said, because of the boats having blocked his access.
His wife has been living with his mother-in-law - a situation Wunderlich could only take for a few days.
"DEP and the Coast Guard said I'm priority one because I'm living with my mother-in-law," he cracked.
Because only his basement was badly damaged, he's having a difficult time getting money from his insurance company or FEMA.
"It's been a big toll on us, mentally, physically. We want to come back. We love it here," he said.
MARINA GRAND REBOOTS
The Marina Grand on Mansion Avenue also opened up last week, co-owner and chef Bill Connors said.
"We had no power for the three weeks, but once we had power, we were up and running," Connors said.
But his concern was for the long-term, saying most of his business came from catering. More than 30 parties have already canceled, and Connors is refunding all deposits, even for parties slated in the coming months.
"I'm not going to hold it against them if they live in Oakwood Beach and don't have a house anymore," Connors said.
After rebuilding his own restaurant, Connors went to help others rebuild in hard-hit neighborhoods. After seeing the destruction, he felt lucky.
"I lost money," he said. "They lost homes."
WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART
Dave Walters is one of those people who lost his home. His house at 106 Fox Lane is still standing, but it's been gutted inside, and it's surrounded by red-tagged homes that are unsafe to even enter, let alone live inside.
"It's not going. It's really not going," he said of the rebuilding work. "You've got to wait."
He needs to know if rebuilding is even worth it - will his neighborhood be bought out by the government? Will all the homes nearby his own be condemned?
"You clean up the best you can, but you've got to wait," he said. "And how long can you wait?"
Not forever, he said, when waiting means paying his mortgage and paying rent for a new place to stay. His homeowner's insurance is refusing to pay for his rental housing because they argue the damage was caused by flooding. His flood insurance doesn't cover rental assistance. FEMA won't cover it, because they say his homeowner's insurance should.
"I'm fighting it, so we'll see," he said.
As Walters worked on clearing out his home, his wife - 8 months pregnant - sat in the car.
"We had a shower on the 27th for her, and all the baby presents were in there, and they're gone," Walters said.
So is his entire basement, where his children slept.
"A week before the storm, I finished the whole basement," he said.
He lost everything in it. "But I didn't lose my kids," he said thankfully.
Walters hope the government will buy out the homeowner's in the area - he and his family don't want to return to their home after what happened.
"I would love to get out of here, but I just don't see it happening quick," he said.
'YOU WANT TO BE HOME'
But not everybody wants to leave their home behind.
"I want to come home. We're trying to see what we have to do to come home," Jackie Oefelein said outside her 177 Cedar Grove Avenue residence in New Dorp Beach. "My kids were raised here. It's the only home we've known."
Like others who were rebuilding Sunday, Mrs. Oefelein said she's gotten nowhere with insurance - and can't start doing the heavy rebuilding work until she receives payment from them.
"I don't have the money to start rebuilding. Otherwise, I would," she said.
Mrs. Oefelein is not the only one in her neighborhood rebuilding as best they can. A neighbor drove by slow to shout out to her, asking if she had a hand-truck.
"We had one," she shouted back. "The sea has it!"
While she waits to make her home livable again, she and her family are staying with her sister-in-law in Eltingville. When they can, they work on the house - which has been gutted. But a huge stack of firewood, a wood-burning stove and letters reading "HOME" over a door frame - her family added that touch last week - made the space feel cozy, despite exposed studs.
"You come on your days off, just because it's home. You want to be home," she said.