NEW PORT RICHEY — Josephine Antonello has had a rough few months.
“I never even thought I’d make it to 70,” she said.
Her condo, like many here at the Gardens at Beacon Square, had some flooding during Hurricane Helene.
The condo association told residents they’d have to leave for as long as a year while repairs were made.
But Antonello isn’t waiting any longer to move back into her home.
“It’s yours, especially I don’t have a mortgage. So I’m boss, and I want to live here,” she said.
Attorneys for the condo association sent a letter to residents in October that said flood water infiltration is dangerous, so remediation needs to start immediately. They said flood damage is covered by FEMA, which handles the cost of remediation and reconstruction but not damage to personal property.
Antonello said more than three months later, she hasn’t seen any work done to her place.
“Not one thing.”
And although she’s a tough woman, she’s had enough of staying in hotels.
She said her condo was burglarized when she first left after the storms and a box of family jewels was stolen.
“This is too much. I’m too old now. My son says where’s that woman. I don’t know. She’s back there.”
She said she has been cleaning herself and is waiting for an inspector to give her the all-clear as far as mold goes.
I called the management company that took over at Beacon Square in October to ask about progress with the repairs but have not yet heard back.
Antonello said she hasn’t heard anything either.
“They don’t say nothing. They just hide. My son says don’t open the door to nobody.”
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