Stratford, Milford begin relief efforts

(WTNH) -- Stratford and Milford, both hit hard by Sandy, have began there relief efforts and waterfront restaurant owners are hoping to re-open soon.

With no power on a dark street, it's a dilemma -- Try to drive through the deep water covering Merwin Avenue or turn around. We turned around, but many cars didn't. Once the sun came up, it was back to cleaning up in Milford.

"Well, we had some damage on our porch where the waves took out some of our hurricane windows. Surprisingly they didn't withstand the force of the water," Rose Lance of Milford said.

News 8's Kent Pierce said, "So the hurricane windows couldn't stand up to a hurricane?"

"Nope, not at all," Lance said.

While city crews got all the debris off the streets in Milford, it was sand in the streets of Stratford. On Shoreline Drive Sandy literally flushed things out of these beach houses. Down the street, Marnick's Hotel and Restaurant stood for 56 years, but Sandy hit it hard.

"A lot of damage. It could have been worse, but it could have been better. The front, undermined the building. It didn't fall down, but there's a lot of constructural damage," Nick Quattone III, from Marnick's Restaurant and Rodeway Inn, said.

The Quattones said Sandy was much worse than Irene, but they still hope to reopen soon.

Pierce asked Nick Quattone Jr., "When do you think you'll be back open this time around?"

Quattone Jr. said, "If we get power it could be a week but we don't know."

They're still standing, whereas some of the houses on the beach in Milford might not be for much longer.

Pierce asked Lance back in Milford, "When you look around do you feel maybe on the lucky side?"

"Absolute. It's remarkable what mother nature can do," Lance said.