It’s hard to believe, but it was just three months ago when 80-year-old Howard Beach veteran Richard Leporin’s house was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy and escalating flood waters and no electricity left him freezing and huddled under a blanket with his cat until his nephew came to visit and rescued them.

It’s taken a lot of hard work, but Leporin said things have gotten much better. He had to gut the water-logged first floor of his house, replacing the wooden beams and all the electrical wiring — something he said took about a day and a half with the help of his nephew and four friends.

The residents and business owners in the Hunters Point South neighborhood of Long Island City, where Borden Avenue meets the East River, are slowly picking up the pieces in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

This low-lying swath of Western Queens suffered the most damage in the area.

It is not entirely infrequent that the most common calls for contractors, handymen and service providers end up being the easiest tasks to perform on one’s own. Prevention, as always, is a key element in this argument but seeing as painting and leaks are the most common home improvement calls made, along with numerous installation requests, it’s not hard to see why DIY has become a bit of a fad in the preceding years.