After Hurricane Maria, a Family Seeks Foothold in New York

There are 156 families from Puerto Rico temporarily staying in hotels in New York City as part of a federal program to assist island residents displaced by Hurricane Maria. Sixty-eight families from Puerto Rico are in New Jersey hotels, according to a Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman.

The Quinones family is one of them.

They're at the Extended Stay America Hotel near LaGuardia Airport, at least for a few more weeks. The hotel program is slated to expire Jan. 13. Puerto Rico’s governor has requested a 60-day extension but no decision has been made yet, the FEMA spokesman told WNYC on Tuesday.

The young parents of two daughters, Christoper and Charline, travel nearly two hours each way into Manhattan to look for work. The grandmother, Rosa, watches over the girls and tries to find more permanent housing.

"What else could we do? They need power, water, a roof over their heads, too," Christopher said. "Everything we're doing is for them."

Their home was damaged by Hurricane Maria in late September. Power was out. Schools were closed for months. Work was scarce. And it's still bad; they are reminded of that when they talk to family left behind.

Charline said her sister always warns her: "Don't come here. Stay there with the children. And move forward. Because things are hard here. They're hard."