Islandia Homes Built for Returning Veterans

LongIsland.com

The Long Island Home Builders Care Development Corporation is a non-profit organization put together for military vets coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Six military veterans were treated to deeply discounted homes built specifically for them in Islandia on Thursday. The company behind the charitable endeavor is the Long Island Home Builders Care Development Corporation.
 
Each of the three-bedroom homes on the lot named Veterans Way cost $199,000 -half of the going market rate. One of the lucky veterans was Former Marines Lance Corporal Paul Milazzo. Prior to being offered the new home, he lived in a one-bedroom place with his wife and 2-month-old son. 
 
“Knowing that we have a family surrounded by us, filled with veterans — he’s going to be one lucky kid, growing up in a neighborhood like this,” Milazzo told CBS news. “It’s overwhelming to be honest with you.”
 
When Milazzo returned from the Iraq war he realized his family would no longer be able to afford to live on Long Island. The family, which was one of the lucky few selected from 130 applicants, were just about to move when they got the news of their new home.
 
“This is the best present ever,” Said Milazzo’s wife. "Who gets a home for Christmas?”
 
Since the Long Island Builders Care Development Corporation’s inception, the company’s goal was to build new homes for veterans returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Each home was made possible through donation of land, dollars, and the reduced charges of materials and labor. The LIHBCDC received some huge help in 2011 when Mark Baisch of Landmark Properties donated to them a chunk of land in Nassau County. 
 
The first veteran recipient was Staff Sergeant Omar Domenech in 2011. He served three tours of duty in Iraq and Kuwait and also received a Purple Heart. Once he came home he and his family were awarded a two-story, three bedroom high ranch in Sound Beach.
 
[Source: The Long Island Home Builders Care Development Corporation, CBS]