At least 100 homes in neighborhoods battered by Hurricane Sandy have been elevated to protect them from future storms, and there are plans to raise hundreds more, and while the storm-proofing is creating more resilient communities, it is also changing the landscape. NY1's Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.

For lifelong New Dorp Beach resident John Clacher, his new digs 14 feet above sea level come with positives.

"I like my view," he said. "It's hip in the morning. It's hip at night. You see the sun, it sets right over there, so that's a nice thing."

It also comes with negatives.

"It's a pain. It's a pain. It's a problem," Clacher said.

The problem, he says, has been getting comfortable in his raised home. Instead of worrying about the ocean flooding his home, he worries about the wind. He also worries about the stairs. Before Sandy, he had just three front steps. Now, he climbs more than than a dozen.

Neighbor Mike Meunch says that's taken some getting used to.

"Even for the dogs, it's a big adjustment. It's hard," Meunch said. "My wife, it's kind of hard for her. In and out. Thirteen stairs up."

The city's Build it Back program has completed the elevation of 25 homes in the borough, and work on more than 100 other houses is underway.

The change to some neighborhoods has been dramatic.

"Sooner or later, it's the lower houses that are going to look weird," said Heather Oefelein, whose home will be raised.

The problem is, while some are raising their homes so they can get cheaper flood insurance, others are choosing not to.

Some local officials say it would have been better for the city and state to simply buy out entire neighborhoods and redevelop them with a uniform look.

"You had one elevated, one not elevated, one abandoned, and you had this jack o'lantern, saw tooth effect. It's precisely the reason why we fought for acquisition for redevelopment," said Staten Island Borough President James Oddo. "Because this guy may not even be in the program, maybe he's got a mortgage, he doesn't have a mortgage, and he's not worried about flood insurance. So you're going to have this saw tooth effect, and that's not good for any community."

How high a home is raised is determined by a federal formula based on topography and flood risk. The height of raised houses can differ from home to home. And then there are the homeowners leaving their houses as is.It is just one more way that Sandy is changing the face of communities along the shore.