Eudes was working the demolition crews three weeks after Hurricane Sandy tore through New York and New Jersey. First as a volunteer and, later, as a hired hand in the Breezy Point section of Queens, Eudes hoisted waterlogged couches and mattresses out of flooded basements. He ripped out soggy carpets and mold-infested walls. As the recovery has turned to rebuilding, homeowners and contractors have come to rely on Eudes’ skills as a carpenter, tiler and painter to install new floors, put up fresh wallboard, and lay tile. An undocumented immigrant from Mexico, Eudes, 42, has noticed changes in the of day laborers after Sandy — even though their idling on street corners still irks some local residents. "They talk to us a little better, treat us with a little more respect," Eudes, a native of Puebla, speaking in Spanish, said of employers, who seem friendlier than before the storm, greeting him warmly and urging him to be careful on the job. "The need is so great. We’re bec…
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