This is an excerpt from the CBS 60 Minutes article referenced below:

“When Hurricane Sandy made its way towards the East Coast in the fall of 2012, residents knew it could be devastating. What they didn’t expect was just how bad Sandy turned out to be: 117 deaths, and damage estimated at more than $60 billion, second only to Katrina.

Now two and a half years later, Sandy victims have been hit by something else they didn’t expect, the storm after the storm. Many of them say they have been cheated out of their insurance claims. Thousands of claims have still not been resolved and there is evidence that many homeowners were victims of what appears to be wide-scale fraud where original damage reports were later changed to make it look like the damage wasn’t as bad. Making matters worse, appeals to the federal agency in charge of all of this, FEMA, went nowhere.”

To read more of this 60 Minutes article and watch this video click here

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The New York State Department of State, Division of Building Standards and Codes has announced the implementation of the Code Enforcement Disaster Assistance Response (CEDAR) orientation training program. This 6-hour training orientation will be scheduled based on the number of applicants and their locations.

For all individuals interested in participating in CEDAR, please complete the CEDAR application and employer release form, and fax both forms to the Division of Building Standards and Codes Educational Services Unit at (518) 474-5788 [Read more…]

Hurricane Sandy was a late-season post-tropical cyclone that ravaged its way up the east coast in late October of 2012. The superstorm destroyed thousands of homes and left millions without power. Last weekend, Mayor de Blasio announced major changes to the Sandy Relief Plan. $100 million in federal funds has been reallocated in order to aid the victims of Sandy, with the major priority set to rebuild all destroyed homes.

Major changes made to relief plan were to boost the staff of the Housing Recovery Office (HRO), alleviate administrative bottlenecks that have kept the victims from much needed relief, and accelerate the Build it Back program to really rebuild the damaged  east coast. Senator Charles Schumer, who led the charge for the Sandy Relief Bill, also stood alongside Mayor de Blasio, along with other community leaders. [Read more…]