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.
The Build it Back program saw new and refined initiatives, including using funds to ensure every home destroyed by Superstorm Sandy is rebuilt, regardless of an applicant’s income or program prioritization. The HRO grew from a staff of 78 to 105 by transferring personnel from other agencies. The entire relief process has been reorganized to allow homeowners to receive their housing repairs faster and make payments easier.
A detailed and updated strategy with diagnostic and specific recommendations to improve Sandy recovery is scheduled to be published on April 11, 2014.
More information is available on the recovery efforts at: nyc.gov/recovery
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