Photo: Billions of dollars will be pumped into NYCHA buildings devastated by Superstorm Sandy nearly three years ago. FIle photo.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week a funding package of approximately $3 billion, which will allow the New York City Housing Authority to repair and enhance resiliency at 33 public housing developments where Sandy’s surge flooded basements and first floors, severely damaging boilers and electrical and mechanical equipment, and leaving many residents without power and heat for days or weeks. Half of the funds will be designated for repairs, while the other half will be aimed at implementing resiliency measures to better protect developments from future disasters.
“For thousands of hard-working New York families and seniors in some 200 NYCHA buildings from Red Hook to Coney Island to the Lower East to the Rockaways who were displaced and devastated by Superstorm Sandy, this massive and historic federal investment of $3 billion well-deserved dollars will both restore decent living conditions to their buildings and fortify them against future storms and disasters,” said Schumer. “This is why we fought so hard to pass the Sandy-relief bill: so every single person impacted by that disaster could be made whole, and to build back better, smarter and stronger.”
The funding is authorized by FEMA’s Alternative Procedures, which provides a lump sum payment instead of the typical incremental funding. NYCHA requires more than $18 billion beyond the funding announced this week to address its broader unmet capital needs across its portfolio of more than 330 developments.
By Forum Staff
