Courtesy of Build It Back
According to the City, as of last week, 3,819 Superstorm Sandy-damaged homes in the Build It Back program have completed construction.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Nearly 1,400 homes in the City Build It Back program have finished construction since October 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced.
The 1,394 projects include ground-up reconstructions, elevating existing homes and extensive rehabilitations of damaged properties. According to the administration, as of last week, 3,819 Superstorm Sandy-damaged homes have completed construction.
“While we still have a lot of work to do, we are seeing real progress under Build It Back, and more families hurt by Sandy are moving home every week. We will never walk away from the families and communities so badly damaged by this storm,” de Blasio said.
According to the City, Build It Back is now completing homes on an aggressive schedule, and has significantly increased its pace. When de Blasio took office in January 2014, no homes were under construction and no checks had been issued. The program began under the Bloomberg administration in 2013.
Of 8,278 applicants in BIB, 5,174 require construction work performed by Build It Back. As of June 13, 4,746 of those homes, or 92 percent, have seen construction start, and 3,819, or 74 percent, have seen construction finished. Overall, 95 percent of families have been issued a check or are in construction.
Of the projects where the City is managing construction, which comprise the vast majority of Build It Back homes, 98 percent of homeowners have been served and 86 percent have had their construction finished, de Blasio said.
Out of a total $20 billion allocated to the City by the federal government for Sandy recovery, Build It Back will cost $2.2 billion. The average age of homes in the program is 81 years old, the administration noted, predating modern building codes. After construction began, and damaged and deteriorated conditions of homes became clearer, the de Blasio administration requested, and the federal government approved, adding $500 million to the $1.7 billion estimate of costs needed to complete the program.
“[Superstorm] Sandy, the worst natural disaster in the city’s history, demonstrated our vulnerabilities to coastal storms and flooding risks. It also demanded that we not only build back what was, but that we invest to better prepare for the growing risks of climate change and rising seas,” said Daniel Zarrilli, NYC’s senior director for Climate Policy and Programs and Chief Resilience Officer. “Today’s announcement shows that, despite the many challenges, the hard work is paying off. Thanks to Amy Peterson and her team at Build it Back, we are seeing results. These efforts, and others being taken across the city as part of an over-$20-billion resiliency program, are helping us to build a stronger, more resilient city.”
The positive news arrives after BIB garnered a flurry of negative headlines at the end of 2016. In October, de Blasio informed residents that the administration will not be able to wrap up the Build it Back by the end of this year, a deadline set by Hizzoner in October 2015. And in September 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported that “significant cost overruns in Build it Back appear to be leaving city taxpayers on the hook for some of the storm-protection initiatives. The program is about $500 million over budget.”
