U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand today announced that New York City is receiving over $22 million in funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The entities receiving these funds include the New York City Housing Authority, Department of Parks and Recreation, and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The funds are for services dispensed and repairs made immediately after Superstorm Sandy struck.
“These New York City departments helped countless individuals in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and worked to get the City back to normalcy,” said Schumer. “This federal funding is critical in making sure that local residents are not entirely on the hook for these expenses.”
“Our city agencies were on the front lines before, during and after the storm to stand by their fellow New Yorkers,” said Gillibrand. “This federal reimbursement to New York City for repairs made immediately after the storm is critically important in ensuring local communities don’t shoulder the burden alone.”
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) was awarded $9,573,490 for emergency protective measures that it undertook to secure its public housing facilities and ensure the safety of their residents throughout NYC in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Due to widespread flooding and storm surges along coastal areas, housing properties owned and operated by NYCHA were flooded, including basements containing power plants, boilers, electrical systems, etc. NYCHA assisted with evacuation of residents from public housing facilities, search and rescue efforts, setting up of generators to provide temporary power to housing facilities, facilitating public communications on sheltering & evacuations, and pumping water out of basements and boiler plants of the public housing facilities.
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation was awarded $2,380,967in FEMA permanent repairs and restoration to the World’s Fair Marina. Specifically, repairs to the World’s Fair Marina includes replacement and repair of the 3 gangways, 85 recreational wood docks, 2 commercial docks, 38 wood pilings, and various electrical boxes, lines and plumbing components that were washed away or severely damaged by the storm surge and flooding.
Additionally, the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation was awarded $7,954,065 for debris removal after Superstorm Sandy. Over 18,000 trees were deposited or fell onto public rights of ways, streets, parks and other public access areas throughout New York City that posed an immediate threat to public safety as a result of Superstorm Sandy.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene was awarded $2,467,537 by FEMA. In response to Superstorm Sandy, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene activated its emergency operation center to coordinate and assist with the medical and mental health needs of disaster victims located at shelters that the City had set up. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene dispatched a large contingent of its staff to the shelters, and dispatched nurses from the Visiting Nurses of NYC, a nonprofit, to perform follow-up wellness checks on individuals potentially in need of medical monitoring or treatment. The reimbursement covers overtime and material costs for emergency and contractors for various services (maintenance, rental of pumps to pump out floodwaters at some of the shelters, medically trained individuals to perform wellness checks).