Storm relief released to first beneficiary

Posted October 10, 2013 By Jeff Morganteen

The city’s disaster relief program, called Build it Back, will begin to draw down on parts of its $1.7 billion allocation of federal relief funds and provide long-awaited aid to still-affected Hurricane Sandy survivors, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday.

The mayor’s statements came as he introduced Staten Island resident Patricia Dresch as the first city resident to see her house bought by Build it Back’s home acquisition program, which purchases substantially damaged properties and allows residents to relocate. Both Dresch’s husband and 13-year-old daughter died during Hurricane Sandy. During a news conference at Staten Island Borough Hall, she told a packed room of press and city officials that she planned to move far from the coastline. She now lives in the rectory of Our Lady of Help of Christians.

“I’m still living in the rectory and I’m hoping to go forward,” Dresch said. “Maybe a couple months from moving on to a new house, trying to get back to normalcy without my family being there, but I’m going to try and take small steps like they’ve been telling me.”

Bloomberg emphasized that Dresch was the first New York City resident to receive aid from the Build it Back program, announced this past summer and funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant program. The initiative intends to fill in the gaps left behind by insurance and FEMA payments for Sandy survivors still struggling to rebuild. The city allocated $648 million to Build it Back, which also provides relief to renters and businesses.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg addresses a news conference on Hurricane Sandy relief funds Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2013, at Staten Island Borough Hall. From left and behind the mayor: Housing Recovery Operations Director Brad Gair, Staten Island resident and Sandy survivor Patricia Dresch, U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm and City Councilmember Vincent Ignizio.
Photo: Jeff Morganteen

The mayor would not disclose how much the city paid to acquire Dresch’s damaged home.

As the New York World reported earlier this week, the slow pace of programs such as Build it Back, and New York State’s counterpart, leave displaced residents in limbo as they wait for federal funds to repair or replace their uninhabitable homes. Dresch was the first of 23,500 Build it Back applicants to receive relief through the program, Bloomberg said.

“She is the first,” Bloomberg said. “Literally No. 1 of the those 23,000 in the pipeline.”

Bloomberg said he could not provide a timetable for displaced residents, and attributed the slow pace of relief to the federal grant’s arduous verification process and the government shutdown.

“We just don’t know,” Bloomberg said. “We just started. Let me reiterate, the conditions you have to meet and that we have to justify to make sure that you do are extensive — that’s a nice way to phrase it. We think it’s going to take a long time.”

Brad Gair, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, told reporters that the ongoing government shutdown leaves the city without a second allocation of federal relief funds, part of the total $16 billion grant package meant for Sandy-affected states. That means fewer applicants could receive funding if the government shutdown persists.

“Until we know how much money we’ll get from the federal government from HUD, then we’ll have a much better sense of how far we can get into this,” Gair said.

With the available funding, the city will focus relief efforts on residents with the most economic need and the highest damage, and work down from that, Gair said.

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<h1>Storm relief released to first beneficiary</h1>The city’s disaster relief program, called Build it Back, will begin to draw down on parts of its $1.7 billion allocation of federal relief funds and provide long-awaited aid to still-affected Hurricane Sandy survivors, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday.
The mayor’s statements came as he introduced Staten Island resident Patricia Dresch as the first city resident to see her house bought by Build it Back’s home acquisition program, which purchases substantially damaged properties and allows residents to relocate. Both Dresch’s husband and 13-year-old daughter died during Hurricane Sandy. During a news conference at Staten Island Borough Hall, she told a packed room of press and city officials that she planned to move far from the coastline. She now lives in the rectory of Our Lady of Help of Christians.
“I’m still living in the rectory and I’m hoping to go forward,” Dresch said. “Maybe a couple months from moving on to a new house, trying to get back to normalcy without my family being there, but I’m going to try and take small steps like they’ve been telling me.”
Bloomberg emphasized that Dresch was the first New York City resident to receive aid from the Build it Back program, announced this past summer and funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant program. The initiative intends to fill in the gaps left behind by insurance and FEMA payments for Sandy survivors still struggling to rebuild. The city allocated $648 million to Build it Back, which also provides relief to renters and businesses.
<div id="attachment_12538" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-12538" class="size-medium wp-image-12538" alt="Mayor Michael Bloomberg addresses a news conference on Hurricane Sandy relief funds Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2013, at Staten Island Borough Hall. From left and behind the mayor: Housing Recovery Operations Director Brad Gair, Staten Island resident and Sandy survivor Patricia Dresch, U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm and City Councilmember Vincent Ignizio. Photo: Jeff Morganteen" src="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/BLOOMBERG_SANDY-300x169.jpg" width="300" height="169" srcset="thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/BLOOMBERG_SANDY-300x169.jpg 300w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/BLOOMBERG_SANDY-352x198.jpg 352w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/BLOOMBERG_SANDY-500x281.jpg 500w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/BLOOMBERG_SANDY.jpg 568w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Mayor Michael Bloomberg addresses a news conference on Hurricane Sandy relief funds Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2013, at Staten Island Borough Hall. From left and behind the mayor: Housing Recovery Operations Director Brad Gair, Staten Island resident and Sandy survivor Patricia Dresch, U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm and City Councilmember Vincent Ignizio. Photo: Jeff Morganteen</div>
The mayor would not disclose how much the city paid to acquire Dresch’s damaged home.
<a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.thenewyorkworld.com/2013/10/08/sandy-aid-wait/');" href="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/2013/10/08/sandy-aid-wait/">As the New York World reported earlier this week</a>, the slow pace of programs such as Build it Back, and New York State’s counterpart, leave displaced residents in limbo as they wait for federal funds to repair or replace their uninhabitable homes. Dresch was the first of 23,500 Build it Back applicants to receive relief through the program, Bloomberg said.
“She is the first,” Bloomberg said. “Literally No. 1 of the those 23,000 in the pipeline.”
Bloomberg said he could not provide a timetable for displaced residents, and attributed the slow pace of relief to the federal grant’s arduous verification process and the government shutdown.
“We just don’t know,” Bloomberg said. “We just started. Let me reiterate, the conditions you have to meet and that we have to justify to make sure that you do are extensive — that’s a nice way to phrase it. We think it’s going to take a long time.”
Brad Gair, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, told reporters that the ongoing government shutdown leaves the city without a second allocation of federal relief funds, part of the total $16 billion grant package meant for Sandy-affected states. That means fewer applicants could receive funding if the government shutdown persists.
“Until we know how much money we’ll get from the federal government from HUD, then we’ll have a much better sense of how far we can get into this,” Gair said.
With the available funding, the city will focus relief efforts on residents with the most economic need and the highest damage, and work down from that, Gair said.

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