Assistance to New York State Sandy Survivors Tops $1 Billion

NEW YORK – Nearly seven weeks since the Oct. 30 federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Sandy in New York, more than $1 billion in state and federal assistance has been approved for survivors.

“We are all working together to get the disaster assistance where it needs to be – in the hands of survivors and communities,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Michael F. Byrne. “FEMA’s mission has been to help individuals and families recover from the disaster and we will continue to support residents until the mission is completed.”

While there is still much work to be done, this money has contributed significantly to the recovery effort. Survivors are repairing homes and debris is getting cleaned up. FEMA assistance is helping to speed the pace of recovery for survivors. 

FEMA continues to reach out to all 13 counties designated for Individual Assistance, focusing on the hardest-hit areas. Assistance to residents in affected counties includes:

• Bronx                $2.1 million
• Kings                 $175 million
• Nassau               $263.8 million
• New York         $11.9 million
• Queens              $205.9 million
• Richmond         $82.8 million
• Suffolk              $59.8 million

FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration have approved more than $1 billion for Hurricane Sandy survivors. This includes more than $806 million in Individual Assistance and more than $723 million for Housing Assistance and nearly $83 million in assistance for other needs.

• The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved more than $264 million in disaster loans to homeowners, renters and businesses. The SBA has staff members at every FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center and 19 Business Recovery Centers in the New York area to provide one-on-one help to business owners seeking disaster assistance.
• More than 256,000 New Yorkers have contacted FEMA for information or registered for assistance, including more than 139,000 who have applied through the online application site at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or on their smartphone at m.fema.gov.
• 24 Disaster Recovery Centers are open in the affected areas. These include mobile sites as well as fixed sites, and to date nearly 105,000 survivors have been assisted at Disaster Recovery Centers in New York.           
• 91 inspectors are currently in the field. To date 164,824 home inspections have been completed, making a 99 percent completion rate.
• 2 Points of Distribution remain open in Nassau County providing meals, water and blankets. 
• 13 New York counties are designated for both Individual Assistance and Public Assistance. These are Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester. Greene County has been designated for Public Assistance only. 
• Public Assistance funds are also flowing; so far, more than $318 million has been obligated to the state to help replenish dollars spent to protect New Yorkers before, during and after the storm. The FEMA PA program reimburses state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations 75 percent of costs for

disaster-related expenses associated with emergency protective measures, debris removal, and the repair and restoration of damaged infrastructure. In order to qualify, damage must be a direct result of Hurricane Sandy.

Individuals can register with FEMA online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone or tablet at m.fema.gov.  Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585.

Applicants who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362.

The toll-free telephone numbers are operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice.

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/SandyNY, www.twitter.com/FEMASandy, www.facebook.com/FEMASandy and www.fema.gov/blog.