Governor Cuomo Announces $20 Million FEMA Grant to Help New York City Pay for Cleaning Up after Hurricane Sandy

NEW YORK – Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a $20 million Public Assistance grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the City of New York Department of Sanitation to help pay for costs incurred cleaning up after Hurricane Sandy. With this grant, FEMA has awarded more than $318 million in Public Assistance funds to New York State since the storm.

“As New York City and the downstate region recover from Hurricane Sandy, we will continue to work closely with the federal government to get as much financial assistance as possible,” Governor Cuomo said. “This grant from FEMA will help the city cover clean-up costs that we simply cannot afford on our own. I thank the agency for their commitment to our state.”

“New Yorkers have done an extraordinary job preparing for and responding to the storm,” said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Michael F. Byrne. “As we begin the recovery, FEMA’s commitment to New York has never been stronger. We will be here until the job is finished.”

The $20 million awarded today is in addition to a previous grant of $26 million to help cover 75 percent of the Department of Sanitation’s estimated expenses for debris removal in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Other FEMA Public Assistance funds awarded to New York so far includes:

• New York University Langone Medical Center: $149.5 million to reimburse the cost of evacuating patients, performing emergency repairs, cleaning facilities and replacing critical equipment.
• New York Police Department: $75,660,695 to help pay for uniformed and civilian personnel who patrolled streets, distributed food and water to hurricane survivors and assisted residents in obtaining emergency medical care.
• City of New York Department of Sanitation: $46,793,952 to reimburse labor and equipment expenditures for the removal of an estimated 1.3 million cubic yards of debris. 
• City of Long Beach: $24,315,825 for expenses incurred collecting and clearing more than 700,000 cubic yards of debris scattered across the city.
• Nassau County: $18,086,238 for costs associated with debris removal and disposal throughout the county.
• Nassau County: $2,812,500 to help pay for the implementation of the Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) Program.
• Suffolk County: $1,125,000 for costs associated with STEP

The FEMA Public Assistance 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.

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.