More than $1.7 billion provided by FEMA, SBA to New York Sandy survivors

NEW YORK — Federal disaster assistance to New York survivors of Hurricane Sandy totals more than $1.7 billion.

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                $2.5 million
• Kings                 $194.8 million
• Nassau              $284.4 million
• New York           $13.2 million
• Queens              $224.3 million
• Richmond           $90.5 million
• Suffolk               $66 million

FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration have approved more than $1.7 billion for Hurricane Sandy survivors in New York. FEMA has approved nearly $881 million for individuals and households, including more than $770 million for housing assistance and nearly $111 million in assistance for other needs.

• SBA has approved more than $772 million in disaster loans to homeowners and renters and more than $53 million in disaster businesses loans. The SBA has staff members at every FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center and 17 Business Recovery Centers in the New York area to provide one-on-one help to business owners seeking disaster assistance.

• More than 266,000 New Yorkers have contacted FEMA for information or registered for assistance, including nearly 144,000 who have applied through the online application site at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or on their smartphone at m.fema.gov.

• 17 Disaster Recovery Centers are open in the affected areas. These include mobile sites as well as fixed sites. To date, more than 147,000 survivors have been assisted at Disaster Recovery Centers in New York.          

• 55 inspectors are currently in the field. To date, 176,448 home inspections have been completed, making a 99.5 percent completion rate.

• 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.

• Nearly $1.9 billion has been paid to National Flood Insurance Program policy holders in New York for losses resulting from Sandy. The National Flood Insurance Program, administered by FEMA, offers flood insurance to all homeowners, renters and business owners if their community participates in the NFIP.

• Since Hurricane Sandy made landfall, FEMA has provided more than $604 million in Public Assistance grants in New York State. 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.

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 operate 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. EST, seven days a week.

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.                                                                                         

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.