FEMA to provide more than $254 million to rebuild NY

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced three new Public Assistance (PA) grants to New York, which will bring the total awarded since Hurricane Sandy to $254 million.  

The PA grants will be used to reimburse the NYPD, NYU Langone Medical Center and the Department of Sanitation for part of the cost used to save lives, protecting property and cleaning up the city before, during and after the hurricane. 

"I salute the workers of NYPD, NYU Medical Center, and the Sanitation Department for their tireless efforts to protect New Yorkers," said Michael F. Byrne, FEMA federal coordinating officer. "They are vitally important to the health and safety of the city and their work is paving the road to recovery." 

FEMA also announced Saturday a $26.3 million PA grant to reimburse the Department of Sanitation which mobilized its entire workforce to remove debris left behind by the storm. Hurricane Sandy's storm surge overwhelmed residential areas with high winds and heavy rains brought down trees, tree limbs and power lines throughout the city, blocking roads and creating hazardous conditions.

From October 30 through November 10, sanitation crews removed an estimated 1.3 million cubic yards of debris.  

On Friday, FEMA announced two PA grants:

• $114 million awarded to the NYU Medical Center to reimburse the cost of evacuating patients, performing emergency repairs and to help pay for crews who cleaned, sanitized and inspected facilities.
• $75 million will go to the NYPD 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.  

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. 

FEMA has awarded more than $215 million in Public Assistance funds in the past two days; this is in addition to $39 million previously awarded to Long Beach and Nassau County. In total, FEMA has approved more than $254 million in PA funds since the Nov. 1 disaster declaration for Hurricane Sandy.