A few barrier island residents took the opportunity at Sen. Charles Schumer’s press conference in Long Beach on boardwalk redevelopment Monday to ask about government-backed efforts to help them rebuild their Hurricane Sandy-damaged homes.
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“It’s great that we’re going to rebuild the boardwalk, but those of us with houses that have substantial damage also need Hazard Mitigation money to rebuild,” West End resident Sam Kinsley asked Schumer, referring to a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program that financially assists homeowners with flood-reduction measures.
Schumer said the $60 billion Sandy aid package for storm victims provides Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, “which is much better than FEMA and much better than flood insurance,” he said.
The senator explained that whatever the amount of funds an eligible homeowner receives from FEMA or private flood insurance, CDBG would make up the difference as a grant. “So if you got $20,000 from these other insurance sources but it cost you $100,000 to redo your home, you’d get $80,000 from the CDBG,” he said.
But while these federal funds are available now to rebuild homes, New York State must develop a program to use the funds in this fashion, Schumer said.
“I’d like the federal government to do it directly to you,” he added. “That would be quicker and avoid a middle man. But that’s not how FEMA works. We’re pushing the state to quickly come up with a plan and get the money to people ASAP.”
Moreover, the aid package features funds that would allow eligible homeowners to elevate their ground-level houses. “We saw through Long Beach and everywhere else that the houses that were elevated suffered less damages that the houses right at the ground level,” Schumer said.
An Atlantic Beach man whose home was devastated by Sandy said an independent insurance company estimates the damage to his home at $225,000, but his full coverage of federal flood insurance gave him an estimate of $80,000. “Not only myself, but others in the same situation are not being made whole by insurance companies,” he told Schumer.
The senator noted that insurance companies haven’t hired enough adjustors, and many of those who were hired don’t understand New York home and property values. “Many of them come from out of the city and out of the New York region,” he said. “We are getting them to straighten that out, and we will make sure that you will get a fair adjustment.”
The homeowner said he has not yet received money to rebuild and doesn’t expect any anytime soon. “It’s wonderful that we have plans moving forward,” he said, “but my understanding is there are still residents from Hurricane Katrina who have not been made whole yet.”
Asked about the impact sequester — future automatic across-the-board spending reductions schedule to take effect Friday as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 — could have on federal aid, Schumer said that sequester will amount to a small percentage of the package.
“Maybe five percent of the $60 billion,” he estimated. “But it’s not going to stop the immediate money from what we need.”
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