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Cuomo: New York will be “safer” after Sandy – Metro US

Cuomo: New York will be “safer” after Sandy

Cuomo: New York will be “safer” after Sandy
Andrew Burton

On the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a report on the state’s recovery efforts.

“Superstorm Sandy demonstrated that New York as we know it faces a different reality – a reality of increasingly frequent extreme weather events that cannot be ignored,” Cuomo said. “After what we went through, we are literally reimagining our State from the ground up so that it is safer, stronger and more resilient than ever before. We are continuing this effort as we mark the second anniversary of this terrible storm …”

The storm, which struck on Oct. 29, 2012, killed 61 people and damaged 300,000 homes and housing units. Some 2 million New Yorkers lost power, and 2,000 miles of road were damaged and public transit affected.

The report shows state and federal grants have repaired 10,000 homes, given $20.8 million in small-business grants and funded about 600 programs through the NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program.

The recovery efforts are expected to generate 22,000 jobs a year for the next five years, according to a report by the SUNY Rockefeller Institute of Government

The full storm report is available here.

Also Wednesday:

  • Cuomo visited the Oakwood Beach neighborhood of Staten Island, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy. Cuomo said New York State’s Buyout & Acquisition Initiative has extended 394 offers, totaling $141 million, to Staten Island residents.
  • Cuomo announced six upstate New York locations will start storing gasoline and diesel reserves to prepare for future emergencies, including storms. The governor’s office said about 2.5 million gallons of gasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel will be held in Rensselaer, Brewerton, Rochester, Marcy, Vestal and Buffalo.