The City Council passed a package of legislation Tuesday that would help safeguard against the effects of future storms like Superstorm Sandy on infrastructure. Credit: Getty Images
A little over a month since it became evident that the city’s Sandy housing recovery program was stalling out, Mayor Bill de Blasioannounced that the city will pour millions of federal dollars into a restuctured effort and appointed several new leaders to the recovery team.
Speaking at a library on Rockaway Beach Boulevard in Queens, de Blasio said for many New Yorkers, the aftermath of the superstorm had been “the worst 17 months of their lives.”
He named former MTA executive Bill Goldstein the new senior advisor for recovery resiliency and infrastructure.Amy Peterson will be the new director of the Housing Recovery Office and Daniel Zarrilli will head up the new Office of Recovery and Resiliency.
The overhauled Build It Back program will involve a more streamlined process for approving rebuilding projects and reimbursement funds, de Blasio said, regardless of their income level. An additional $100 million in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development has been earmarked for home rebuilding.
As of last month, a report revealed, none of the people who applied for Hurricane Sandy recovery funds under Build It Back had seen construction begin.
An updated progress report is set to be released in two weeks.
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