Five Key Changes To New York City's Sandy Recovery Effort

After lengthy delays in helping New Yorkers displaced by Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Bill de Blasio's Office of Recovery and Resiliency on Thursday released a comprehensive report on the progress of the maligned "Build It Back" program as well as an overhaul of the program in order to accelerate the recovery effort. 

While announcing the changes to Build It Back at a press conference, de Blasio eschewed the lofty rhetoric bestowed on many of his policies and initiatives--"historic" is a frequently used adjective--and instead pledged a "laser-like" focus on getting residents back on their feet. Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo delivered a not-so-subtle nudge to the mayor during the press conference, saying he hopes de Blasio demonstrates the same energy on Sandy recovery that he has on "some of the victories he’s had in the first few months," alluding perhaps to de Blasio's public campaign for universal prekindergarten. 

"We are focused in the way you said," de Blasio said in response to Oddo's comments. "That we know we have to constantly stay on this plan, build out this plan, get results and come to communities and make sure it’s working. So laser-like focus is the word for it. It is what you should demand of us, and it’s what you’re going to see."

De Blasio's revised Sandy plan recommends several immediate changes to speed up the process. Here are five of those key changes.

1. A Goal for Real Progress

The mayor's office has been trying to put a positive spin on the "progress" made with Build It Back ever since de Blasio named his Sandy recovery team several weeks ago, but the numbers tell a different story: Of the more than 20,000 applicants to the program, 30 repair reimbursement checks have been issued and only nine new homes have broken ground. The good news is de Blasio committed to a goal of starting construction on at least 500 homes and issuing 500 reimbursement checks by the end of this summer. To be sure, there are many logistical challenges to reaching those numbers, including uncertainty over when additional federal aid will arrive to augment the Build It Back program. Ambition is never a bad thing, but should the mayor fall well short of his desired numbers come Sept. 21, the backlash could reach a fever pitch. 

2. Cutting the Red Tape 

During a New York City Council oversight hearing two weeks ago, Amy Peterson, de Blasio's director of the Sandy Housing Recovery Office, detailed the cumbersome process Build It Back applicants have to go through to become eligible for reimbursement money or new home construction. While de Blasio can do little to circumvent the requirements set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the mayor's Sandy recovery staff recommended several changes to enhance coordination, not only between city agencies but also between city, state and federal government. These changes include convening regular inter-agency working groups at City Hall to set priorities and resolve ongoing issues; establishing the Sandy Community Initiative to expedite and coordinate city services and capital projects in affected neighborhoods; and creating a regional group along that brings together HUD, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and New Jersey and New York state governments to coordinate housing recovery activities with the city and expedite services. The city can take notes from the New York Rising program--the state's Build It Back equivalent--which has issued checks and started building homes at a much faster pace than the city. 

3. Expanding Eligibility for Relief 

Since the Build It Back program had yet to receive enough federal aid to cover all applicants, the city evidently relied on HUD's complex proritization system to determine which New Yorkers were eligible for aid. The system includes an income verification process to ensure that the majority of funds available were spent on individuals who earn less than 80 percent of the Area Median Income. De Blasio's proposal eliminates priority levels for single family reimbursement programs to allow homeowners awaiting repairs to receive some reimbursement for out-of-pocket rebuilding expenses. Another change for single-family homeowners would increase outreach and access to the state's acquisition for redevelopment plan for eligible homeowners regardless of income level. The administration also plans to implement a reimbursement program for select multifamily applicants, though details on that component were not included in the report.

4. Increasing Resources and Staff

Part of the reason the state has been more successful in its recovery efforts, according to sources with knowledge of the New York Rising program, is that it was properly staffed from the outset to navigate complex HUD requirements and coordinate between agencies. De Blasio and his Sandy team hope to rectify the problems on the city level by hiring or assigning additional staff at the various city agencies involved in recovery, including the Department of Buildings, Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Notably, the mayor indicated that 50 staff members from the Department of Buildings would be exclusively assigned to Build It Back. The administration had previously announced that the Housing Recovery Office would see a 35 percent increase in staff, mostly through transferring personnel from other agencies. 

5. Engaging Impacted Communities

Using the aftermath of Sandy as a vehicle for job creation and community engagement is perhaps the most crucial change made by the de Blasio administration, and one that had been recommended by several NGOs and grassoots organizations involved in the recovery. In his remarks at the press conference the mayor committed to building a "high quality local workforce" by recruiting skilled local residents with help from labor unions and pre-apprenticeship and workforce development programs, especially in construction. The mayor also plans to establish borough directors in Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn with the authority to direct city agencies to increase community engagement and coordination. Most notably, the mayor promised that he would be "coming back here personally" to Staten Island and other affected areas to deliver updates on progress made with Build It Back.