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Source: Free Press Pics via Flickr

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, many business and homeowners were left with tough financial decisions as to how to rebuild their lives. Many were offered loans by the Small Business Association (SBA) but rejected them because they didn’t want to incur more debt.

Because of complex bureaucratic rules, business and homeowners who rejected the SBA loans are now being denied some resources, leading politicians like Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Michael Grimm to press the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into changing their rules, according to a press release.

Current HUD policy now demands that the amount of approved loans, including those who didn’t even accept them in the first place, are to be counted against the potential grant amounts they are eligible for in the upcoming distribution of the Community Development Block Grants. The justification of the complex rule that Schumer and Grimm are battling against was explained in the release:

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, which comes in the form of a grant, not a loan, is intended to supplement other forms of available aid, and cover only “unmet need.” In determining the amount of “unmet need,” HUD regulations provide that any SBA loans for which a homeowner is approved are counted against the of unmet need.

The problem with this regulation is that it does not take into consideration the circumstances that might have led someone to reject a loan in the first place. Schumer expressed concern that this policy will hurt people who need it most.

“This policy will punish these homeowners and HUD should do everything in it power to make sure these individuals are eligible for additional federal assistance,” said Schumer.

Schumer’s concerns were shared by Grimm, according to SI Live.

Source: Wikimedia Commons via Wikipedia

The deadline to register for FEMA and SBA assistance is coming and this time there won’t be any more extensions, the agency warns. The final deadline is this Saturday, April 13. Below we are posting the relevant information on how to register as well as some new information on how federal assistance will affect your taxes and how to appeal a denied claim.

• New York survivors have until April 13 to register for possible federal disaster assistance.
• For Sandy survivors who receive assistance and file income taxes: Federal disaster aid such as grants for temporary housing, or replacement of personal property is not taxable income.
• Survivors will not pay additional federal taxes or lose Social Security, Medicare or other government benefits because of federal disaster assistance.
• Federal disaster assistance excluded from federal taxable income is also excluded from NY state taxable income.
• For more information, survivors can visit the IRS’s Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page at IRS.gov and the State of New York’s Department of Taxation and Finance Hurricane Sandy relief page at tax.ny.gov.
• Registered survivors who receive a determination letter may appeal within 60 days of the date of the last decision letter.
• Registered survivors should respond to letters from FEMA and keep their contact information updated.
• Survivors can register:
  • Online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by smartphone or tablet at m.fema.gov or download the FEMA app.
  • By calling the FEMA Helpline: 800-621-3362 (Voice, 7-1-1/Relay) or  (TTY) 800-462-7585. The line is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. EDT, seven days a week.
  • A FEMA Language Assistance Line is available for those who need services in languages other than English or Spanish. Call: 866-333-1796.
• April 13 is also the deadline to apply for a disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
  • Apply online at https://DisasterLoan.SBA.gov/ ELA.
  • Call the SBA Disaster Customer Service Center at: 800-659-2955 (TTY800-877-8339). Help is also available by sending an email to DisasterCustomer­Service@sba.gov or at sba.gov.
  • To find a Disaster Loan Outreach Center or the nearest Business Recovery Center call: 800-659-2955 (TTY800-877-8339) or visit www.FEMA.gov/ disaster-recovery-centers.
• State and federal officials encourage anyone affected by the disaster to register for assistance by calling toll-free:
  • 800-621-3362 (Voice 7-1-1/Relay).
  • Or TTY: 800-462-7585.
  • Register online anytime at DisasterAssistance.gov.
  • Visit m.fema.gov on your mobile phone or download the FEMA app on your smartphone or tablet.
  • Multilingual operators are available.
  • For more information on programs in several languages visit: www.fema.gov/all-languages.

Photo By Erica Sherman

People have been waiting a long time to see the the $60 billion promised by Congress last January. The first round of money dispersal is finally coming in the form of a $1.77 billion Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery fund (CDBG-DR) and the city wants the public’s opinion on the best way to dole it out, according to a city press release.

A report by YNN asked Staten Islanders stricken with Sandy woes for their opinions and most agreed that the first people that should be helped are the ones who got hit the worst.

“I want to see that aid get actually to the families that need it,” Tom Seery, whose home was damaged, told YNN.

Uncle Sam Is Picking Up NYC’s Sandy Tab. (Source: James Montgomery Flagg via Wikimedia Commons)

When Superstorm Sandy wrecked New York City late last October, we knew it would cost billions of dollars to clean up the mess left by Mother Nature. Thankfully, we can count on Uncle Sam, another mythical avatar, to pay for the mess left in Sandy’s wake. According to a report by Crain’s, the federal government, via FEMA and community development block grant funds, is paying 100 percent of the city’s enormous Sandy repair bill.

New York City alone suffered a staggering $6.3 billion in damages and emergency expenditures in the wake of Sandy’s wrath. FEMA is paying for 90 percent of the total bill, with the remaining 10 percent coming from the aforementioned community development block grant funds.

The money breaks down as follows.

• $341 million to cover staffing costs,
• $188 million in overtime pay for city workers
• $1.4 billion in immediate repair and relief bills
• $3.1 billion for road reconstruction, parks, beaches and pier repair
• $1.8 billion to fund public housing and business recovery
• $500 million to fund the city’s Rapid Repairs program
• $100 million for Bellevue and Coney Island Hospitals
• $61 million for debris removal
• $57 million for school repairs
• $34 million for demolitions of uninhabitable homes
• $824 million for road reconstruction
• $436 million for beachfront repairs in the Rockaways, Brighton Beach and Coney Island
• $528 million for future expenditures on beach, boardwalk, park and playground construction

It’ll be nice to see how far all this money goes to cleaning up and repairing the city, that is until another storm comes and washes away all the work this cash is earmarked for.

Source: Wikimedia Commons via Wikipedia

Every month it seems that we report on the deadlines to register for FEMA and SBA assistance and then a few days later, we learn that the deadlines have been extended another month. Well, today it has happened again.

The original deadline set for March 29 has been extended an extra 15 days until Saturday, April 13.

If you haven’t registered and are waiting for the last minute to get support, here are the relevant details.

How to register with FEMA

Individuals can register with FEMA online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone or tablet by going to m.fema.gov or by downloading the FEMA app.

Survivors can also register by calling the FEMA Helpline: 800-621-3362 (Voice, 7-1-1/Relay) or (TTY) 800-462-7585. The line is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST, seven days a week until further notice.

Anyone with questions regarding the FEMA registration process, the status of their application and available disaster assistance programs is encouraged to visit a Disaster Recovery Center or contact FEMA.

To find the nearest Disaster Recovery Center, the following options are available: Text DRC and a Zip Code to 43362 (4FEMA), and a text message will be sent back with the address. Also, the Disaster Recovery Center locator is available online atwww.FEMA.gov/disaster-recovery-centers.

SBA disaster loan application

A simple and fast way to complete the disaster loan application is online, using the SBA’s electronic loan application. Go to https://DisasterLoan.SBA.gov/ELA.

SBA customer service representatives are available to issue or accept low-interest disaster loan applications and answer questions at all New York State/FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers and

SBA business recovery centers and Disaster Loan Outreach Centers. To locate the nearest center, visit www.sba.gov or call 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339).

More information is available by calling the SBA Disaster Customer Service Center toll-free number, 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339). Assistance is also available by sending an email to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov or by visiting www.sba.gov.

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visitwww.fema.gov/SandyNY, www.twitter.com/FEMASandy,www.facebook.com/FEMASandy and www.fema.gov/blog.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

Source: Susan Sterner via Wikimedia Commons

When Congress passed the $60 billion Sandy aid package this past January, they agreed to provide 65 percent of the needed funds to finance sea walls, and repair dunes and beaches for our area’s coastal communities. The idea was that the city and state would provide the remaining 35 percent of the money but thanks to Senator Charles Schumer, the feds have agreed to pick up the rest of the tab, according to a report in the New York Times.

The remaining 35 percent needed to complete the beach restoration projects, which totals $1.2 billion overall, amounts to $436 million. The new funds will help finance projects that will be administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The projects the money covers include dune protection and repair for several miles of beachfront property in Long Beach and other locations in Nassau County and hurricane prevention and beach erosion control along the coast of Fire Island.

Our area will receive beachfront repairs in Coney Island and Brighton Beach. The Rockaways and other parts of Brooklyn will also receive similar repairs.

Schumer stressed the importance of these projects to the Times”

“These are some of the most important projects in New York and you might even argue in the country in terms of protecting heavily populated areas from storms,” Senator Schumer, a Democrat, said. “They have been held up for decades — the Long Island one for 50 years — for lack of funding.”

The projects, some long dormant, will finally get some much needed attention and funding after Schumer loosened language that limited the Army Corps’ ability to finish the work.

Schumer hopes that their final completion will payoff in the case of a future devastating storm.

Source: Wikimedia Commons via Wikipedia

Congressmen Michael Grimm and Gregory Meeks were joined by colleagues Charles Rangel, Jerrold Nadler and Eliot Engle to introduce the Flood Victim Premium Relief Act 2013 (H.R. 960), a bill which aims to delay flood insurance hikes for Superstorm Sandy victims, according to a report by SI Live.

In a release issued by Congressman Grimm, the bill extends “the premium increase timeline for primary residences in areas that have been declared a federal disaster area after July 6, 2012 from 5 years to 8 years.”

Grimm expressed the importance this bill will play in helping homeowners make it through these tough times.

“If we allow flood premiums to increase on their current schedule, based on the new maps, homeowners are going to be in an impossible position of trying to both pay their mortgage as well as increased flood premiums that may rise over $10,000 in some cases. This situation will almost certainly lead to a surge in defaults and foreclosures and cost the taxpayers vast sums via the government’s exposure to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA. Allowing an extra three years to increase premiums will give both homeowners and localities time make smart, long term flood mitigation and rebuilding plans.”

The bill, a bipartisan effort, has received support from Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. Photo by Erica Sherman

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke will hold a “Town Hall Meeting on the Recovery from Hurricane Sandy,” March 11 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Brooklyn Amity School, 3867 Shore Parkway at Knapp Street.

Get information from FEMA about the National Flood Insurance Program and the IRS about itemizing casualty losses, extensions for filing deadlines, and other matters.

For further information, call (718) 287-1142.

Source: Metropolitan Transportation Authority/Patrick Cashin

The MTA just received its chunk of the massive $60 billion Sandy aid package, or $57 billion because of the sequester, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

Reeling in a total of $193.1 million, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that that a large chunk of the money, $141.6 million, will go to cover the cost of repairs to MTA equipment and facilities. The rest of that chunk will also pay for future storm preparedness measures.

The rest of the money will go to restore A line service to the Rockaways and fund repairs to Metro North and the Long Island Railroad.

Choo, choo.

Source: Free Press Pics via Flickr

It’s amazing how a storm can not only destroy homes, businesses and lives, but months later, bring  a whirlwind of insurance nightmares and legal headaches, like an aftershock to an earthquake. So it goes for Sandy victims, who are dealing insurance loopholes and legal issues mucking up their path to recovery.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, residents counting on much needed insurance checks are learning that their policies are riddled with loopholes that exempt entire floors from coverage. On the financial side, banks are refusing to release insurance payments until residents can prove how they will spend the money. In short, storm victims are coming up short on cash.

All of this red tape has created another crisis thought impossible in New York City, a shortage of lawyers:

“I know this sounds ironic especially in a place like New York, but there just aren’t enough lawyers,” said Thomas Maligno, who is leading Sandy outreach efforts for Touro Law School, which includes a legal hotline and a new legal clinic on Long Island staffed by a professor and eight students.

Congress approved $60 billion toward Sandy recovery, with $1 million reserved for funding legal services, but it’s looking like that was not enough. Free legal clinics have been inundated with requests from people trying to navigate the complex web of insurance forms and legal documents, all emanating from clusters of different agencies.

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