Build it Back program has “profound problem”: de Blasio

$650M in funds not getting to homeowners trying to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy

Staten Island home after Sandy (via Flickr)
Staten Island home after Sandy (via Flickr)

Mayor Bill de Blasio said yesterday that the Build it Back program, part of the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort, has a serious defect in distributing its aid to homeowners. The city plans to review the recovery strategy and unveil a new plan in the next few weeks.

“It’s self-evident that the pace has been a profound problem,” de Blasio said, as reported by DNAinfo. “Right now, for a lot of people, it’s still more theory than fact.”

The vast majority of the nearly $650 million in federal funds set aside for New Yorkers to rebuild their homes has yet to be used for storm victims — leading some applicants to say the city is mismanaging the fund, as The Real Deal reported.

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Around 20,000 homeowners applied for recovery assistance from the Build It Back program. As of February 20, however, not one applicant with a single-family home had begun reconstruction.

Roughly 170 applicants to Build it Back have received money, with 47 homes still in the planning phase. [DNAinfo]Mark Maurer