City seeks zoning permits OK to rebuild Sandy homes

Community board, Board of Standards and Appeals set to vote

Rendering of a prototype home replacing Sandy-ravaged site
Rendering of a prototype home replacing Sandy-ravaged site

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development applied for several zoning permits late last month in order to rebuild houses destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

The Board of Standards and Appeals is expected to decide whether the seven special permits are acceptable. Before that vote, the local community board will vote next week. The new storm-resistant properties would be constructed in place of homes that were built prior to the existence of building and zoning codes. The city is targeting homes in Queens and Staten Island that are part of the Build it Back program.

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“These special permits are another way in which this administration is expediting relief for homeowners who have waited too long,” a spokesperson for de Blasio told Crain’s. “The permits will allow Build It Back to expand on the progress we’re now seeing, while ensuring that homes are built back quickly and resiliently.” [Crain’s]Mark Maurer