NYU Langone granted $1B in federal funds for Sandy repairs

The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved $1.13 billion in funds for repairs and mitigation projects for NYU Langone Medical Center.

The federal aid will account for 90 percent of the project’s total costs, Crain’s reported. A planned budget allocates $540 million to repair NYU’s Smilow Research Center, Schwartz Care Center, the Medical Science Building, Skirball Institute, Tisch Hospital, Alumni Hall, Rusk Institute, Perelman Building, Schwartz Hall and Coles Student Laboratories.

An additional $589 million will go to hazard mitigation projects including exterior and internal flood door installation, reinforced walls and slabs and the installation of check valves, back flow preventers and pumps.

Approval of the funds comes following U.S. Senator Charles Schumer’s push for federal funding for the damaged hospital. FEMA doled out tens of millions in aid to local hospitals following Hurricane Sandy, including $12 million for Richmond University Medical Center, $17.6 million to Long Beach Medical Center and $65 million to the New York City Health & Hospitals Corp., whose Bellevue campus is a close neighbor to NYU Langone.

“The FEMA grant to NYU is encouraging and shows that the federal government recognizes the great importance of protecting hospitals during disasters,” an HHC spokesperson told Crain’s. “Hospitals such as Bellevue and Coney Island returned to service quickly thanks to the extraordinary efforts of their staffs, but they are at risk.” [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland