In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Congress allocated billions of dollars to communities to help America rebuild. In the spirit of federalism, cities and states were given a large amount of say about how that money would be spent. But in New York City's case, that money has largely bought a case study in bureaucracy and sluggishness.
Nearly two years ago, the Bloomberg administration created a program known as "Build It Back" to help distribute nearly $300 million to homeowners to help them rebuild or be reimbursed for repairs made to their storm-damaged homes. But almost two-and-a-half years after the storm, much of that federal money is still sitting there.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer yesterday issued a tough audit of the program, finding that Build It Back's subcontractors are getting paid – and sometimes billing twice – while thousands of homeowners are still waiting for a check from the city.
Time for some full disclosure here: I'm one of those homeowners. My own personal audit would reveal a maze of Orwellian e-mails amid a raft of forms that I've repeatedly submitted to the city. Even after the city eventually made an "offer" of a grant to me in February, I've received no indication of when that money is actually coming my way. And since then, I've been erroneously told that there was an outstanding Buildings Department violation on my property (dating from 1950) and that I needed to fill out an affidavit form because my signature doesn't match my name – another false claim. Most recently, my caseworker -- an outside contractor hired by the city -- informed me that last Friday would be her last day and never responded to me when I asked her who's replacing her. I haven't heard from anyone at Build It Back since.
With similar offers finally being made to thousands of residents, the de Blasio administration has repeatedly pointed to "better numbers" coming from the program -- but a child should never be happy about an "F" on a report card improving to a "D". It really shouldn't take government more than two years to help New Yorkers who saw their homes get gutted in the blink of any eye.
The deep irony in all of this is that thousands of homeowners went through a similar process in 2012 when FEMA came to town, inspecting their properties in the wake of the storm. While there are plenty of residents with not-so-nice FEMA stories, there are also thousands of New Yorkers -- myself included -- who went through the agency's revolving door within several months. Perhaps learning from the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA was prompt in sending inspectors to homes, assessing the damage, and telling people whether or not they were getting a check.
Like the new boardwalk that is slowly being assembled along Rockaway Beach -- and won't be complete for another two years -- New York is building it back. The question is how many people have been hurt in the process.
Bob Hardt