Build It Back is finally living up to its name.
The problem-plagued Hurricane Sandy recovery program to repair storm-damaged homes appears to have repaired itself, with a surge in applicants finally seeing results.
In the three months since the city announced major changes to the federally funded program, thirteen times as many homeowners have received reimbursements and fifteen times as many reconstruction projects are underway.
Mayor DeBlasio appointed Amy Peterson back in March to lead the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery, which administers Build It Back, with a mandate to revamp the program, and the mayor credited that reshuffling for gains he touted at an event in Canarsie on July 17.
“Now, as a result of the overhaul we implemented earlier this year, hammers are hitting nails and reimbursement checks are being cashed,” he said. “This is just a start, and we are committed to getting every New Yorker the help they need to rebuild.”
Build It Back had been under fire for mismanagement practically since its inception, with complaints of lost paperwork, misinformation, and redundant inspections. Enrollment opened in June 2013 and closed that October, but by the start of 2014, the program hadn’t paid a dime for reimbursements or broken ground on any reconstruction projects. By April 17 — when the DeBlasio administration unveiled changes to the program — only 30 families had received reimbursement checks and the city had put shovels in the dirt on nine reconstruction projects.
But as of July 17, Build It Back has issued a total $6.37 million for 397 reimbursements and started 132 reconstruction projects citywide in the single-family program — more than a third of those reconstruction projects are in Brooklyn. Another 200 projects should break ground in the borough over coming weeks, according to a Build It Back spokeswoman.
The single-family program, which open to buildings with four or fewer units, includes more than 15,000 applicants, and the mayor has pledged to reimburse 500 families that handled their own repairs and complete 500 reconstruction projects by Sept. 1.
One of the changes implemented since April was to put senior Build It Back staffers on the front line of application processing, with applicants reporting smoother service and less lost paperwork as a result. The program has seen a 17% increase in the monthly number of applications completed since the changes took effect.
One Gerritsen Beach homeowner who just completed her storm-damage repairs said the DeBlasio Administration’s changes to the program helped get the work done sooner and improved her overall experience.
“When Mayor Bill took over, he got the right people, because it really took off,” said Noelle Adamik.
Before April, Adamik said she dealt with a different caseworker every time she called. But over the last few months, she worked with the same people — and they seemed more knowledgeable than before, she said.
Adamik’s basement flooded during the storm, damaging the doorway connecting her basement to the rest of her home. Initially her case was marked “Priority 2,” and she was told it would be a long time before the city could get around to her house, but after the new administration eliminated priority levels and began fast-tracking simple projects in April, Adamik got bumped toward the front of the line, she said.
Adamik is happy her home is back together, but she feels a twinge of guilt that others with more serious damage are still treading water, she said.
“While I’m really glad that its done and was done professionally — and we’re very happy — people who are still waiting to move back into their homes probably should have been dealt with before us,” she said.
But a councilman from one hard-hit section of Brooklyn said the Mayor can’t take all the credit, and pointed out that the rebuilding still has a long way to go nearly two years after the record-breaking storm.
“Coupled with aggressive Council oversight, we have seen progress made by this administration and an understanding of how urgent this work is on behalf of impacted property owners, renters, small businesses, and communities,” said Councilman Mark Treyger (D–Coney Island) who heads the Council’s Committee on Recovery and Resiliency.
