Mayor Bloomberg's Build It Back program was designed to minimize bureaucracy and efficiently distribute federal relief funds to the victims of Hurricane Sandy who needed it most. "Whether it’s personal assistance in the rebuilding process or reimbursements for completed repairs, this program will provide a new infusion of support to help families, neighborhoods and businesses come back stronger and more resilient than ever before," Bloomberg said at the program's announcement in June. Yet no repairs have taken place under the program, and only 173 of the 19,920 participants have finalized the amount of aid they're receiving.
The program's failure was announced in a report from the Alliance for a Just Rebuilding obtained by the Daily News. "It is really a lifeline for folks who don’t have any other means to do repairs,” a coordinator for the Alliance tells the paper. “It’s extremely concerning the program hasn’t been able to speed up to the degree people need to get on with our lives.”
Wealthy neighborhoods have bounced back while poorer ones continue to languish.
Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered a review of all the recovery plans, and he responded to questions about the ineffectiveness of the Build It Back program at a press conference earlier today in Staten Island.
"It’s self evident that the pace has been a profound problem…A lot of people have said to me that it’s just very hard to access the folks that they need to talk to in the government. And we want to see how we can fix that," de Blasio said.
When asked what he would tell people who are still struggling a year and a half after the Hurricane, the mayor replied, "Well I think everyone who’s experience the effects of Sandy—by nature, should be frustrated with everything…So I don’t blame anyone who’s frustrated. I would say to them—I think fairly and objectively—when our plan comes out soon, judge that. Judge our plan when you see it and decide what you think of it, but give us at least the time to put together a meaningful plan."
De Blasio said that plan would be released "in the coming weeks."
