City Comptroller Scott Stringer: Superstorm Sandy Aid Program A Disgrace
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- While homeowners looking for financial help to rebuild their homes following Superstorm Sandy were tied up in red tape, consultants were being paid millions of dollars, according to an audit by city Comptroller Scott Stringer.
Stringer's office examined the city's Build it Back program and found there were double billings and a lack of accountability, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported. Consultants were paid $17 million while homeowners waited, he said.
"Those payments were made upfront. So there was no motivation for either company to ensure prompt follow-up," Stringer said Tuesday in the Rockaways, one of the city's hardest-hit areas in the October 2012 storm.
"It's no secret that New York City's response to Sandy was a case study in dysfunction," he said, adding that subcontractors who failed to deliver adequate services have continued to operate Build it Back for more than a year without valid contracts.
The comptroller, however, said he believes things are getting better under the de Blasio administration, which has had city employees actively supervise contractors and worked to process aid applications more quickly.
Stringer's recommendations include shifting management of Build It Back from the consultants to city staff, increasing scrutiny of applications and invoices and establishing specific timelines for contractors to complete work.
Darrell Mitchell is still waiting for help to finish his home in Arverne, Queens. So far, he's paid for all of the work himself.
"You get frustrated," he said. "I've been angry a lot of times."
To read the comptroller's audit, click here.