FEMA Approves Over $664 Million For Sandy Recovery In New York State
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency as of Sunday had approved more than $664 million to help New York state residents recover from Superstorm Sandy.
FEMA said in a news release Sunday that it has provided significant aid to all 13 designated disaster counties, with the greatest focus on the hardest-hit areas.
In total, FEMA has provided $224.6 million to Nassau County, $170.4 million to Queens, $139.1 million to Brooklyn, $8.2 million to Manhattan, $70.4 million to Staten Island, $47.4 million to Suffolk County, and $1.5 million to the Bronx.
"We have never distributed that much money this fast, and it's a testament both to the willingness of New Yorkers to work with us and to get their applications in, and to make sure they're complete," FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Michael Byrne told WBCS 880.
As of Sunday, more than 230,000 New York state residents had contacted FEMA for information or registered for assistance. About 917 inspectors have conducted more than 131,000 home inspectors, and 1,088 community relations specialists have been going door-to-door to explain disaster relief.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has also set up 18 business recovery centers, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service will have distributed about 1.1 million pounds of food, worth $721,178, through Nov. 30 to 1,000 emergency feeding outlets in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester and Rockland counties.
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