BUILD IT BACK....Just not right now!

Of the 19,920 people who applied for the Build It Back program, none have seen construction 

work start and only 110 had signed a deal on aid as of last month, according to data analyzed 

by the Alliance for a Just Rebuilding.

BY ERIN DURKIN / DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

February 24, 2013

Nearly a year and a half after Hurricane Sandy, few storm victims have gotten help from the city to rebuild their homes, according to a report from the Alliance for a Just Rebuilding.

Sixteen months after Hurricane Sandy, homeowners are still waiting for help rebuilding.

Of the 19,920 people who applied for the city’s Build It Back program for home repairs, which started in June, not a single homeowner has seen construction work start.

And only 110 — or 0.55% — had inked a deal on how much aid they’re going to get as of the end of January, according to city data analyzed by the Alliance for a Just Rebuilding in a report to be released Monday.

The city says that number has since ticked up to 173.

That’s left the low-income homeowners who are supposed to get priority from the program in a bind, advocates say.

“It is really a lifeline for folks who don’t have any other means to do repairs,” said Nathalie Alegre, coordinator of the Alliance for a Just Rebuilding. “It’s extremely concerning the program hasn’t been able to speed up to the degree people need to get on with our lives.”

De Blasio officials noted the city only has federal cash for about 4,500 homeowners classified as top priority based on their income and the level of damage, and has held meetings and made offers to 1,792 of those homeowners, some of whom are still mulling their options.

“The mayor shares the urgency of families who have been waiting months to rebuild and get back in their homes,” said spokesman Phil Walzak.

“That’s why we’ve set in motion a top-to-bottom review of programs with the goal of making those efforts more effective,” he said.

Apartment buildings haven’t fared much better under the program, funded with federal Sandy aid. Only three of the 1,051 buildings that signed up — a mere 0.29% — have seen repair work begin, according to the report. Some 228 of those are in the high priority group, according to the city.

And only 178 of the 600 disaster rental-assistance vouchers that were funded have been handed out.