Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder is calling on FEMA to stop sending recoupment letters to people who received federal aid in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
Posted: Thursday, November 13, 2014 10:30 am | Updated: 12:39 pm, Thu Nov 13, 2014.
Howard Beach resident Joyce Adamiszyn said she was blown away when she opened a piece of mail from the Federal Emergency Management Agency last month.
The federal agency, she claims, was seeking to reclaim $16,000 it had sent to her so she could pay rent while rebuilding her Broad Channel house, which was destroyed during Superstorm Sandy.
“They’re asking for everything back,” Adamiszyn said.
But her case is not a strange one.
Rockaway Park resident Brian Rafferty, who has been living in Brooklyn since the storm, said he received an email last month from FEMA asking him for about $9,000 out of the $12,000 that was given to him to repair his basement apartment.
“I was surprised but I wasn’t that surprised,” Rafferty said.
Rafferty said he had heard similar cases of people affected by Sandy being contacted by FEMA for repayment.
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park) is calling for an end to the practice.
“For FEMA to ask victims to pay back funding already spent on recovery, when many are still drowning in debt from the storm, is unacceptable,” Goldfeder said in a written statement.
“Families who received additional assistance, through no fault of their own, should not be asked to return money that was clearly spent on aiding their recovery from Sandy.”
Goldfeder said he and his staff have heard numerous complaints of recoupment letters being sent in recent weeks, seeking a total of about $5.8 million back in federal aid that had been given in the weeks following the storm.
A FEMA spokeswoman declined to respond to Goldfeder’s comments or on any specific case of a recoupment letter being sent.
The spokeswoman did say in a written statement “FEMA is committed to being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and ensuring that eligible applicants receive the disaster assistance they need.
“We are also committed to ensuring that proper safeguards are in place to make sure federal dollars are correctly spent,” the spokeswoman added.
“Unfortunately, whether through fraud, human or accounting errors, or other reasons, assistance sometimes goes to individuals who are not eligible.”
Adamiszyn and Rafferty said they have filed appeals for the recoupment.
And while Rafferty said he has the money to pay back FEMA without interest, Adamiszyn said she “does not have the money to pay them back.”
“I just don’t,” she said. “I had to send in an appeal.”
But, Adamiszyn said, she was told to send a “goodwill” payment along with her appeal.
The FEMA spokeswoman said the agency “remains committed to working with applicants and ensuring they have an understanding of the options available to resolve their debt, which include making a payment, filing an appeal, requesting a compromise based on inability to pay and establishing a payment plan.”
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder is calling on FEMA to stop sending recoupment letters to people who received federal aid in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
Posted: Thursday, November 13, 2014 10:30 am | Updated: 12:39 pm, Thu Nov 13, 2014.
Howard Beach resident Joyce Adamiszyn said she was blown away when she opened a piece of mail from the Federal Emergency Management Agency last month.
The federal agency, she claims, was seeking to reclaim $16,000 it had sent to her so she could pay rent while rebuilding her Broad Channel house, which was destroyed during Superstorm Sandy.
“They’re asking for everything back,” Adamiszyn said.
But her case is not a strange one.
Rockaway Park resident Brian Rafferty, who has been living in Brooklyn since the storm, said he received an email last month from FEMA asking him for about $9,000 out of the $12,000 that was given to him to repair his basement apartment.
“I was surprised but I wasn’t that surprised,” Rafferty said.
Rafferty said he had heard similar cases of people affected by Sandy being contacted by FEMA for repayment.
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park) is calling for an end to the practice.
“For FEMA to ask victims to pay back funding already spent on recovery, when many are still drowning in debt from the storm, is unacceptable,” Goldfeder said in a written statement.
“Families who received additional assistance, through no fault of their own, should not be asked to return money that was clearly spent on aiding their recovery from Sandy.”
Goldfeder said he and his staff have heard numerous complaints of recoupment letters being sent in recent weeks, seeking a total of about $5.8 million back in federal aid that had been given in the weeks following the storm.
A FEMA spokeswoman declined to respond to Goldfeder’s comments or on any specific case of a recoupment letter being sent.
The spokeswoman did say in a written statement “FEMA is committed to being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and ensuring that eligible applicants receive the disaster assistance they need.
“We are also committed to ensuring that proper safeguards are in place to make sure federal dollars are correctly spent,” the spokeswoman added.
“Unfortunately, whether through fraud, human or accounting errors, or other reasons, assistance sometimes goes to individuals who are not eligible.”
Adamiszyn and Rafferty said they have filed appeals for the recoupment.
And while Rafferty said he has the money to pay back FEMA without interest, Adamiszyn said she “does not have the money to pay them back.”
“I just don’t,” she said. “I had to send in an appeal.”
But, Adamiszyn said, she was told to send a “goodwill” payment along with her appeal.
The FEMA spokeswoman said the agency “remains committed to working with applicants and ensuring they have an understanding of the options available to resolve their debt, which include making a payment, filing an appeal, requesting a compromise based on inability to pay and establishing a payment plan.”
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