Mayor de Blasio: We now have enough money to help every homeowner registered for Build It Back...

Mayor Bill de Blasio said new federal funding will mean there's enough to help all Sandy victims registered for Build it Back. (AP photo)

By Jillian Jorgensen | jorgensen@siadvance.com  May 23, 2014

CITY HALL -- For Hurricane Sandy victims at the back of the line for help from Build it Back, the uncertainty is over.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday a third round of storm relief cash from the federal government will be enough to help every homeowner registered for the housing recovery program, regardless of their income level.

"This new funding, combined with the CDBG-DR housing assistance the City has already received, and HUD's continued commitment to work with us, ensures that we'll be able to provide the support that every homeowner in the Build It Back pipeline needs and deserves," de Blasio said in a prepared statement Friday.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will allocate $994 million to the city, one federal and one city source confirmed to the Advance. In addition, HUD will send $600 million in Community Development Block grants to the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

"The City and HUD have worked closely together to ensure that we can meet the needs of New Yorkers still struggling to recover from the devastation caused by Sandy. We are deeply grateful to Senator Charles Schumer for his extraordinary leadership in making this important step possible," de Blasio said. 

The new rounds of funding are the third and final to be allotted to the city and state government by HUD. The city has previously received two allocations, the first for $1.77 billion and the second for $1.3 billion. The state received a first round of $1.7 billion and a second of $2.1 billion.

The city has used the funding its already received for several programs, the most visible among them Build it Back. But after the first two allocations, even after re-shuffling priorities, the de Blasio administration said it still didn't have enough money to help homeowners with higher incomes -- dubbed "priority two and three" -- who need their homes repaired or repaired and elevated.

Now, those homeowners will be funded through the program, de Blasio said - meaning everyone who qualifies for repairs, elevations, or any other help through the program will be able to get it. 

Of the $994 million in this allocation, $640 million will go to housing recovery -- mainly Build it Back -- and $354 will go to resiliency efforts.

The funding to the city and state as part of a $50 billion Congressional relief package, which Schumer helped guide through a contentious Congress.

"With this Tranche 3 allocation, New York's HUD CDBG funding totals over $8 billion dollars, which goes a long way towards meeting critical needs like getting homeowners back on their feet, rebuilding smarter and in a more resilient way, and reimbursing New York for expenses incurred during Sandy," Schumer said. "We've made enormous progress thus far, working with Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo, and I will keep working with all federal agencies to ensure New York's needs continue to be met."

U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm also praised the funding, saying he expected it would be enough to cover all homeowners registered for Build it Back, as well as fund business grant programs.

The state, meanwhile, has used its Community Development Block grants to fund programs like New York Rising, which helps pay to repair homes outside of New York City, and on the buyout programs underway in Oakwood Beach, Graham Beach, and Ocean Breeze. The state has also agreed to pick up the tab for the cost of acquiring homes for redevelopment through the city-run Build it Back.

Cuomo said state residents have "suffered a tremendous burden" with floods from Hurricanes Sandy, Irene, and Lee in recent years. 

"We are grateful to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan for his leadership, and to have been allocated more than $4 billion in Disaster Relief. We will continue to return people to their homes and rebuild New York State communities better, stronger and more resilient than ever before," he said.

This most recent allocation of $600 million will go largely to infrastructure upgrades, Cuomo's office said.