Politics & Government

Bloomberg Announces $500M Plan to Repair Damage Caused by Sandy

City Council expected to vote on emergency repairs plan on Tuesday.

The city has devised a $500 million emergency plan to make repairs to schools and public hospitals damaged by Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

The mayor joined City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Comptroller John Liu Monday to announce that a total $200 million has been allocated for the city’s Department of Education, while $300 has been appropriated for the city’s Health and Hospital Corporation to repair school and hospital buildings following the storm’s visit to the city in late October.

“Our city has never experienced a storm as destructive as Hurricane Sandy and financing for these repairs is as necessary as it is urgent,” Bloomberg said. “These school buildings and public hospitals are resources that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers rely on every day and we are not waiting for federal aid to begin the work of repairing and reopening them.”

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Repairs at the buildings will include structural restorations, new boilers and electrical systems, roof repairs and flood remediation.

The City Council was expected to vote Tuesday on the plan. If it passes, the funding will be an addition to capital funds in the current fiscal year.

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“This funding will help to repair facilities that are urgently needed so that patients have a place to be cared for and our students will have places to learn,” Quinn said.

The city has already authorized $134 million in spending following Hurricane Sandy to provide emergency services and recovery programs, such as repairing the Battery Park Overpass as well as the Whitehall and St. George ferry terminals, removing debris, food and water distribution throughout the five boroughs, electrical plumbing and water line inspections for homes in Queens and additional ambulances.

Liu said the city’s finances were secure enough to withstand the additional money allocated for emergency repairs. He said the city would attempt to recover the funds through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.


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