By Matt Chaban 11/09/12 6:59pm

recovery mode

A house floated into a field on Staten Island.

Mr. Fix-It: Mayor Bloomberg Launches ‘Rapid Repairs’ Program for Sandy’s Homeless

Hurricane Sandy has left thousands, possibly tens of thousands of New Yorkers without their homes. There will be much rebuilding for many months, if not years, on the South Shore, Red Hook, Coney, the Rockaways and beyond. Whether it is an entire house, from the foundation up, or some section of home, the wall, the room, the mechanical systems, thousands of homeowners are in desperate need of help, especially as winter sets in.

Normally, this might pose a particular challenge—contractors are already plenty busy, and who knows if they insurance company of FEMA will pay up in time. “Until today, homeowners would have largely been left to fend for themselves to get an electrician or a contractor to get this work done,” Mayor Bloomberg remarked at a press briefing this afternoon. “While FEMA offers assistance to pay for these repairs, it was still up to the homeowner to arrange for the work and carry it out.” Read More

By Kim Velsey 11/05/12 5:47pm

Housing Help

Brad Gair, center, in Indiana in 2005. (FEMA)

Bloomberg Appoints Housing Recovery Director, Giving Displaced Residents a Place To Focus Their Frustrations

It’s been a week since Hurricane Sandy hit, demolishing houses in Staten Island and the waterfront communities of Brooklyn and Queens. Tensions have been running high of late, with residents frustrated by the pace it’s taking to restore power to their neighborhoods—the basic necessity of life on which all other rebuilding efforts rest.

So it should come as some relief to hear that Mayor Bloomberg and the city are looking to life beyond shelters for residents whose homes are beyond easy repair (or any repair at all). Today Mr. Bloomberg announced that he has appointed Brad Gair as the director of Housing Recovery Operations. Read More