Two Days Left To Comment -- Put Your Two Cents In

Councilman Steve Matteo swears in Midland Beach Civic Association board.
 Build it Back Executive Amy Peterson spoke, giving an update
on the state of the program. 

By Mark E. Ruquet

This Sunday appears to be a good day for sitting at home, maybe taking in a football game with the miserable weather outside. We should not waste the day indoors. If you are one of the thousands of New Yorkers still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, you might be interested in Proposed Action Plan Amendment 8.

The amendment fully funds Build it Back with the entire $4.21 billion grant from Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The funding covers residential housing, business and coastal resiliency, and infrastructure and other city services.

For those of us still waiting for help, the allocation would provide funds to all applicants in the program “regardless of priority levels;” fund assistance to “all eligible homeowners who must vacate their homes for at least 30 days during construction,” and support the hiring of professionals to expand design and construction capacity, according to NYC recovery Website, .

At this month’s meeting of the Midland Beach Civic Association, Build it Back Director Amy Peterson said the funding means the program will now help everyone who needs help. With the added money, Peterson said the push would now be to get more projects on the drawing board, move forward with expanding repair and construction projects and reach out to individuals who have dropped out of the program to understand why and reengage them in remediation projects.

“We want to get in and get this work done,” she said.

While residents work through the red tape, Peterson informed attendees that anyone in the program who needs help with heat or hot water should visit their local Build it Back center for assistance.

The additional grant money is subject to a public comment period that ends January 19, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. Interested residents can go online and review a summary of the proposals. There is an online form – which can be filled-out in English, Spanish, Chinese or Russian. If you prefer, you can mail in your comments to the address on the site or just call 311.

While I’m not suggesting this would or could happen, I do not think anyone wants to see any allocation changes made because some government official gets it in their head that there is a lack of interest. It seems that they are most impressed and attentive when a proposal receives numerous comments. Just to play it safe, it would be advantageous to all those affected by Sandy to make themselves heard – even if it is to say they support the plan. Numbers and words always catch official’s attention. I’m putting my two cents in. There are two days left – and you really weren’t planning to do anything Sunday, were you?  

To review the proposal, and how to submit a comment, please click here.

Happy New Year, let’s hope.