From the Queens Courier:The City Council has unanimously passed a resolution calling for Congress to make co-op and condos eligible for federal storm recovery grants.
“Condo and co-op owners are homeowners too,” said Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. who brought forth the measure. “Yet, right now, the federal government is denying them Sandy relief. That needs to change.”
The resolution, introduced September 12, comes after many citywide co-op and condo owners found they could not receive FEMA grants for Sandy-inflicted damages.
The measure sailed through the City Council less than two weeks later on September 24. The Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings moved the resolution forward earlier that morning.
It would push the passage of an already proposed federal law that aims to fix a glitch keeping co-op and condo owners from disaster aid.
The Stafford Act, which governs how FEMA responds to major disasters, does not include the word “co-op” in the law, officials said.
However, there is no statute that bans co-op owners from being eligible for grants, a privilege given to homeowners.
Co-op and condos are also categorized as “business associations,” which makes them eligible for federal loans but not grants. It also means they cannot get funds to fix shared spaces like lobbies and roofs.
Congressmember Steve Israel introduced a law in August that would better define co-ops in the Stafford Act, allow co-op and condo owners to apply for FEMA grants, and call for a new cap on FEMA’s Individual and Households Program.
The proposed legislation currently sits in a subcommittee on the House’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
5 comments:
Took them a year to do this? Pardon me for not cheering. Must be election time.
What would you expect from this slow-moving do-nothing Congress?
That peter vallone is such a jerk. giving fair funding to coop and condo owners.
It's only a resolution folks, not like NYC city council actually did something for the citizens. Congress will read it sooner or later, YAWN!
It figures Vallone would champion condo and co-op residents (who's numbers are staggeringly low in Astoria, but are made up of mostly OUT OF TOWN WEALTH) as opposed to the historically native to Astoria family who struggles to own a 2 family house who's been paying inflated taxes (upwards of 6K per year) all these years in order for millionaire over-developers get their 20 year tax abatements.
AT OUR EXPENSE.
For example: $96.00 per year in taxes for a new overpriced piece of crap condo geared to the unsuspecting out of towner:
http://www.trulia.com/homes/New_York/Long_Island_City/sold/1001208946-3085-Vernon-Blvd-4M-Long-Island-City-NY-11102
Vallone, than goodnes you were voted out office! That's all I can say!
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