NYCHA still needs millions of dollars for Sandy repairs

From Capital New York:

New York City's public housing developments devastated by Hurricane Sandy still need millions of dollars in upgrades and repairs to weather another disaster, a top New York City Housing Authority officials testified at a City Council hearing last week.

NYCHA general manager Cecil House told members of the council's committee on public housing last Wednesday the agency has received only $246.5 million from federal agencies and private insurance companies, and is $676 million short to complete repairs and install preventative measures after the October, 2012 storm.

"Without the money we need, we will have to make tough but unavoidable choices," said House."For instance, our equipment will simply be repaired and be put back where it was, putting it at risk for damage from future disasters."

House said the agency has identified $1.8 billion in Sandy—related expenses, including repairing electrical panels, elevating some structures and constructing new utility buildings such as boiler rooms. Most of the storm damage was at housing developments in the Rockaways in Queens and along the ocean in Southern Brooklyn.

House testified that the public housing also stock suffered damages from Hurricane Irene in 2011; and though NYCHA made repairs, Sandy destroyed most of the work.