Saturday, September 24, 2016

Building it Back on the city's dime

From the Wall Street Journal:

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration plans to use $500 million in New York City taxpayer money to fund initiatives related to superstorm Sandy that were expected to be fully paid for with federal aid, city officials said Wednesday.

The city’s plan to infuse half a billion dollars into Sandy recovery and storm-protection programs comes as the cost to U.S. taxpayers for repairing and elevating some of the houses damaged by the 2012 storm could hit about $1 million a home, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Tishman Construction submitted a package of bids to the city earlier this month to elevate 53 homes in Queens damaged by the 2012 storm for $50 million, according to documents and a person familiar with the bids. Tishman is overseeing hundreds of properties in the Build It Back program, an initiative dedicated to assisting owners whose homes were damaged by Sandy.

Build It Back has, to date, been bankrolled with federal Sandy relief funds allocated to the city by Congress through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The federal government is also funding a number of storm-protection initiatives aimed at protecting the city in the future.

But significant cost overruns in Build It Back appear to be leaving city taxpayers on the hook for some of the storm-protection initiatives. The program is about $500 million over budget.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tell these home owners that we will not rebuild there due to the high risk of another devastating storm occurring . Why does the government insist on allowing developers to build at the shoreline? It's nuts!

Anonymous said...

How fucking long since Sandy?
How many have just moved away already, in disgust?
If Sandy had ravaged....let's say, upscale Malba Queens...
all destruction would have been fixed up pretty damn quick.
Poor people's sections get dealt with last.
Witness the 9th ward in New Orleans post Katrina.
Same shit!

JQ LLC said...

Because if these climate change denying lunatics want to develop towers by the water and create new neighborhoods by them (anyone heard of this batshit plan to build a utopia in Red Hook) and our appointed officials want to kowtow to their demands, then it's only fair to continue this program. Which is what these taxpaying homeowners are rightfully due them.

It's too bad that this has become yet another govt program to abuse.

Anonymous said...

Tell these home owners that we will not rebuild there due to the high risk of another devastating storm occurring . Why does the government insist on allowing developers to build at the shoreline? It's nuts!

BECAUSE WE SUBSIDIZE MILLIONS OF PUBLIC MONEY FOR WATERFRONT TOWERS PAID FOR BY PEOPLE THAT DO NOT BENEFIT FROM THEIR OWN TAXES.

NEXT QUESTION.

Anonymous said...

BIB ? HOW APPROPRIATE

Anonymous said...

BIB ? HOW APPROPRIATE

Anonymous said...

Demand a full investigation of the myriad of administrative subcontractors, there's about five different pencil pushing subcontractors. One level of coordinators is hired and paid through a temp agency called Manpower. What is wrong with that? plenty. They hire people for one or two weeks, get the commission/fee from the City, then fire the person to keep a revolving door of fees paid to them. What do these people do ten hours a day Monday through Friday and six hours on Saturday? Well, they complain a lot about the clients, they glad hand loudly, they text each other, they go for three hour liquid lunches and order in huge meals. All on your tax dollar.

Funny, they don't hire local people who were affected by the hurricane because they don't want certain ethnicity's working at Build it Back. And who's keeping an eye on the store? For example the supplies at Fort Tilden, has anyone ever demanded a full inventory? How much is falling off the back of the truck? Most of it.

Anonymous said...

These climate change denying lunatics want the people investing in shoreline shit to believe their baloney.
They are the builders of this substandard crap.
They live high on the hill, with lush bank accounts, far away from harm's way. No need for them to take swimming lessons.
As for the flood zone folks..."FUCK YOU" is their answer!

JQ LLC said...

For a million dollars you can buy another home. This Tishman firm is up to no good and may be gouging this program. Where the fuck did those billions go? And how the fuck does more money get hemorraghed when half of the owners bail on them?

"The federal government is also funding a number of storm-protection initiatives aimed at protecting the city in the future."

Which are now going to be denied to the Rock.

https://onrockaway.com/city-takes-from-other-vital-programs-to-fund-shortfall-in-bumbling-build-it-back-fiasco/


The top of this boondoggle shitcake is that there are tower development plans being considered by the shores and that recent influx of city and state cash to redevelop and remake around Mott Ave. Good luck with that you fucking scoundrels and idiots





Anonymous said...

City should have bought the property from the owners at a fair price and turned them into waterfront parks. Would have been cheaper and you know this is going to happen again. You can't fool Mother Nature.

Anonymous said...

Let the Feds buy out these homeowners and declare the area unbuildable.
No....building and rebuilding in a known flood plain "creates jobs" , for developers who then buy their politicians.
Get it now? The chain reaction orchestrated by fools......you.....the ignorant voters.
Ah....but maybe political messiah, Donald Trump will cure all your ills.

Anonymous said...

Not a bad idea, fella.
Let Trump rebuild the area.
The city bumbled with that Central Park skating rink for years.
The Donald stepped in and the job got done.
He's good at that.
But president? Maybe. I dunno.
How long would it take Hillary to rebuild after Sandy?

Anonymous said...

Waddaya fuckin' mean on the city's dime?
Us taxpayers are gonna pay for it!

Anonymous said...

These people should of had the right amount of flood insurance. Most of these homes are not worth the price of repair. It's contractors that are over inflating the construction prices. It's the tax payers that are the losers in this deal.