the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery announces the expansion of the NY Rising Housing Recovery Program.
Jamie Rubin, the Executive Director of GOSR, has stated that they are "working to address, and respond to, the new realities of increased instances of extreme weather, the Optional Elevation and Mitigation Initiative gives homeowners the opportunity to reduce future financial burdens, while furthering recovery and resiliency efforts following Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.”
According the GOSR:
Of the 8,000 households, 1,400 households being required to elevate their homes. Approximately 360 of the 1,400 have opted to undergo full-reconstruction, which will include elevation as part of the process. The remaining 1,020 homeowners will be awarded $87 million to complete the mandatory elevation procedure. The State has provided $15 million to 166 households from this group to date, who have already completed their elevations. The remaining 854 homeowners are currently in various phases of the initiative. Because the Housing Recovery Program distributes half of the funding upfront, with the other half coming after work has been completed, it has already disbursed $36 million to homeowners with another $36 million on the horizon.