![]() The remnants of the record-breaking storm brought severe inland flooding to New York City, killed 13 New Yorkers - most having drowned in basement apartments - and displaced hundreds of families.The governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency late Wednesday amid prolific flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that deluged communities throughout the Northeast. These families may have little or no savings, may be denied post-disaster loans and may forgo medical care or fall behind on bills in order to cover emergency needs, like food and shelter.įlood insurance is especially costly in New York City, with average annual rates hovering above $1,000, compared to $700 nationally.Ī program like this pilot project might have made a difference after Hurricane Ida, which in September 2021 dumped 3.15 inches of rain in Central Park in an hour. New York City’s stormwater flood map shows risk of flooding during a “moderate event,” or a storm with two inches of rain in an hour, in neighborhoods including Brownsville, East Flatbush, Elmhurst, Jamaica and central Harlem.Īfter disasters, lower-income households - especially in communities of color - tend to suffer more and recover slower than wealthier residents, research shows. Until the next flooding event occurs, it’s unclear which neighborhoods would benefit from the program, which targets places at high risk of rainfall-related floods that have large concentrations of low- to moderate-income homeowners. Homeowners who live in one- to four-unit homes and make at or below 165% of the city’s area median income - totaling about $220,000 for a family of four - are eligible to apply for the program, which will be available for the next flooding event. ![]() The pilot program - which is run in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, disaster resilience organization SBP and reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter - is the first of its kind to use this model anywhere in the country, Kousky said. The amount of funds increases as the disaster worsens, ranging from $100,000 to $1.1 million. The total amount of money available - and the number of households eligible - is based on where the flood went and the damage it caused. “We know that there are these gaps and that certain households really struggle in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, and our current programs aren’t working.” “We’re thinking about this as an experimentation in a new way of providing emergency assistance to people that are currently left out of our disaster safety nets,” said Carolyn Kousky, associate vice president for economics and policy at EDF. There are no limits on how households can use the money they receive. The pilot program application, on the other hand, requires more basic attestations instead - and households would receive payments within days of the disaster, according to the Center for NYC Neighborhoods. Even filing a claim to FEMA or an insurance provider in the first place can be complicated, with extensive paperwork required to prove damage. And when they did, the amount they got - about $2,500 on average - was often not enough to cover expenses, as THE CITY reported in 2021. After Hurricane Ida hit NYC in September 2021, for instance, it took weeks or longer for victims to receive any emergency funds, if they did at all. ![]() The new program is designed, in part, to make up for lags in the payout process from private insurance or FEMA. Run by the nonprofit groups Center for New York City Neighborhoods and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the program would provide up to $15,000 in emergency cash assistance to eligible low- and moderate-income homeowners following extreme, damaging rainfall. A new pilot program aims to help New Yorkers from marginalized communities recover more quickly from flooding.
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