Weisenberg Questions Timing of Federal, State Sandy Assistance

Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg last week questioned the timing of federal and state governments’ assistance to Long Beach homeowners whose properties were substantially damaged during Hurricane Sandy last October.

Follow Long Beach Patch on Facebook.

Weisenberg attended a meeting of the Long Beach Regional Planning Council at the Allegria Hotel last Thursday and told officials in attendance that insurance companies have delayed or rejected payouts of Sandy victims’ claims, or gave payments far below what they needed to rebuild.

The assemblyman expressed concern about the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state’s NY Rising program to assist homeowners, businesses and municipalities 10 months after the storm, citing a 85-year-old storm victim who has lived at the hotel since Sandy but may go homeless without FEMA assistance, according to Newsday. Said Weisenberg:

"So when we talk about government meeting the needs of our people, it isn't.”

But Dan Watson, a FEMA press secretary in Washington D.C., said partners of the agency’s National Flood Insurance Program have closed nearly 100 percent of Sandy-related claims, paying out $7.8 billion; and Matthew Wing, a spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said NY Rising has more than $240 million in funding going to Long Island “for long-term reconstruction to protect vulnerable communities from future storms,” Newsday reports.  

Watson said policyholders with concerns about their insurance companies can call FEMA at 800-427-4661.