Millions Of Sandy Relief Dollars From Congress Will Finally Arrive In April

After a worrisome flood zone upgrade, this is definitely a good thing to hear.

With funds from the $50 billion Sandy relief package that successfully struggled through Congress, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday morning how the first wave – $1.77 billion worth – would be implemented in recovery efforts. Of this amount, $720 million will go towards rebuilding destroyed homes, $185 million will be spent on reviving local businesses and $140 million will be used to improve damaged infrastructure.

For housing, the NYCHA will coordinate millions in an attempt to fix over 20,000 homes stricken by the storm. On the economic front, the City will hand out “resiliency” grants of $10,000, with $100 million in total, to jump start companies that have yet to recover. Another $80 million will be invested in long-term projects and competitive bidding awards. And, for infrastructure, the companies that kinda messed up a bit will receive $40 million to rebuild (and, hopefully, improve) infrastructure.

While all these plans sound great, there’s still a waiting period for bureaucracy to get its shit together: the monies will not start appearing until late April and early May.

It may be a longer winter for some. But at least the City has a game plan.