City lawmakers laid into public housing officials Tuesday for lagging behind on $3 billion in repairs to buildings socked by Superstorm Sandy.
“Why is it taking so long?” said Councilman Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx) at a hearing on post-Sandy recovery in New York City Housing Authority developments.
Over five years after the storm caused massive flood damage at 33 NYCHA sites, construction at just one development – Lower East Side Rehab 5 – is finished.
Residents at sites still saddled with Sandy damage report living without consistent heat and hot water.
NYCHA officials, who are working with an unprecedented $3 billion grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, say progress is being made. Construction is underway at seven developments, they said, while the city is working to award contacts and secure permits at 15 more. Officials pledged to start construction at all sites by the end of 2017.
But one official admitted Tuesday that, in a worst case scenario, work may not be fully done until 2021 — nearly a decade after the storm hit.
“What we’re hearing in terms of execution has been unsatisfactory,” responded Councilman Mark Treyger (D-Brooklyn).
Outfitting the developments, which serve a total of 60,000 residents with flood proofing, back-up power and new boilers has proved a challenge, city officials said.
Projects include $440 million alone slated on storm-proofing at the 40-acre, 30-building Red Hook Houses.
“This is unlike any project in the history of New York,” testified Joy Sinderbrand, president of NYCHA’s Office of Recovery and Resilience.
“We don’t have a blueprint to go from.”
