More than $9.2M in Disaster Assistance Provided to New York Residents

Disaster recovery assistance from early April flooding in New York has reached more than $9.2 million, according to state and federal disaster recovery officials.

Since President Bush declared a major disaster declaration on April 19, at the request of New York Gov. George Pataki, residents, business owners and government agencies in 21 New York counties have been made eligible to register for state and federal disaster recovery programs.

Among the programs are:

Aid to Individuals and Businesses

The Individual and Households Program (IHP) includes Housing Assistance and Other Needs Assistance. The combined total for IHP is $7,049,786.

Housing Assistance may include repair assistance and temporary rental assistance. The total for housing has reached $4,762,280. Other Needs Assistance covers medical, dental and funeral expenses; furniture, clothing and certain appliances; vehicle costs, and other eligible expenses. That total is $2,287,506.

To date, 3,231 New Yorkers have registered for assistance.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provides low interest disaster loans to renters, homeowners and businesses. To date, SBA has issued 2,454 residential low interest disaster loan applications and 550 business applications for New Yorkers who suffered flood damage.

A total of $2,079,500 in home loans has been approved.

FEMA Registration

The deadline for individuals and business owners to register for state and federal assistance is Monday, June 20. Anyone in the counties listed above who has not yet registered is urged to call the FEMA registration number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the speech or hearing impaired. The registration is available Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until further notice. Or register online at www.fema.gov until June 20.

The SBA loan application deadline is also Monday, June 20. Information is available by calling the SBA toll-free telephone number, 1-800-659-2955.

Renters, homeowners and business owners in the following counties may register for help with disaster related damages: Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Orange, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Tioga and Ulster.

Public Assistance

The major disaster declaration made 20 counties eligible for the public assistance program to assist with infrastructure losses. To date, 514 requests for public assistance have been received and FEMA has approved $298,571 in reimbursements for eligible, disaster related costs and losses.

The program provides funds to government units and certain private non-profit organizations for repair of damaged structures and debris removal costs.

The declared counties are: Broome, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chenango, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Greene, Madison, Montgomery, Niagara, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan, Tioga, Ulster and Westchester.