Prior to joining the President on his visit to New York, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan traveled to Long Island, N.Y. to meet with state and local officials and discuss ongoing response and recovery efforts to Hurricane Sandy. Secretaries Napolitano and Donovan reiterated the ongoing support from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), HUD and the rest of the federal family for communities in impacted states, as response and recovery efforts continue.
“On Long Island, and across New York and all the impacted states, the federal government has continued to deploy people, assets, and resources to help communities rebuild and recover,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We are continuing to bring tremendous resources to help those in need. We are making progress and our commitment is to be here for the duration – to work with impacted communities throughout the region and ensure they emerge even stronger.”
Secretaries Napolitano and Donovan visited the Long Beach Disaster Recovery Center and met with disaster survivors and state and local officials, to discuss coordination among federal, state and local partners on recovery efforts throughout the region. DRCs will continue to open in the hardest hit areas to provide information and support to survivors. Currently 32 DRCs are open in New York. Specialists from the state, FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration are on hand to answer questions and provide information on the types of assistance available to survivors.
“As we continue to speed immediate relief to storm victims, we must also look toward long-term recovery of these battered neighborhoods," said Secretary Donovan. "Working closely with state and local leaders, along with our nonprofit and private sector partners, we’ll do whatever it takes to put these communities back on their feet again.”
President Obama declared a major disaster for New York on Oct. 30. Federal funding is available to affected individuals in the counties of Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Ulster, Sullivan and Westchester.
