propertycasualty360.com - March 14th, 2013 - Arthur D. Postal

A bill in the House introduced by New York State representatives, would extend the grace period for flood-insurance-premium increases for Superstorm Sandy victims.

The legislation was introduced as information became available that the cost of Sandy to the National Flood Insurance Program will be in the neighborhood of $7 billion.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have not responded to repeated requests over the last several days, but sources with knowledge of the costs to the program says Sandy flood claims have totaled about $6 billion so far, with projections to go to maybe $7 billion.

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                           (LINKS TO STUDY ABSTRACT AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ARE BELOW)

Scientists look at an ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide coring site.  Credit: Thomas Bauska, OSU

CNN - by Ben Brumfield - March 8, 2013

Global warming has propelled Earth's climate from one of its coldest decades since the last ice age to one of its hottest -- in just one century.

A heat spike like this has never happened before, at least not in the last 11,300 years, said climatologist Shaun Marcott, who worked on a new study on global temperatures going back that far.

"If any period in time had a sustained temperature change similar to what we have today, we would have certainly seen that in our record," he said.

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Study Abstract - A Reconstruction of Regional and Global Temperature for the Past 11,300 Years
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6124/1198.abstract

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 By SARAH MASLIN NIR POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 03, 2013

NEW YORK » There were the usual caps dotted with shamrocks; bunting in the green, white and orange of the Irish flag; and the nasal hum of bagpipes. While some of the bands marching in the Rockaways on Saturday were from schools that had been flooded out by Hurricane Sandy and some of the spectators watching from the sidewalks were still living in temporary quarters because their homes were either badly damaged or destroyed, the Queens County St. Patrick's Day Parade seemed to make a special effort to hew to its nearly four decades of tradition.

Yet evidence of the storm's devastation and the peninsula's painful struggles to recover and rebuild just over four months on were inescapable. Green-clad marchers shouted for new jetties to be built, packs of relief workers marched between step dancers and fire trucks, and all along the parade route were the scarred husks of local landmarks consumed by flames on the night of the hurricane.

Russell Gordon, a homeowner in Oakwood Beach, Staten Island, who is eager to take advantage of Governor Cuomo's Sandy buy-out plan (Matthew Schuerman/WNYC)

submitted by Boris Suchkov

Could Lead to Rebuilding on Flood Plain Even After Homeowner Sells Out

wnyc.org - by Matthew Schuerman - March 4, 2013

Weeks after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed buying out homeowners in flood-prone areas, the Bloomberg administration is indicating that it will offer a similar program. But the mayor’s program could differ in one significant way: the properties the city acquires could be turned over to someone else to be developed again.

In testimony at a City Council committee hearing Feb. 26, Brad Gair, the director of the city’s housing recovery office, said the Bloomberg administration is working on its own buyout program using federal Community Development Block Grant funding, $1.8 billion of which has been earmarked for the city so far. . . But he added the city’s plan may not stipulate that the acquired properties be turned into open space.

Sharon Griffiths of the the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority said, "We are excited to work with Staten Island to help you become green."  Advance File Photo

submitted by Albert Gomez

silive.com - by Tracey Porpora - March 4, 2013

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The state has partnered with a not-for-profit group to restore energy efficiency to eligible low-income Staten Island homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

While some homeowners have started - and in some cases finished - repairing their homes, many others are still living with severely damaged basements, eroded pipes and waterlogged walls.

Now, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) EmPower New York program has enlisted the Community Environmental Center (CEC), a Queens nonprofit that brings energy efficiency to New York City residents, to assist with post-Sandy relief efforts for low-income homeowners in storm-battered areas in the city, including Staten Island.

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Submited by Peter Gudaitis

03/07/2013 04:39 PM EST 

NEW YORK – The Federal Emergency Management Agency, at the request of the State of New York, has approved a 14-day extension to the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program, which allows eligible survivors from Hurricane Sandy who cannot return to their homes to stay in participating hotels.

The new checkout date for those in the TSA program is March 24, 2013. FEMA is calling applicants eligible for the extension to notify them of the new checkout date.

Peter B. Gudaitis, M.Div.

Submitted by Brett Scudder

submitted by David Perez

nycommunities.org

The mold and habitability crisis in the Rockaways is unfortunately getting worse rather than improving. . . Fortunately, there is a simple solution.

According to the Office of the Public Advocate, FEMA will not reimburse homeowners for mold remediation; the agency will, however, compensate New York City for costs incurred due to mold. Mayor Bloomberg and New York City should implement a mold and sheetrock removal program immediately that stops the public health crisis and reimburses homeowners for expenses related to mold remediation. It is in the power of the city to take action, but it has refused to do so in a comprehensive, holistic way that would be cost-effective, efficient, and responsible.

NYCC - Forgotten - How the City Has Failed Sandy Victims in The Rockaways (6 page .PDF report)

submitted by Peter B. Gudaitis

cwsglobal.org - February 26, 2013

submitted by Naomi Rothwell

Release Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Release Number: 13-330
Related State: New York
Field Operations Center: East
Contact: Michael Lampton
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov    

ATLANTA – The U. S. Small Business Administration has extended the deadline for Hurricane Sandy survivors in New York to return applications for physical damage to Mar. 29, 2013.

Additionally, the SBA Business Recovery Center at the The American Legion, 209 Cross Bay Blvd., Broad Channel, NY 11693, will close on Thursday, Feb. 28 at close of business and relocate to the Community Church of the Nazarene, 1414 Central Avenue, Far Rockaway, NY 11691, effective Mar. 1.  The hours of operation are Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., until further notice.

Survivors may also apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.