30-Day Extensions for Sandy Survivors

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, at the request of the State of New York, has approved a 30-day extension for survivors to register for federal disaster assistance. The new registration deadline for Hurricane Sandy survivors in New York is Feb. 27. FEMA also approved a 14-day extension to the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program. The new checkout date for applicants staying in hotels under this program is Sunday, Feb. 10.

Registration Deadline

The Feb. 27 registration deadline allows survivors in the 13 New York counties designated for federal disaster assistance an additional 30 days to register with FEMA and complete and return low-interest SBA disaster loan applications, an important step in the FEMA grant process. Designated counties include: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.

People in these counties who sustained losses due to Hurricane Sandy should register with FEMA even if they have insurance. Applying by the deadline may help survivors avoid a funding shortfall if they later find that they are underinsured or have additional damages.

Survivors who register may be eligible for federal grants to help cover various disaster-related expenses including rent, essential home repairs, personal property losses and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.

Today, Rep. Michael G. Grimm (R,C-NY) announced that the deadline has been extended an additional 30 days to February 27th for Superstorm Sandy survivors to register for FEMA and apply for low-interest Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans.

“For many on Staten Island, the funding from FEMA and insurance claims is simply not enough to cover the cost of recovery,” said Rep. Grimm.  “An SBA loan provides a low-interest option to homeowners and businesses in need of additional funding to make repairs and replace damaged items in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Many home and business owners have been caught up in the red tape of their insurance companies, and had to delay applying for loans as they await the claim. Extending the deadline provides extra time to fully assess the damage and apply for the appropriate amount of assistance.”

By returning the SBA disaster loan application, homeowners may be eligible for up to $200,000 to repair or replace their storm-damaged primary residence. Homeowners and renters may be eligible for up to $40,000 for replacement of personal property. Businesses and private nonprofits may be eligible to borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace storm-damaged property.

As of January 22, 2013, for Richmond County, SBA has approved $82,299,000 in home loan applications and $7,978,300 in business loans, for a total of $90, 277,300.

For more information or to apply or to apply for a loan, please call (800) 659-2955.

This article appeared in print on page 4 of the January 28th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.