April 17, 2014
Mayor de Blasio: We have a great group of folks here today. I want to start by thanking everyone here at the Staten Island Build It Back center, a lot of good, hard-working people at the desks around you, who’ve been doing fantastic work helping Staten Islanders in need. Let’s give all of them a round of applause for all they do.
[Applause]
And I want to thank the director of Staten Island Build It Back, Senator Tommy Kay. Tommy, thank you for great work on behalf of the people here. You’ve got a cheering section – I like that.
I want to thank everyone who’s joined us. You’re going to hear from – after I speak – you’ll hear from Staten Island’s borough president, Jimmy Oddo. You’ll hear from Councilmember Mark Treyger – the chairman of the council’s committee on recovery and resiliency. And you’ll hear from Reverend Arthur Davenport. But let me also acknowledge the many other good people who are here with us, including members of the assembly – Mike Cusick, Nicole Malliotakis, and Felix Ortiz. The council members Debi Rose and Donovan Richards and Councilmember Vinny Gentile – timing is everything. And senator – and former council member – don’t worry, you get double billing – double billing – James Sanders Jr. A lot of community residents and advocates who have joined us – I want to thank all of them for being a part of this today. I want to thank also, and especially, the folks who worked so hard on the report we’re going to talk about today and the work we are doing to fix a number of problems that people are facing and get results for people who really deserve them.
Some of these folks are here today. Some are at City Hall and elsewhere but I want to thank them all – Tony Shorris, our first deputy mayor; Alicia Glen, our deputy mayor for housing and economic development; Bill Goldstein, my senior advisor for recovery, resiliency, and infrastructure, who is leading all of these efforts; Amy Peterson, our director of the housing recovery office – could not be here today. She, however, has already hit the ground running – a number of elected officials have told me how much they appreciate her frontline efforts to figure out how we can get work done much more quickly and much better for people in need. I want to thank DJ Jones, who’s the deputy director of that office and is here with us. I want to thank Dan Zarrilli, director of the office of recovery and resiliency; our housing preservation and development commissioner Vicky Been; and our commissioner of the mayor’s office for immigrant affairs, Nisha Agarwal. Thank them all for the efforts that they’ve put in, both on the report but more importantly on what we’re going to do to implement this series of changes.
Now we’re here at the Staten Island Build It Back center to announce a major overhaul of the city’s Sandy recovery effort, which has been – let’s be blunt – it’s been overly complex and it’s been confusing for homeowners over the last year and a half. We know we have to do things differently, better, faster. We have to serve people in need right now. Over the last three and a half months my administration has been working day and night to hack through the red tape – and there’s been a lot of red tape to hack through. And our singular goal has been to get the recovery money where it belongs – into the hands of needy homeowners and community residents.
Since January 1 of this year, over the last 100 plus days, Build It Back has presented nearly 4,000 homeowners with award offers. That is an eight-fold increase over that which had been done previously. Nearly 1,000 homeowners have accepted the offers and are now in the design process, which [inaudible] immediately thereafter construction. These accepted offers add up to an estimated $40 million being delivered to the hands of victims of Sandy. As we speak, Build It Back construction crews are at work already around affected areas. And soon, many many more families will begin to see that same kind of relief.
The overhaul we are announcing today is focused on three guiding principles.
First – providing financial relief to homeowners. Second – engaging local communities. And, third – building a stronger, more resilient New York. As I said, spear-headed – this whole effort spread-headed by three outstanding individuals. And I announced their appointment a few weeks ago in the Rockaways – Bill Goldstein, Amy Peterson, and Dan Zarrilli. They are working day and night to fix what’s broken and get it right. And they know they need to lead from the front. Again, I commend all of them for what they’re doing already.
Now, the same day I appointed them I gave them a very clear mandate, a very tough assignment. I said provide me with a comprehensive report with recommendations on how to effectively overhaul the city’s Sandy recovery efforts. And I needed that report immediately. So I’m happy to report that they came through with the report. They came through with flying colors. And with a lot of their colleagues in City Hall and in agencies, they produced this report in record time. The recommendations that you see today will serve as a blueprint for what we’re going to do moving forward.
Among the actions we’ll take: we’re going to make the pre-construction process quicker and easier. It’s been one of the hold-ups – if the pre-construction process doesn’t work smoothly for people we can’t get on to the physical work that people desperately need to happen so they can get their lives back together. We’re going to make that a better process – and we’ll include assigning dedicated Department of Buildings inspectors who will work exclusively out of Build It Back offices.
We are, in fact, committed to putting a goal forward – an initial goal, and we’ll update as we go along – but the initial goal is that there will be 500 construction starts and, separately, 500 reimbursement checks issued by the end of this summer. That’s the goal we’re putting forward now because we want to see real results right now. 500 construction starts and 500 reimbursements checks by the end of this summer.
We will expand – another point – we will expand eligibility for relief and reimbursement. We will provide additional financial support to affected homeowners. This includes, particularly, doing more for people who are temporarily displaced [inaudible] the construction process itself. We will enhance coordination among the city, state, and federal partners. There’s a still a lot more to do in terms of bringing all the pieces together. We believe that we can get a lot more done for people if we do that. That’s why we’re launching an initiative to expedite city services and capital projects in affected. We think this cooperation will allow us to do more. We also want to make sure that businesses are not left behind in the recovery effort. In the days after Sandy, I know a lot of my colleagues had the same experience – we, of course, spent a lot of tie with homeowners and renters who had been horribly displaced, but we also spent time with small-business owners, who had, in the blink of an eye, lost their livelihood – people who were providing jobs and were part of the strength and stability of communities. We’re not going to leave them behind. And that includes working to expand eligibility for loans and grants, and increasing award limits where possible while expediting the process of support for businesses overall.
So what you heard is just a very brief overview of what we’re putting forward today – and I encourage everyone to refer to the details of the report, which is available on NYC.gov and will lay out all of the specifics that we’re acting on.
We’ve also said very clearly, now that we’ve put forward a team, we’ve put forward some goals and recommendations and a specific battle plan for how we’re going to approach this, it’s also crucially important to get closer to the communities in need and the people we’re serving. So we’re taking a number steps to bring communities more directly into the rebuilding process.
It's also crucially important to get closer to the communities in need, and the people we're serving. So, we're taking a number of steps to bring communities more directly into the rebuilding process. One crucial point is that we want to build a high-quality local work force to play a part in the rebuilding process. We're creating a new position that will be focused on connecting local residents to local recovery jobs.
[Applause]
Because if anyone deserves some of the employment opportunities in the recovery process, it is the workers who were affected by Sandy – homeowners, renters, public housing residents, people whose lives were horribly disrupted by Sandy. We have a chance to do something to help them additionally, with some of the crucial work that has to be done in the recovery. We also want to make sure, in all of this, that we're doing a better job of communicating with homeowners. I'm a homeowner myself, in Brooklyn. It is, obviously for every one of us, the home is the center of our life. People are still experiencing construction after a year and a half. It's our obligation to give them clearer information, and better options.
So, one of the things we're doing is we're building a new web portal, that will applicants for help to track their status in real time, including where their paperwork stands. We want people to, you know, go online at any point, and see exactly the status of the help that they are – that they need, and that they have a right to. We want to make sure that that's always clear to them.
Of course, even as we talk about all we have to do to recover, and all the people in need, who are always first in our minds, we can't limit our vision to just rebuilding. We have to make a real long-term commitment to creating a stronger and more resilient New York. I think we've all come to the conclusion that because of the reality of global climate change, this is a reality that will underline our lives going forward. The question is not if we will be confronted by more extreme weather events, it's when and how. We know it will be a part of our lives. We can't turn away.
We have a lot of tools to address this challenge with. So the second half of the report we're releasing today focuses on our new Office of Recovery and Resiliency, and how it will lead the city's effort to strengthen the coastline, upgrade buildings, protect infrastructure, and make neighborhoods safer and more vibrant. This work has already begun. One example in the report, something that the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started last year, an important effort to put over 1.2 million cubic yards of emergency sand in the Rockaways and Coney Island, an example of effective measure that's already underway. There's a lot more like it that have to get underway, and the report shows our plan going forward.
In the months and years to come – because rebuilding will take time, and then the work of resiliency will be something that will be constant in our lives thereafter – I will be coming back here personally to Staten Island to update you on our projects. On the repair work, but also on our efforts to build in resiliency, and to hear from neighborhood residents, what's working, what's not working, how we can do better, and how we can partner with them. And I'll be doing the same in other parts of the city that were egregiously affected.
And, I have to tell you, we know, despite all the challenges, we will build back. We will build back stronger. This report gives us a game plan, a road map going forward. We know the will is there. We know the resources are there. It's about applying all of our abilities and our focus to getting it done, with a lot of partners we know will be great teammates in serving people in need.
Let me just offer a quick comment in Spanish before I introduce a great teammate.
Hóy estámos anunciándo cámbios en los esfuérzos de la ciudád para lográr la ré-cuperación tótal de la súper torménta Sandy.
Estámos presentándo úna série de prográmas y políticas pára proveér alívio a los pro-pié-tários, incluyéndo un prográma de pré-construcción y expansión de ré-embólsos.
Y usarémos éste esfuérzo de construír úna ciudád mejór preparáda pára desástres, pára generár empléos locáles.
With that, I would like to bring forward someone who – I can tell you, I saw it with my own eyes in the days after Sandy – if you know Jimmy Oddo, you know about how much he cares for the people he serves. He was at the frontlines from the beginning. He has been – I’ve worked with lots of great leaders around the city. He has been a singularly strong and consistent voice, sticking up for people who’ve been affected by Sandy. And someone who’s had some of the most creative and innovative ideas on what we could do to help people in need all over this borough, all over the city. Welcome Borough President Jimmy Oddo.
[Applause]
Staten Island Borough President James Oddo: I’m somewhat reticent here to speak because for 18 months, Staten Islanders and those folks impacted by the storm have been inundated with words. Much like the waves inundated them, they’ve heard from various levels of government lots of words and haven’t seen a whole lot of action. And I, frankly, don’t want to add to that. So I will use a few words to do this. First I want to thank Mayor de Blasio and his team for trying to fix the mistakes of the past, to amend these programs, to change these programs, to improve these program, to give the folks the action they so desperately need.
And I want to say to the mayor publically what I have said to him and his staff privately, and that is to implore and to beg him to continue to personally see that we get this right. We need that sole-minded, laser-like focus that we’ve seen this mayor demonstrate on some of the victories he’s had in the first few months, on this issue. And he’s made that commitment and we need that commitment to get it right after 18 months.
When I went to New Orleans with Council Member Ignizio, they – and spoke to the folks on the city and state level who dealt with Katrina, they gave us a lot of wisdom. And first on the list was, it’s about leadership and resources. We’ll talk about the resource part another time. But it’s about leadership. And when I woke this morning, I saw Jill Jorgensen had a story on SILive about part of what today is about – is about enacting borough-based heads of Build it Back. And I have to tell you folks, I shook my head because Jill did a story a few weeks after Sandy, a year-plus ago, how we on Staten Island said to the Bloomberg administration to put back together the Staten Island Growth Management. Let the decision-making be local. And to now have it come back full circle and to see that this administration sees we were right, it makes me shake my head. And I bring it up not to look backwards, because the people we represent deserve more than that. But to remind the mayor and everyone on his staff that the local people – the people in the Rockaways, the people in (inaudible), the people in Midland Beach – the local people know their communities best, and they have to be part of this process if we’re going to get that right. And I will just close by saying –
[Applause]
I’ll close by saying this, I see some folks with Mount Manresa shirts on and let me just say this, [inaudible] all Staten Islanders. And forgive me for being defensive. When you become an elected official on Staten Island, you don’t stop being a Staten Islander. We have built this fight every day since you guys have been impacted. And our commitment – we get up in the morning and we close the day thinking about how we’re going to make this place a little better. Sandy folks, on the Mount Manresa site, on every site, we are Staten Islanders. And we have an incredible sense of pride in this community. And please don’t lose sight of that. We are going to work with this mayor and work with this administration. We know you need help. And we’re going to try to deliver on that.
[Applause]
Mayor: I mentioned the leaders of our effort to address everything the people are still experiencing as a result of Sandy. I mentioned and thanked our deputy mayors and our First Deputy Mayor Tony Shorris has joined us. I want to thank him for his leadership. Bill Goldstein, my senior advisor for recovery and resiliency efforts. And to the borough president’s point, Bill Goldstein, Amy Peterson, Dan Zarrilli and I meet regularly. We are – and Bill’s just now coming over full time from his previous job. We are focused in the way you said. That we know we have to constantly stay on this plan, build out this plan, get results and come to communities and make sure it’s working. So laser-like focus is the word for it. It is what you should demand of us, and it’s what you’re going to see. And I particularly want to commend Bill Goldstein, whose leading this effort, whose got a real track record of having moved mountains before. And I know we’ll do it again. Also want to thank, just having joined us, Council Member Chaim Deutsch for being part of this gathering.
Now a man who just joined the city council and went into a role that’s crucially important for everyone here in this room. And it’s a big job and he is the right man for it. The chair of the city council’s committee on recovery and resiliency, Council Member Mark Treyger.
[Applause]
City Council Member Mark Treyger, Chairman, Council Committee on Recovery & Resiliency: I have to lower the microphone. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Mayor, thank you the borough president and to all my colleagues here at all levels of government, both city and state and those who are federal. After I won the election to city council, I worked with my colleague Carlos Menchaca on a proposal to really have a special committee in the council to really oversee and coordinate better this recovery effort.
And I want to thank – she’s not here today, but Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for really empowering the city council by creating this committee and giving us latitude to really investigate and to dig deeper into the micro-issues that are facing many communities across our city. And after – our first hearing was actually held not at city hall, but in a NYCHA complex in Coney Island where many families were suffering with faulty temporary boilers that were breaking down in very cold temperatures during snow storms. And we let residents speak and the speaker heard them loud and clear. And some days afterward, the mayor heard this along with Senator Schumer and other officials. They’ve announced that FEMA is moving faster with that money to make sure that those boilers get replaced. Then we had a hearing on March 31 over the Build it Back program where, again, it was a seven-hour hearing.
And I want to actually publically thank Amy Peterson, the new director of Build it Back, who stayed the entire hearing. We asked her, and she agreed and she stayed the entire hearing. And even after the hearing, I want to say that she went on tours with some of my colleagues. I know Councilman Richards was here. I think she went to Staten Island as well. She was with me in Coney Island in the rain for three hours touring many of the impacted resident’s homes. And I just want to say that – I want to thank the mayor for really understanding the sense of urgency here. I understand that the new administration and the new council is only a few months old. But these families, like the borough president has said, have been facing this issues for now 18 months. And there are people who have had to empty out their life savings, their college savings accounts for their children, to make necessary repairs to rebuild their homes, to rebuild their lives. So we must elevate. And I think that today we are seeing that elevation, that sense of urgency.
And one thing that was also very clear at the hearing and speaking with residents is that there was a breakdown in communication. And the most important stakeholders were left out of the process last year. And those were the local community organizations. They know the people, they know the community. As the borough president mentioned, let Staten Island run their recovery effort. They know the people. The leaders here know who the people are. And that is what’s needed. I think this report recognizes that need. And I’ll just close by saying that this recovery will ultimately be judged not by Powerpoint presentation, not by announcement. It will be ultimately judged by families seeing reimbursement checks mailed to their homes, and homes being rebuilt. And seeing hammers and nails working across our city. That’s how this recovery will be judged.
[Applause]
And we will continue to do our part in city council to definitely hold the administration accountable. But we are partners. This – this storm was unprecedented, and therefore it requires unprecedented cooperation from all levels of government – Democrat, Republican, city council, administration, borough president, assembly, senate. Everybody here has to work together to be on the same page. When we engage people and work together, we can see progress being done. Thank you very much.
Mayor: Finally before we take questions, I just want to emphasize we’ll take questions on this topic first before going to other topics. It’s my pleasure to introduce Reverend Davenport, who leads the First Church of God in Far Rockaway. Some of his work I’ve admired for a long time. He’s a proud member of faith in New York. And he’s always got –
[Applause]
He’s got a cheering section too. Reverend Davenport has really been at the forefront of the push to make sure local residents are playing a leading role in the recovery and rebuilding effort. I want to thank him for his leadership and advocacy in that regard. Let’s hear from Reverend Davenport.
[Applause]
Reverend Arthur Davenport, First Church of God and Faith in NY: Mayor de Blasio, members of city council and the survivors and friends, my name again is Pastor Arthur W. Davenport, and I am blessed and proud to represent Faith in New York and the Alliance for Just Rebuilding –
[Applause]
– a coalition of faith, community and labor leaders, including the [inaudible], Make the Road New York, Vocal New York, New York Communities for Change, SEIU 32 BJ and the Labor Local 78. Together we have supported Sandy survivors to rebuild their lives for the past 18 months. This week is holy week and Passover for many of our people of faith in our city. It is a sacred [inaudible] when we celebrate the story of moving from darkness to light with the Israelites being liberated by God from the dark oppression of the pharaoh into the promised land of new hope and opportunity.
So many of our brothers and sisters impacted by Sandy have been living in the dark and economic insecurity and growing inequality due to the high level of unemployment, rising rents, and widespread poverty before the storm hit. In many ways the initial Sandy response only acerbated those conditions. So today we applaud Mayor de Blasio and his administration for offering new hope and opportunity to vulnerable New Yorkers through their commitment to make New York a national model for the creation of local living wage jobs and careers paths to help people to rebuild our own city.
[Applause]
People we minister to are interested in only – not interested in only temporary jobs. They need careers that will support their families. They are members of my congregation, First Church of God in Far Rockaway, and thousands of other low-income New Yorkers who live – whose lives have potential to be transformed by Mayor de Blasio’s new jobs initiative. Long-term Sandy recovery efforts must be used as a new approach to develop that strong community participation, accountability, and transparency. And that really does not deliver a necessary job, but deliver living wage jobs, affordable housing, good energy and environmental policy so that working families recover some of their economic resilience we have lost. A resilient people [inaudible] resilient New York. There’s still much to be done towards growing together as a city after Sandy. Indeed, [inaudible] growing further apart. We look forward to working with the Mayor de Blasio administration [inaudible] concrete goals for job creation in our community, including opportunities for entry and pre-apprentices programs that lead to long-term employment and to create a plan to produce deeply affordable housing during the coming months. Mayor de Blasio, thank you for taking this important step to help us towards a new resilient community. May god bless you as you go forward.
[Applause]
Mayor: All right. We welcome your questions on the topic of this press conference first. Media questions on this topic. Yes.
Question: Can you explain a little bit about who will be eligible for this expanded reimbursement? You said in there that no homeowner will have to not have access to the programs due to their income level. So is this for everybody, everybody who needs less than a full rebuild –
Mayor: Let's make sure we get it right, so I'll turn to Bill Goldstein and Tony Shorris, which one of you wants to come forward and share with the group?
First Deputy Mayor Tony Shorris: I think what we made clear in the announcement, the mayor announced about a month ago, that folks whose homes were completely destroyed, or essentially destroyed, would be eligible for help regardless of income. They were also saying that folks who have already laid out money to repair their homes, and are waiting for reimbursement, would be eligible, again regardless of their income, as with folks where there's an acquisition, potentially. There are others, potentially, who may have needs beyond that, in other income groups, and some of that depends on further funding that we're seeking. But right now we're saying, regardless of income, if your home was destroyed, if you laid out money to repair your home and need reimbursement, you'd be eligible [inaudible].
Question: The congressman who represents the island hasn't been present at any of your hurricane-related events. Is there a reason he's not –
Mayor: Yeah, I don't –respectfully, I think the question here is helping people in need. I know people want to ask specific questions about politics or personalities. It's not about that. It's about helping people in need. So, we've tried to work with everyone, we will work with everyone. Right now we're talking about getting people back in their homes. We're talking about making that people don't have to pay more property taxes than they should. We're talking about how to make sure people get relief from the water bills if they couldn't live in their home. This is real tangible work that has to be done, and is something that we're all working on together.
Question: You talked about your additional support for homeowners. How much more money are you [inaudible] and is there enough money from FEMA and the federal government or are you thinking about possibly [inaudible]?
Mayor: Well, I'll start – again, I'd say Bill and Tony, you should be closer by, because I'm sure some of these questions will be also pertinent to you. And jump in as you see fit. Right now, as you know, we thought there was a better way to use some of the resources that we already had. That's what we announced in the Rockaways – was moving $100 million dollars in a way that we thought would benefit homeowners more directly, and have a more tangible impact on people's lives. So one issue is using what we have better. Clearly, as we actually reach people – lord knows those people have not been reached in the last year and a half – as we actually, one by one, family by family, reach people, we're going to use the existing resources. Clearly, there's a need for additional federal resources thereafter. That's a known fact, and there is a process coming up for the federal government to make additional disbursements. Our simple message is that we have to reach everybody who lost their home. We have a lot of work to do to make people whole. And then, of course, beyond that – I look to Bill as I say it – a huge ongoing effort at resiliency. But right now, job one is to get people back in their homes, get people's lives back together. We're going to use the resources we have, and we clearly know there will additional need beyond that, and we look to the federal government to play its role in that.
Question: The city would use its own money for this, if the federal government doesn't–
Mayor: Yeah, I think the obvious fact is, first we're in the process of using the dollars we have, and second, there's additional federal obligations, that's the whole reason that the Sandy package was put together by the congress. So that's our focus.
Question: Is there going to be [inaudible] addressing some of the [inaudible] 18 months, quite a bit of [inaudible]?
Mayor: I'm going to look to Tony, Bill – [inaudible] we have in this plan, or is that a different…Right, so, not in this plan [inaudible]. So, it's not part of this plan, this is, again, an ongoing effort, and clearly there are some real needs, and there's some broader initiatives we'll be taking on mental health, there's a lot more to say to that coming up.
Question: How much total money does the city need to help every person who has applied for Build it Back and the other resiliency measures that are part of the same plan, and how much more you need – or how much you're expecting?
Mayor: I'll start, again, Tony, Bill, jump in. I think this is an ongoing process, to say the least. Now that we're actually getting to the point of working with families, through the process, we're going to have a much clearer idea. We know there's a lot of need out there, that we know there will be a need for additional federal support. But I don't think we're yet at the point of putting final dollar figures on anything. Anything to add?
Question: [inaudible] existing organization of resources on the island. There's an organization called the Long-Term Recovery Organization, it consists of a hundred organizations [inaudible]. Is there any plans for the city Department of [inaudible]
Mayor: Well, we want a recovery, and I'll look to Dan, and BJ, if you want to come forward. I just want to say, there's a very important principle in this plan, is that. to accurately get information out to homeowners and renters and other people and residents of public housing, et cetera, everyone who was affected –you need real community involvement, real community leadership, community organizations to be involved. We don't think there was enough of that before. And we think part of cutting the red tape and getting the information flow to be more effective, is to work with actually known and respected community leaders and organizations. You'll see a lot more about that. In terms of that particular coalition, you want to...?
Director of Office of Recovery and Resiliency Daniel Zarrilli: Just briefly, sure. The long-term recovery groups have been very active in the recovery to date, and one of the principles of engaging the community in this rebuilding and resiliency process, is clearly something that we've laid out, and we intend to engage all groups in the communities. And you know, the work of the long-term recovery groups has been really important, and we want to continue that with them.
Question: Last fall, Build it Back was telling people that, subject to available funding, they'd get through all 20,000 applications by the end of 2015. Do you see an out-by date, or how long will it take [inaudible]?
Mayor: Well, what we said today is, we're committing to the 500 construction sites, and the 500 construction starts, excuse me, and the 500 reimbursement checks by the end of the summer. We obviously want to keep building on that. I don't think we've declared yet the next stage of the timeline. This, as I have said earlier today, is going to be very much an ongoing effort, with a lot of reporting back to the public along the way. But that's what we know we can start with.
Question: And we can measure that goal, as of today [inaudible] reimbursement checks have already gone?
Mayor: Very little? Who? Dan, BJ?
Deputy Mayor Shorris: So, if you look in the report, actually, that date is on page 17, and what it shows is, nine construction starts, as of now. There were zero as of only a month or two ago. About 194 homes are in design. So a little less than a couple of hundred are in design. And 30 reimbursement checks have gone out. So that's what you're beginning to track against. And that's the kind of data that we'll be putting out on a regular basis, so that everybody sees exactly the progress we're making.
Question: [inaudible]
First Deputy Mayor Shorris: Yeah, that money includes lots of things, rebuild, raising homes, reimbursement – that's everything and everybody money.
Question: Based on those numbers, [inaudible] the fundamental problem with Build it Back [inaudible]
First Deputy Mayor Shorris: I don't know if we necessarily want to do blame, but if you look in the report, you can see there's a whole series of diagnostics of what was a challenge, what was harder than it should have been, what was slower than it should have been, what was not responsive to the needs of the community, what was not listening to people, and what was not engaging people. And that's a story that was an 18 month story. When we came in here, not a single home was in design, not a single home had been chosen as optioned, nobody was certainly in construction, not a single reimbursement check had gone out. That was the intolerable situation. Each one of those had three or four causes to it, which you can read through in here. But it's – whatever the causes were, the outcome was indefensible. And that's what this is about changing.
Mayor: Let me just put a point on that. As I said in the beginning – an overly complex process, an overly bureaucratic process that didn't reach people, [inaudible]. I'll look at the numbers Tony just laid out – December 31st: zero construction starts, zero reimbursement checks. By last month that had gone up to nine construction starts and 30 reimbursement checks. We are saying, by the end of this summer, in August, that we're talking about 500 construction starts, 500 reimbursement checks. Two separate pools of families. And that's just the beginning. We want to put forward clear, strong goals, and we want to be held to them. And I do think it comes down to a clear mandate from City Hall – part of why we're having the regular meetings – because I'm holding myself accountable, and the whole team accountable, and that it has to affect real people's lives. If we're not reaching people tangibly, we're not doing our job.
Question: What do you have – when do you hope to have all 20,000 – I know there's a lot of moving parts, but do you have a goal for when that might –
Mayor: [inaudible]. We don't – this is a work in progress. So I think we've got to get to work on this first group of challenges and we'll have more to say.
Question: [inaudible] a different definition of what a local hire would be, so what is your definition of hiring locally?
Mayor: I'm not particularly obsessed with the narrowest definition. Obviously my goal is people who are in the affected areas, and most particularly, people who were specifically affected by the storm. So, I think it's fair to say that throughout the affected areas, there was a lot of dislocation in a lot of ways, in terms of people's housing, income, et cetera. So, lots and lots of people had their lives disrupted, including economically. The ultimate goal is to reach people who were personally, specifically dislocated by the storm, either in terms of housing or employment, as much as humanly possible. And we also know there are some skills that are only available, you know, with specialized folks who don't happen to come from those areas. It's a mix. But the goal is to get people who were affected.
Uhh…where's Phil? On or off? One more on. Yes.
Question: Oh. I'm off.
Mayor: Ok, off. We've got to do one more on. Who hasn't gone yet, who, who, who, Michael, go ahead.
Question: [inaudible] is there a ballpark figure [inaudible]?
Mayor: Look, are you talking about the plan we put forward in terms of rebuilding the homes that were destroyed? What are you talking about?
Question: [inaudible]
Mayor: Acquisition for redevelopment. Ok. Do we have a ballpark figure… We don't have a specific yet. Right. It's in the hundreds. We need to get you a more specific figure as we come closer. Ok. We're doing some off-topic. Yes.
Question: In the past, Mayor, you've mentioned that you want to settle the lawsuit that was brought by school safety officers against the city. However, in People's 7, the [inaudible] attorneys filed a letter in which, which basically tells otherwise –
Mayor: No, I disagree with that, respectfully. Finish your question, but I'm going to tell you right up front, I don't think that's a fair characterization of the city's legal action.
Question: Ok, well, you know, what they're saying is, that basically you're saying one thing, and the legal department is doing something completely different –
Mayor: No. That's not true. So, look, I would like people to take a look at the bigger view here. We came in with a number of legal actions pending. And I think we have – safely can say, we have addressed some of the biggest, most important legal issues that we had left to us. Related to stop and frisk, related to the fire department, on other fronts as well. We are going to systematically work our way through. These are complicated cases. It takes a lot of time and energy by the law department to come to the right resolution. But I think we have a pretty clear batting average – when we say we're going to resolve a case, we resolve a case. I'm very committed to pay equity. For all our workers. I think our school safety workers deserve that fairness. Obviously we will get to a resolution in that case. That action was a – from everything I understand from our corporation counsel – a particular procedural action that was not about the overall goals of the policy. It was about legal procedural matters, separately. So, everything I've said all along, I'm absolutely committed to, and we will get to that resolution.
Question: [inaudible] Central Park Conservancy said that he opposes having electric cars in the park, saying that they would make people unsafe and cause congestion. Does that concern you at all?
Mayor: I think that’s a misunderstanding what’s being proposed. Right now, besides the fact that the horse carriages are not humane – there have been a number of accidents involving carriages – the routes we’re talking about would be the same as our existing routes. You’re talking about electric cars for tourists that go slow on purpose because they should go slow and because tourists want to see things. That’s very different from other issues about cars in parks and it is a cleaner, better, more humane approach, that obviously will also provide employment opportunities and will be good for our tourism industry. So that’s how we’ll proceed.
Question: Can I ask a question to the borough president?
Mayor: I think it’s a free country, Rafael, yes you can. We’ll see if he wants to answer it.
Borough President Oddo: I’m not in a good mood, so don’t test me today.
Mayor: I’m holding you back, I’m holding you back!
Question: You supported Joe Lhota over Mayor de Blasio. Are you sorry that you did that?
Borough President Oddo: I’m also a Mets fan. What’s your point?
Question: Are you sorry that you did that?
Borough President Oddo: Am I sorry that I supported him? No. I’m not sorry I supported him. I’ve been friends with Joe Lhota for 20 years and worked with him. I’ve been friends with Bill de Blasio for 12 years and worked with him. I think they were both fine candidates. The mayor is the mayor. And no one cares about who I supported – they care about getting back in their homes.
Mayor: That’s right. Well done, well done.
Question: [inaudible]
Mayor: My thoughts are the same as they were before the legal action. And I’m not a lawyer but I’ve been briefed enough on the legal action to say that it simply calls for a clarification of the ground rules – it doesn’t change our basic ability to make the choices we think are right for our school buildings. So we will go about a process of clarifying those rules. But I think faith organizations have a right to rent that space like any other organization and they have a right to do with it as they see fit. There will be ground rules, again, about respecting the public space and the public standards, but I’ve always thought that faith organizations are fundamental parts and crucial parts of our communities and they have a right to wait in line for the space like anyone else, pay the same price as anyone else, but they certainly have the right of any other non-profit organization to benefit.
Question: Another Sandy question, I’m sorry.
Mayor: Oh my god, you’re out of order. Go ahead.
Question: How many building inspectors are going to be transferred out of the agency and for how long? And are there any concerns there with, you know, actual inspections that aren’t Sandy related not being addressed?
Mayor: I'll have Bill Goldstein come up. The point here is that we wanted a dedicated group of inspectors focusing on being able to get this done. Look at the history of a year and a half – it’s not pretty. We need to do things differently. And one of the things we thought would be important would be to have a dedicated group of inspectors.
Bill Goldstein, Senior Advisor to Mayor for Recovery: You know, the inspector is just one piece of the whole puzzle. I think we’re talking with ….yeah, so 50 staff people dedicated to Sandy. In addition, you know, I just wanted to reiterate what the mayor said about the borough directors. These are not administrators. These are going to be advocates. These are going to be people who are going to push the bureaucracy to solve problems. And that’s going to be their whole focus. And this is a change of focus – building department [inaudible]. I just want to reiterate what he said and I’m committed to getting this started day one. Thank you.
Mayor: Thanks, everyone.
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