Mayor de Blasio Releases Fifth-Year Build It Back Report

October 23, 2017

7,200 homes repaired and resilient; most complex project expected to finish this spring

NEW YORK—As we near the fifth Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that 87 percent of the 8,300 one-to-four family homes damaged by the historic storm have completed the Build It Back program. That means approximately 7,200 homes, which house 10,300 families in New York City’s waterfront communities, have finished the program.

“As we near the end of the Build It Back program, we are continuing to make steady progress. We have succeeded in getting more than 10,000 families back in safe and resilient homes and stronger communities. We have more work to do, and this program will not be done until every family is home,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The report is available here.

Working in the hardest hit communities, Build It Back, which began in 2013 after the October 29 storm, is rebuilding and elevating almost 1,400 homes to today’s stringent regulations for flood compliance. Another 6,500 homeowners with more moderate Sandy damage have largely been assisted with repair and reimbursement, helping neighborhoods that were not in the flood plain when Sandy hit and homeowners who did not have flood insurance.  Build It Back has served 99 percent of all homeowners by starting construction, reimbursement of repairs, or acquisition of their homes. 

Build It Back statistics as of today:

• Build It Back Applicants/homeowners: 8,300.

• 99% (8,207) have been served.

• 87% (7,218) have completed the program (received their full benefits, including construction completed or acquisition of their home).

• 92% (3,300) of City-managed construction projects are complete.

• Total homes in the 1-4 family program: 12,713. Of them 10,334 are complete.