Welcome to NYC Housing Recovery

The NYC Mayor's Office of Housing Recovery Operations and the Build It Back Program are dedicated to helping New Yorkers living in communities affected by Hurricane Sandy. Through the repair, rebuilding, and elevation of homes, the Build It Back program is working to enhance resiliency in our waterfront neighborhoods.

Through Build It Back, the City has prioritized homeowners and waterfront communities – ensuring that these New Yorkers have the resources necessary to recover and make their homes and communities more resilient.  Funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery funds (CDBG-DR), Build It Back aids homeowners after all other forms of disaster assistance have been exhausted.

Build It Back is helping 8,300 homeowners and landlords of 1-4 unit homes, housing a total of 12,500 families. In the hardest hit waterfront communities, Build It Back is rebuilding and elevating almost 1,375 homes to today’s stringent regulations for flood compliance. Another 6,600 homeowners with moderate Sandy damage are being assisted with repair and reimbursement - helping neighborhoods that were not in the floodplain when Sandy hit and homeowners who did not have flood insurance. Through Build It Back’s Multi-family Program, more than 19,600 households in 143 developments have received assistance through repairs, resiliency upgrades, and reimbursement services, as well as 242 low-income households through rental assistance.

The City is nearing completion of its Hurricane Sandy housing recovery efforts. As of May, 2019, the Build It Back Program has served 99.9 percent of approximately 8,300 homeowners (totaling 12,500 households) through either a reimbursement check, construction start, or acquisition. The vast majority of these homeowners - 99 percent - have received their full benefit, including construction, reimbursement, or acquisition of their home.  Over 5,100 projects have been completed across Sandy-impacted areas in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, including 99.9 percent of City-managed construction projects, and 98 percent of all construction projects, which also includes homeowner-managed construction.

Announcements

Beginning May 13, 2019, Build It Back staff are available to meet with applicants by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please continue to contact your Homeowner Services Representative, call Build It Back Customer Service at (212) 615-8329, or email us at housing@recovery.nyc.gov.