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Fair Legislators call for NY Rising oversight
Kaminsky co-sponsors bill to speed up claims process
State Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky has introduced legislation that would require New York Rising to submit monthly reports to the State Legislature detailing the status of disaster funds allocated to victims of Hurricane Sandy, in the hope of speeding up the recovery process.
Kaminsky has teamed up with State Sen. Thomas Croci (R-Sayville) to push the bill, which was drafted to help the hundreds of Sandy victims who are still awaiting disaster funds, he said. At a press conference in Mastic Beach last Friday, the freshman legislators called for more transparency in the program and said that many homeowners who are depending on the funding to rebuild or elevate their homes have been waiting too long.
“It is deeply disturbing that people are still not in their homes so long after Superstorm Sandy,” said Kaminsky, a Democrat from Long Beach. “I believe that this bill would go a long way toward promoting better communication and ensuring that claims are being handled efficiently. It should always be the goal to foster communication with storm victims and to provide them with reliable information as to the status of their case, including the payment of funds.”
The legislation would require Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in cooperation with the commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, to provide the Legislature with monthly reports on the status of all Sandy claims before, or being assisted by, the governor and the NY Rising program.
“… [M]any victims are still awaiting the full benefit of the disaster funds they are entitled to,” Croci said in a statement. “Our hope is that this legislation will create more transparency in the disaster funding process, and will also expedite the remaining assistance to the Sandy victims and communities that are trying to complete their recovery from the storm.”
