New York and New Jersey State Partners Advance Storm Relief, Recovery Efforts

NLIHC state coalition partners in New York and New Jersey are at the forefront of efforts to guide their states to recovery in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy. The October 2012 storm, which wreaked havoc along the East Coast, saved its greatest devastation for these two states, leaving thousands of families displaced and homes and businesses with significant damage. The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey launched a survey to assess the storm’s impact on their members’ properties to gain a better understanding of their recovery needs. The Network used the results to frame its policy recommendations at the state and federal levels. Advocates want to ensure that low and moderate income families continue to have access to affordable homes and that resources are not diverted from their intended purposes of providing more affordable homes and economic opportunities for low income people. Advocates support rebuilding efforts that use the most energy-efficient, sustainably designed and storm-resistant standards to prevent future damage to homes and businesses. To help people move back to their neighborhoods quickly, they suggest manufactured homes and ones that can be expanded later. The Housing and Community Development Network is coordinating efforts with the Fair Share Housing Center and New Jersey Future on approaches to rebuilding across the state. The organizations agree that the state should not rebuild in areas where flooding is a constant. The Housing and Community Development Network has developed a set of recommendations aimed at the federal level. They include creating an inventory of vacant affordable homes and public housing units and providing funds to make them available for immediate housing, and making special one-time increases to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, in addition to HOME, the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) and Emergency Shelter Grant, for rehabilitation, new construction and making homes accessible to lower income people with mobility challenges. State-level recommendations include developing a comprehensive strategy to maximize rental housing choices in or near communities where displaced people lived, creating a central registry of available homes to match displaced families with housing and enacting legislation to add $5 million to the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit program so that qualified communities have resources to rebuild neighborhoods. “Sandy heightened the need for affordable homes in New Jersey,” said Arnold Cohen, the Housing and Community Development Network’s policy coordinator. “For those who didn’t get the message before, we hope that after seeing the thousands living in hotels, with families, or forced to move out of state, they get it now. The silver lining is that we have an opportunity to rebuild in a way that meets the needs of New Jerseyans.”In New York, the Supportive Housing Network of New York has played an essential role in navigating supportive housing providers’ access to immediate relief. Using online surveys, email and phone calls, it assessed its members’ needs in storm affected areas and linked them to resources. The organization created a Super Storm Sandy website on which it posts descriptions of affected housing providers, their associated needs and ways that donations can be made. The Supportive Housing Network also created a website listing resources for affected organizations and individuals. The Supportive Housing Network is part of the state-convened Housing Disability Task Force and thus far has served 28 member organizations in relief and recovery efforts. In one instance, a large supportive housing facility serving formerly homeless people with mental health challenges lacked power and plumbing for several days. The Supportive Housing Network identified a private organization that contributed generators for the building and two other supportive housing member residences, as well as food, flashlights, blankets and water. The Supportive Housing Network amplified a distress call from another member agency that coordinated services in Staten Island, which led the agency to receive a $25,000 donation for staff outreach workers. It also has facilitated the re-housing of displaced tenants and continues to relay information to organizations that are rebuilding. The Supportive Housing Network has been instrumental in helping other organizations work through the process of applying for FEMA Public Assistance for Nonprofits. It found that most organizations were not aware that they first must complete a small business loan application before FEMA would consider providing assistance. “Many of the initial connections between need and resources took place within the community; it is eye-opening to watch this take place and heartening to be a part of it,” said Wren Longno, director of member services for the Supportive Housing Network. “The stresses already present in supportive housing are many-fold, in a disaster. Nonprofits need more funding, information and resources.”Both the Housing and Community Development Network and the Supportive Housing Network have worked with Congress and the Obama Administration to advance recovery efforts. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) supported an increase in the amount of LIHTCs available in Super Storm Sandy-affected areas. The Housing and Community Development Network also worked with the Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) on additional LIHTC funds. In December, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan attended the NJ Network’s annual membership meeting to brief attendees on the latest disaster recovery developments and answer questions.Click here to read the Network’s federal and state recommendations. Click here to read the Network’s letter urging Congress to approve the Sandy recovery bill. For more information on New Jersey’s recovery efforts, contact Arnold Cohen at [email protected]. Click here to view the Supportive Housing Network’s Sandy recovery pages, visit http://bit.ly/10a866s and http://bit.ly/10a87qY. For more information about New York recovery efforts, contact Wren Longno at [email protected]