More than $6.2 Million in Individual Disaster Assistance Goes to New Yorkers

Since the disaster declaration was issued on April 19, at the request of New York Gov. George Pataki, $6,184,537 in individual and household assistance has been approved for distribution to applicants who suffered damages during the early April storms and flooding in the eleven counties declared for individual assistance.

Individual and Households Program
The Individual and Households Program includes housing assistance and Other Needs Assistance.

Housing Assistance may include lodging expenses, repair assistance and temporary rental assistance. The total for housing has reached $4,234,332.

Other Needs Assistance may include medical, dental, and funeral expenses; furniture, clothing and certain appliances; vehicle costs; and other eligible expenses. That total is $1,950,204.

A total of 3,004 has registered for assistance.

U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued 2,205 residential loan applications and 483 business applications for New York homeowners and businesses that suffered flood damage.
A total of $353,000 has been approved for home loans.

Disaster Recovery Centers
More than 1,000 New Yorkers have visited Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) in Broome, Cortland, Delaware, Orange, Tioga and Ulster counties. The centers provide individuals with an opportunity to discuss their needs with personnel from state, federal and voluntary organizations who can answer questions and provide recovery information about various programs that are available to individuals and business owners. In addition, assistance in completing the SBA disaster loan application is available at the DRCs.

DRC locations:
Broome County, 90 Bevier Street, Binghamton
Cortland County, Salvation Army Building, 138 South Main Street, Cortland (Closes Friday at 6 p.m.)
Delaware County, Downsville Fire Station, at 15166 State Highway 30
Orange County Office Building, 150 Pike Street, Port Jervis
Ulster County, Ulster Town Hall, 1 Lohmaier Lane, Lake Katrine

DRC hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday until further notice. All DRCs will be closed Memorial Day Monday.

Mitigation Building Supply Store Partnership
The SEMO and FEMA partnership outreach with Lowe’s, Home Depot and local building supply companies assists people with mitigation and disaster assistance information.

Specialists from FEMA explain techniques that can lessen damage to homes, businesses and property from future flooding. How-to information for retrofitting buildings and elevating utilities is available as well as brochures about the National Flood Insurance Program.

To date, more than 16,100 individuals were approached, resulting in more than 783 disaster-pertinent discussions. More than 346 individuals were helped with mitigation techniques and building safer information in a flood-prone area.

Building-Supply Outreach Partnership locations:
In Broome County, the outreach is at the Home Depot, 798 Main St., Johnson City until May 27, and will return to Lowe’s, 1318 Upper Front Street, in Binghamton, May 28 to June 6.

In Cortland County teams are at Best Builders Do It Center, 3798 Luker Road, Cortland until May 29. The teams will be available during store hours except Tuesdays.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
Persons who live or work in the disaster-declared counties and whose jobs were affected by the severe storms and flooding of April 2-4, may be eligible for disaster unemployment benefits. This special unemployment program is funded by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and administered by the New York Bureau of Employment Programs.

Individuals can apply for DUA by calling the NYS Department of Labor at 1-888-209-8124 or by applying online at www.labor.state.ny.us and following the instructions for filing a new claim.

The deadline for registering for disaster unemployment benefits is June 3, 2005. Self-employed and unemployed workers not covered by regular state unemployment insurance programs may apply for this federally funded assistance.