
Hurricane Sandy damaged everyday public facilities, such as buildings, roads, parks, waterfront structures, and other City-owned property. Despite efforts to protect them, damage to such property was extensive.
Nearly 3,000 City-managed assets damaged during Hurricane Sandy received grant funding for permanent repairs from the FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Program.
This grant award contains two components. The majority of the award is to restore damaged assets to their pre-disaster condition. These repairs may restore these assets in-kind or, through a FEMA Pilot Program known as Section 428, may restore them in an alternative fashion that better suits the City’s needs.
Additionally, approximately 30% of the grant funding is dedicated to increasing resiliency through mitigation - a percentage that outstrips the national average for recovery grants.

To facilitate the reconstruction of Rockaway Beach Boardwalk, New York City utilized a new program offered by FEMA known as the Public Assistance Alternative Procedures (PAAP), codified in Section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Act. This innovative program allowed the City to rebuild the Boardwalk using concrete instead of the costly and ecologically unfriendly tropical hardwood that was previously used. Through this program, the City was able to complete construction on time and under-budget, with the cost savings reprogrammed for other improvements in the Rockaway community. You can learn more about the reconstruction of Rockaway Beach Boardwalk by visiting NYCEDC.
The majority of infrastructure PA grants are now approved by FEMA, and work is underway at a number of critical City sites, including wastewater treatment plants, hospitals, schools, roads and bridges. Project updates will be shared on the Sandy Funding Tracker as the City's recovery progresses from emergency response work to permanent restoration of damaged infrastructure, so please check this page for new City accomplishments.
Definitions
Assets: damaged facilities eligible for funding under FEMA’s Public Assistance program. Examples include buildings, recreational facilities, roads, utilities, etc.
Project type: type of work categorized under FEMA’s Public Assistance program. Examples include Boardwalks, Ferries, Hospital Reconstruction, Schools, etc.
Funded Amounts: total funding approved and secured for work from FEMA under the Public Assistance program.
Estimated funded damages: funding approved to repair and restore damaged facilities under the Public Assistance program.
Resiliency Funding: funding approved to mitigate future damages and costs under the Public Assistance program. This funding is in addition to funding available to repair and restore damaged facilities.