Gov. Hochul announces new office of Resilient Homes and Communities

Office will protect New Yorkers from climate change

October 30, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Heavy duty construction equipment are seen at the construction site of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project at the East River Park, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, in New York. After Superstorm Sandy struck the northeast U.S. in 2012, an unprecedented effort began to fortify the densely populated coastline against the next big storm. Then, last year, the region learned that even all those precautions might not be enough in an age of more powerful storms. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

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Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday marked the 10-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy by announcing the creation of the Office of Resilient Homes and Communities, a new office to lead New York’s housing recovery and community resiliency efforts.

The new Office of Resilient Homes and Communities will build on the work of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, which was created in 2013 to manage the State’s long-term recovery from Superstorm Sandy and oversee the expenditure of $4.5 billion of federal disaster recovery funds provided by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013.

As a permanent office within Homes and Community Renewal, the Office of Resilient Homes and Communities will assume Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery’s portfolio and partner with the State’s disaster-response agencies to lead the long-term recovery for homes and communities and develop a pipeline of resiliency initiatives and strategies across the State.

“With the new Office of Resilient Homes and Communities, we are taking a major step toward protecting and strengthening New York for generations to come,” Hochul said. “Ten years ago, Superstorm Sandy hit our shores and upended the lives, homes, and businesses of countless New Yorkers, but thanks to our brave first responders, robust community-led planning, and exceptional partnerships, New York’s recovery has been extraordinary.

“My administration will continue our nation-leading efforts to prepare for future weather events, and I look forward to working with communities, agency partners, and local, state, and federal officials to build a better, stronger, and more resilient New York.”

The governor also released a 10-year anniversary report detailing GOSR’s progress to-date on the Superstorm Sandy recovery effort. Overall, under GOSR’s direction, the state has spent 91 percent of its $4.5 billion allocation through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Program completed more than 11,000 housing recovery and resiliency projects, and provided support to more than 1,000 small businesses across New York. The state has also invested $19 billion in the electric grid statewide to protect New Yorkers from extreme weather power outages, including $4.9 billion invested on Long Island, over the past ten years.

Hochul first committed to establishing a permanent resiliency entity in her State of the State address. The new Office of Resilient Homes and Communities will build on GOSR’s work and fulfill the Governor’s commitment to supporting New York families still impacted by Superstorm Sandy by:

Working directly with New Yorkers and communities before and after disasters,leveraging scalable and effective program models that assisted homeowners to complete more than 11,000 repair and flood mitigation projects, including more than 3,000home elevations.
Effectuating seamless transition from immediate response to long-term recovery, to future resiliency by incorporating long-term planning into the recovery process.
Advancing equity for New Yorkers vulnerable to disasters by emphasizing the disadvantaged communities criteria identified by New York’s Climate Justice Working Group to guide the equitable implementation of the State’s ambitious Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.