The head of FEMA's National Flood Insurance program apologized Monday for his agency's handling of Sandy claims. The mea culpa came during a trip to Long Beach, a Long Island city ravaged by the storm.
"We should have got this right the first time and in too many instances, we did not," said Roy Wright, after touring the homes of Sandy victims with Long Island congresswoman Kathleen Rice.
Up to 500 Long Beach families, driven from their homes by Sandy, have yet to return, according to city officials.
"There are still people suffering. It's not all back to normal," said Marie Basile, a Long Beach homeowner who just returned to her renovated home last week, nearly three years after Sandy.
According to Basile, it took so long to rebuild in part because FEMA underpaid her Sandy damage claims.
"We all as a community deserved more than the way we have been treated," said Basile.
During his trip to Long Beach, FEMA's Wright urged Sandy victims to reopen their damage claims to determine if they were underpaid.
In New York and New Jersey, 144,000 people are eligible to reopen their claims cases but so far, Wright says only 12,000 have applied to do so. The deadline is Sept. 15.
Sandy victim Linda Alper fears reopening her claims case could result in her having to repay FEMA money, a concern shared by others in Long Beach.
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"I won't do it," said Alper. "I want to get on with my life."
"The feeling is that I am going to resubmit and they're going to deny me again, and if they do give me something, I am going to pay for it later," said city council member Len Torres, himself a Sandy victim.
Wright assured Sandy victims that the process would not end with "less money in their pockets."
The city is offering a seminar to help Sandy victims navigate the process of reopening claims.
It will be held at Long Beach's Martin Luther King Center on Aug. 28 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information, call 516-705-7222.
