Q & A from the New York Rising Meeting on 1/9/14: A long read, but worth your time: Theresa DePietto-Roesler posted on Friends of Long Island: Minutes of the 1/9 meeting New York Rising Question and Answer Session January 9, 2014 West Babylon Junior High School Speaker: Jon Kaiman Outset of meeting: Brief Overview of NY Rising • NY rising created 6 months post-Sandy • Operations team of NY Rising trying their best to remove bureaucratic barriers stopping people from getting money • But they must avoid duplication of benefits • Inspection Process: over 8000 inspections have been done; requires certain level of sophistication from hired vendors who are retrained. • Over 100 inspections done per day • ECR à estimated cost repair • Minus awards from FEMA and Flood insurance (not including any monies for content or rental) At which point, many audience members shouted out saying things such as “we know this already” and “get to the questions.” A lot of anger and frustration. 1. How many checks were sent out for Sandy? For Irene? Why weren’t SBA loans/Flood Payments deducted from this round of checks? Should we cash these checks? Will the state ask for money back? 3,000 checks were sent out this round for reimbursement of already completed repairs. These checks went out first because it is an easier analysis to calculate cost reimbursement. You can appeal this number. The next round of checks will be reimbursements for reconstruction. *If you use this money and it does not factor in a SBA loan which you took, the state WILL ask for the money back. It COUNTS as a duplication of benefits. However, only the amount of the loan which you actually took is deducted, not the total amount which SBA offered. Mr. Cayman conceded that he didn’t think this was necessarily fair, but these are the rules which the HUD grant fund follows. 2. Why is SBA considered a duplication of benefits? If you have an SBA loan, it is assumed that you had the means to pay it back. However, if the amount you took is less than the amount offered, that gap is considered a financial ‘hardship’ and will not factor into your award amount. 3. Why are there so many inspections? `There are about 100 engineers hired from a series of engineering firms from all over the country. Issues may arise, and engineers may miss something. Many initial inspections did NOT include bulkheads, so engineers had to return. Safety issues also may arise, and they are mandated by the Federal government to conduct environmental inspections. It was acknowledged that this can be very frustrating for homeowners, but human error comes into play and the rules constantly shift. Again, there was a reminder that people can appeal/challenge the award amount, but that also may require further inspection 4. Why are there so many changes in caseworkers and inconsistencies among them? Prosource is the company which hired the caseworkers. The caseworkers are local people who are trained for the position. However, the program is being created as people are being trained. There are constant trainings trying to update caseworkers and trying to find gaps in the knowledge of the program. (A lot of groaning/comments from the audience over this question). Skipped Question 5 6. What precautions is NY Rising taking against identity theft? Social Security Numbers are encrypted. Scanned documents are protected. There have been no cases of stolen identities to date. 7. Why is my caseworker saying that there is incomplete paperwork or another inspection is needed? Sometimes a caseworker makes an error. Very often, people fill out a form completely online but forget to press Submit. Sometimes additional information is needed. For example, if there are two people listed on a title, more information on a fellow title holder may be required even if they are not the one applying for NY Rising. 8. Where is my letter? My inspection was done months ago. Earlier in the program, there were a lot of problems when people disagreed with their award numbers. The system was not streamlined enough. Again, the program is being built as it is occurring. Right now, they are trying to make the entire process quicker for EVERYONE, so a few hundred people may be held up for the benefit of a few thousand. Again, NY Rising might need more information before they send out an award amount. They are currently working to make it easier to find out the status of your application. 9. What are you doing about IMAs? Rental assistance is running out/has run out for most people. An IMA is a mortgage assistance program which will pay rent or your mortgage, whichever amount is less, for 20 months. It is meant to replace FEMAs rental assistance program. This CONCEPT was approved by HUD, but HUD must also approve specific program details. This process is happening now. They expect for this program to be up and running some time in FEBRUARY. 10. If work hasn’t started yet, do you have to use an approved contractor? In the beginning, contractors had to be insured, licensed, and bonded if the award amount was over $100,000. This was very difficult for many people, many contractors are not both licensed and insured for the required amount. Also, originally the money went directly to contractors. *NOW, NY Rising is trying to give the homeowner 50% of the award amount up front, and they can hire their own contractor. (There was applause after this statement). They are currently meeting with architects and construction groups to try to make the best guidelines. 11. How is NY Rising dealing with insurance companies if money is in bank escrow and you have not started rebuilding yet? The money has to be applied to the scope of the work. It is in the NY Rising contract that you sign. It is illegal and a breach of contract to use the money for anything else. However, the contract with the insurance company may be different. It may have more stringent or less stringent rules. But NY Rising is not engaging with insurance companies in this capacity at all. 12. In cases of Verification of Benefits, how long can we expect to stay there? There are a lot of controls to prevent against duplication of benefits. HUD requirements must be verified. For example, insurance check amounts must be verified. At first, it was difficult to get this information from insurance companies. Now the process is more streamlined. In addition, other hold-ups are caused by using new technology and also from security measured (example, protecting every financial document). NY Rising must also do a historical analysis for every home to make sure it is not a landmark. In addition, it is a federal requirement for NY Rising to look at tax returns and determine how many members of a household fall above or below the equity line. 13. If you are in the 100 Year Flood Plan, can you choose to lift but not to repair? Do you need more that 50% damage? Can you get only your bulkhead repaired? You must be in the repair plan to get your house lifted or your bulkhead repaired. The cap on payment is $300,000, and if you are at that amount, you can ONLY get $50,000 to raise, totaling $350,000. However, if you are well under $300,000 in repairs, you can get the full lifting cost (for example, $125,000 in repair and $100,000 for lift, totaling $225,000). Also, requirements for lifting have changed so that you either need to be in the 100 Year Floor Plan OR have sustained more than 50% damage to lift—NOT both. 14 skipped 15. Does my contractor need a surety bond? How much insurance should they carry? As answered before, the rules of what contractors you can hire are currently changing. They are trying to make more realistic rules. The way they think about it is that you should be hiring your own contractor who you already trust. Surety bonds are a federal requirement for amounts awarded over $100,000. It is out of their hands. 16. In cases of complete reconstruction, are there any other allowable expenses other than the $160 per sq. foot? What about things like helical piles? How did you get the $160 figure? NY Rising is allowing $5,000 for complete demolition. The HUD estimate for cost of reconstruction was initially much lower—NY Rising fought for the $160 figure. They are NOT building the same house you lost—they are NOT making you whole. Luxury items (granite counter/pool) they cannot cover. This figure is still WAY above what HUD initially authorized. Things like helical piles/costs to repair foundation—if these are not initially included in your award amount, you can appeal your number for additional costs. 17. How is the amount determined for acquisitions? If there a difference between acquisitions and buyouts? Who determines the amount? Is it pre- or post-Sandy value? The buyout program is ONLY for Suffolk County. They will buy the property at pre-Sandy value, demolish it, and return the space to nature. 662 homes have been designated for the buyout program. The rationale is that it will save money in the long run because these homes can be expected to be continually damaged by storms. The acquisition program is for Nassau and Suffolk. To the homeowner, it is the same thing…the property is bought at pre-Sandy value. But, NY Rising repairs and rebuilds consistent with flood standards (ie. House may be raised) and then sells it. They are currently looking to create rules to protect neighborhoods when the houses are bought (for example, making sure that the person who buys actually lives in the house as opposed to renting). The acquisition program requires that you sustained greater than 50% damage. Questions from the audience: Why did my award letter have the cost of lifting removed? He cannot answer this on an individual basis, but ELIGIBILITY IS ELIGIBILITY. So they should appeal the amount. Who made the buyout/acquisition decisions? A group of planners doing analysis of flood waters. What happens if you live next to a buyout/acquisition home? If it is a buyout, the land will be open space…if it is a acquisition, NY Rising will be looking to meet zoning requirements. I have done some of the work, but now I am running out of funds. Can I get reimbursement money for the work I have already done and rebuilding money for the work I have yet to do? Reimbursement will cut off at a certain date, they are trying to get this changed, currently talking to HUD about this. Now that you get 50% up front to rebuild, this should take some of the financial stress off. How can I make the buyout decision? In coming weeks, you will get buyout amount and rebuilding award numbers in order to make that decision. I can’t cash my check because of amount duplication. There is absolutely no itemization on the awards letter. Within the coming days, NY Rising will come up with the right number. If the amount includes duplication, you should appeal this and NY Rising will be able to correct it and cut a new check QUICKLY. Where are the written guidelines for NY Rising? They are on the NY Rising website. It changes but they try to update it as much as possible. There is an FAQ section. I am still waiting on demolition and reimbursement checks…when will they come? Case manager cannot tell you this. Case may be in a certain holding pattern so it may be hard to determine the status. Someone had to be first, someone had to be second…. Some more assorted things: • If you challenge your award amount, you cannot take the money. You can only access the money when you agree and sign a contract. • If you do not raise your house as required by FEMA, you MIGHT still be able to get flood insurance, but it will be at astronomical costs • If inspectors designate a floor of your house as a basement and you say it is a first floor, all you can do is appeal it • Social Media: “It’s all about the G word,” a page for homeowners to discuss the Grant
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 21:00:57 +0000
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