Just days before the 2nd Anniversary of Sandy, with many still struggling to recover, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D – Rockaway Beach) blasted the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) recent decision to demand Sandy victims return at least $5.8 million dollars in federal aid.

“Families who received additional assistance, through no fault of their own, should not be asked to return money that was clearly spent on aiding their recovery from Sandy,” said Assemblyman Goldfeder. “For FEMA to ask victims to pay back funding already spent on recovery, when many are still drowning in debt from the storm, is unacceptable.”

According to residents, FEMA recently sent out letters to homeowners requesting that they return aid money paid out in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Many victims had used this additional money to rebuild their homes, cover rental expenses while displaced or to pay for damaged property.

“We did everything right on our end and documented every expense paid for with our FEMA aid,” said Brian Rafferty, a displaced Rockaway Park resident contacted by FEMA. “It’s really a slap in the face to be asked now to pay that money back after we’ve lost everything.”

This policy, which FEMA calls “recoupment,” is intended to recover excess funds paid out to Sandy victims as a result of poor record keeping and clerical issues the agency in the aftermath of the disaster. These extra funds, which for some homeowners total thousands of dollars, are not considered to be cases of victims knowingly committing fraud, which are handled by a different FEMA department from the one handling recoupments.

“Nearly two years after Sandy devastated our lives, we should be working to help Sandy victims recover and not burden them with additional costs,” concluded Goldfeder. “I sincerely hope that FEMA reconsiders this misguided and detrimental policy.”

(YWN Desk – NYC)