Residents of an assisted-living center in New York City who spent months in shelters after Superstorm Sandy now have a new headache: FEMA wants them to repay thousands of dollars in disaster aid.
Robert Rosenberg is among a dozen residents of Belle Harbor Manor who have been asked to return aid money. He’s been asked to repay about $2,500.
FEMA says that money was supposed to have been used for temporary housing.
But the state wound up putting the home’s residents in a series of emergency shelters, rather than hotels.
Under federal rules, that means they have to give the money back.
Rosenberg says he and other residents used FEMA’s money long ago to buy food and clothing.
A legal aid group says it will help the residents appeal.
(AP)
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2 Responses
What is outrageous exactly? The money was given to use for housing, the government ended up providing them with the housing, so they misused the money. Let them pay it back as they would have spent that money anyway. Crying over giving back a government freebie? Really now
#1, you’re making it sound like they were put up in alternate hotels, and went on vacation with the FEMA money instead! This is hardly the case. “Misuse”? Perhaps. But to the displaced residents, where were just as desparate for basic food and clothing as they were for shelter, it was a reasonable decision at the time. And one FEMA should stand behind.