3 states seek $83 billion for recovery
Governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut unite to seek aid.
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy are joining forces in a regional effort to land nearly $83 billion in federal aid to recover from Superstorm Sandy, which struck their states a month ago Thursday.
Cuomo said at a New York City briefing that he is working with committee chairs in Congress to ensure aid for the three states will be “flexible” so that they can better use the funds where they are most needed.
Cuomo, a Democrat, is asking for $42 billion for repairs and preventive measures. Christie, a Republican, is seeking $37 billion for recovery and rebuilding. Malloy, a Democrat, says Connecticut’s bill is $3.5 billion.
The massive requests come at a time when Congress and President Barack Obama are trying to drastically reduce the nation’s deficit, weighing spending cuts along with tax cuts that are soon to expire next year.
Cuomo said he’s working closely with Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican, because getting aid approved by the GOP-led House may be “trickier” than in the Democratic-led Senate.
King said Congress is awaiting a proposal from Obama on disaster aid.
“I’m reasonably optimistic,” he said.
Malloy said the aid is also needed in Connecticut to protect against future storms.
“While our state was not impacted as severely as New York or New Jersey during Storm Sandy, we have seen substantial damage from three storms now that occurred in a little more than a year’s time,” he said.
Cuomo is also concerned about the potential for damage by future storms. He wants electrical transformers in commercial buildings hauled to upper floors; the ability to shutter key tunnels, airports and subways; and a requirement that hospitals have backup power sources in locations less vulnerable than basements and lower floors.
A new accounting of the storm shows that it:
Killed at least 125 people in the United States. That includes 60 in New York — 43 of them in New York City — 34 in New Jersey and 16 in Pennsylvania. At least seven people died in West Virginia, where the storm dropped heavy snow. Sandy killed 71 people in the Caribbean, including 54 in Haiti.
Caused about $62 billion in damage and other losses in the U.S., the vast majority of it in New York and New Jersey. It’s the second-costliest storm in U.S. history after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, which caused $128 billion in damage in inflationadjusted dollars.
Damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey alone. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were affected. In Cuba, the number of damaged homes has been estimated at 130,000 to 200,000.
Had tropical storm-force winds that extended 820 miles at their widest, down from an earlier estimate of 1,000 miles. Sandy’s pure kinetic energy for storm surge and wave “destruction potential” reached a 5.8 on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 0 to 6 scale, the highest measured.