From left: Governor Andrew Cuomo and Sandy-damaged Ocean Breeze section of Staten Island
New York State is going to purchase all 129 Sandy-damaged homes in Staten Island’s flood-prone Ocean Breeze neighborhood.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state would extend its Sandy buyout program to homeowners on the former beach colony, which has suffered repeated flood damage since the area’s first bungalows were constructed nearly 100 years ago.
During Superstorm Sandy, two residents drowned and floodwaters destroyed 20 houses. Of the handful that remain, most are still boarded up.
Participation in the program, which offers residents slightly more than their homes’ pre-storm value, is voluntary. But 117 people have already expressed interest, according to one resident quoted by the Associated Press.
The state announced plans to make $171 million available for buyouts for owners of Sandy-damaged homes in March, and has since extended offers to residents of Long Island’s Suffolk County and Staten Island’s Oakwood Beach neighborhood. [Crain's via AP] – Julie Strickland