If the punch line of FEMA and New Orleans is corruption, then the final word on New York City and Hurricane Sandy has to be beaucratic red tape.
According to the New York Times,
While hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money sat waiting to be used, devastated homeowners were stuck in an application process that was overdesigned and undermanaged to such a degree that, until a few months ago, not a single one of the 20,000 homeowners who applied for help rebuilding their homes in the city had seen work begin.
20,000 homeowners still don’t have a new house. Millions of federal dollars have been shelled out to business consultants. And families in Staten Island have moldy sheet rock. Nice.
New York State and New Jersey dealt with the catestrophe much better. Our summer rental house on the Jersey shore was in great shape, as was every other house on the block. There were one or two straggler houses that were still being fixed this summer, but 95% of the island looked fine. Two years ago, the entire island was under water.
What did New York City do badly? According to the Times, there were several errors. The priority went to building structures to prevent damage for future storms. There was endless paperwork, shoddy computer systems, untrained staff, and narrow minded managers.
People need to lose their jobs over this one.
Apt. 11d 