USA: Superstorm Sandy victims in Breezy Point, one of the hardest hit areas by the storm, say they are frustrated with Congress for delaying the 60 billion dollar (USD) relief package

Record ID: 327882

  • Title: USA: Superstorm Sandy victims in Breezy Point, one of the hardest hit areas by the storm, say they are frustrated with Congress for delaying the 60 billion dollar (USD) relief package
  • Date: 4th January 2013
  • Summary: BREEZY POINT, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 04, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DAMAGED HOUSES CODY DORAN WALKING TOWARDS ENTRANCE OF HOUSE VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION SUPPLIES KITCHEN CABINETS WOOD BEAMS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CODY DORAN, HOMEOWNER'S GRANDSON, SAYING: "My grandmother has been displaced since Hurricane Sandy. And it is a concern that there is a hold up in the funding. This is a strong middle class working area and we pay our taxes. It's time that the people in this community in Breezy Point see some of that support from the government." STREET FUSED ELECTRIC WIRES VARIOUS OF DESTROYED HOUSES JOE MORAN LOOKING AT REMNANTS OF DESTROYED HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOE MORAN, OWNER OF DESTROYED HOME, SAYING: "The head of the House of Representatives held the bill back and that was terrible. If they do grant the money now, I will be okay with it. But it was all political shifting and that's not fair to us. We are the ones suffering from all of this you know." RALPH PETAGNA, BREEZY POINT RESIDENT, WALKING IN HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) RALPH PETAGNA, HOMEOWNER, SAYING: "I feel that we are a blue state, and all the Congressmen from the red states postponed not because of us, but because of our political affiliation here." ABANDONED HOUSE RESTRICTED USE NOTICE DEBRIS AT HOUSE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS DAMAGED HOUSE AMERICAN FLAG MORE DAMAGED
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA73ASWPGE5VPI9ULGC4PL5OIH0
  • Story Text: More than two months after the devastating Superstorm Sandy swept through the northeast United States, residents of Breezy Point, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens were still cleaning up from the storm on Friday (January 4).
    Many of the homes are abandoned.
    Cody Doran (pronounced Do-raan) was working on his grandmother's house that was flooded with three feet (91 cm) of water.
    His grandmother has been living with his uncle since late October and has not returned to her house that is still without water and heat.
    FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has promised the family $30,000 (USD) in relief money, but Doran said that they only have seen $12,000.
    The U.S. Congress on Friday approved $9.7 billion in initial relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy, but New York and New Jersey lawmakers seethed over delays in passing the rest of a $60.4 billion federal aid package.
    The House of Representatives voted 354-67 to keep the National Flood Insurance Program solvent and able to pay claims of thousands of homeowners who suffered flood damage in coastal New York, New Jersey and Connecticut from the October storm.
    The Senate then quickly passed the measure by voice vote, and it now moves to President Barack Obama to be signed into law on his vacation in Hawaii.
    Doran said that his family was running out of patience.

    "This is a strong middle class working area and we pay our taxes. It's time that the people in this community in Breezy Point see some of that support from the government."
    House Speaker John Boehner drew scathing criticism this week - including blasts from New York and New Jersey Republicans - when he canceled a House vote on the full $60.4 billion aid package passed by the Senate.
    Joe Moran, a Statue of Liberty ferry captain who lost his home in the massive fire that incinerated more than 100 houses, expressed his disappointment with Congress.

    "The head of the House of Representatives held the bill back and that was terrible. If they do grant the money now, I will be okay with it. But it was all political shifting and that's not fair to us. We are the ones suffering from all of this you know," said Moran.
    Ralph Pategna, a retired postal worker living in a nearby house, felt that they were victims of a political game. New York voted overwhelmingly for Democrat Barack Obama for president instead of his Republican rival, Mitt Romney.

    "I feel that we are a blue state, and all the Congressmen from the red states postponed not because of us, but because of our political affiliation here," he said.
    Boehner, re-elected on Thursday (January 3) for another term as House speaker, canceled the earlier vote on the full Sandy aid package amid Republican discontent on Tuesday over the "fiscal cliff" deal. That legislation prevented tax hikes on most Americans but did not achieve the significant spending cuts House Republicans wanted.
    But after coming under fire from Republicans, including Representative Peter King of New York and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie a potential presidential contender for 2016, Boehner scheduled Friday's vote on the piece of the package.
    He also promised a second vote on January 15 for the remaining portion of nearly $51 billion in aid. The House is not in session next week.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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