Jerry Nadler: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, thousands of New Yorkers and other Americans…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, thousands of New Yorkers and other Americans learned that they were ineligible for FEMA assistance because of the type of home in which they lived. Families who lived in condos were eligible for assistance for their individual units, but could not get any assistance to repair ground floor entryways, boilers, or other common areas. Those who lived in cooperative housing, or co- ops, were ineligible for any disaster assistance to repair the walls or floors of their units, let alone their common areas. This was not a small problem for my constituents. In the storm surge area in New York, nearly 20 percent of housing units are in co-op buildings and an additional 8 percent are in condominiums. Seniors in high-rise condo buildings were able to get assistance to repair their floors and repaint their floors, but nothing to fix the elevators they needed to reach their units. Families in co-ops could replace their furnishings and make some repairs, but the halls of the buildings remained covered with mold and uninhabitable. Almost every district in the country has condos, and homeowners in these condo communities will continue to face the same terrible realization that FEMA can give them no help in the wake of new disasters. Community associations, or common interest communities, around the country have experienced similar roadblocks when they seek FEMA disaster assistance.…”