On Thursday, Oct. 13, Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, along with New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, and Senator Jessica Ramos, penned a letter to NYC Mayor Eric Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, urging them to consider extending the relief program for Hurricane Ida  by an additional year to further help residents bounce back fully in New York state and neighboring New Jersey. 

“I penned a letter along with @NYCComptroller & @NYSenatorRamos to the Mayor and Governor requesting that Hurricane Ida relief programs be extended. We recently marked the first year since Ida devastated several of our communities. But our neighbors still need financial help,” Ramos wrote in a tweet announcing the letter. 

She also went on to highlight the need for more multilingual and legal services for those that remain affected and are still recovering.

On Aug. 26, 2021, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana, which then became the second largest and most damaging hurricane to hit the state behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Ida brought more than $75 billion in damages. The storm then made its way to the Tri-State area where it brought heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding to New Jersey and New York. 

In New York City specifically, water flooded the subway systems, neighborhoods, roads, and even peoples homes, killing over 13 people. According to city officials, it cost over $900 million in repairs and damaged 11,000 homes. 

In one instance, it killed 11 residents of a basement apartment in Queens. In the nearly one year since that time, the city still has struggled to fully bounce back. It had not even fully recovered since Hurricane Sandy rocked the Tri-State area in 2012. Hurricane Ida also caused the deaths of over 18 people in the entire state, and according to the letter, most of the residents in the city did not speak or had limited ability to speak and understand English.

In the aftermath of Ida, NYC created the Ida Supplemental Funding program. This was eligible to homeowners who applied for FEMA assistance. In addition to that, the state also offered residents a cash assistance program for those excluded from the homeowners program to help cover Ida-related expenses such as housing, medical care, transportation, and anything else that came up. 

“These programs have now ended, but the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Ida still impacts many New Yorkers, most of whom received insufficient or no funds for their home repairs and are still in need to this day,” the letter reads. 

In regards to the costly damages it brought to NYC, the letter also added that people and communities are still suffering the consequences brought on by the cyclone. They urge the Mayor and Governor to extend the program not because it is only the right thing to do, but also a responsibility because of the positions they hold. They look to extend the relief program until October 2023. 

“Our communities continue to suffer from damages caused by Hurricane Ida due to the extent of destruction and the difficulties our constituents have faced in applying for and receiving assistance. It is the responsibility of the State and City to ensure that New Yorkers receive the aid they need to rebuild their homes and their lives after such damage,” the letter read. 

The letter also requested that a multilingual outreach program be created so the relief funds actually go to those who actually need it. 

“The uneven toll the storm had on New Yorkers that spoke languages other than English demonstrates that we have more work to do to ensure they receive adequate warnings in the future. We can use this opportunity now to make sure these same communities have access to all the relief services and funds available to them,” the letter read. 

The three city officials also asked Adams and Hochul to further explore ways to create standing capacity for disaster case management in addition to legal assistance. With this, they hope it will empower community organizations to assist with the recovery. 

They also call on Adams and Hochul to create a method for which disaster case managers can help any survivors with trying to get through the recovery which the letter says should include ongoing FEMA applications or appeals, insurance claims, public assistance and, emergency benefits, relocation support, recovering lost documents, and access to repair loans or emergency funding.

Adams or Hochul have not responded to the letter.