US News

Sandy victims still waiting for help

As a second New Year since Hurricane Sandy approaches, many coastal residents are still waiting for New York, New Jersey and New York City to distribute billions of federal dollars that were intended to go directly to people struggling to rebuild their homes.

Only a fraction of that money has been spent, leaving storm victims at the mercy of a frustrating maze of bureaucracy. Checks could be anywhere from days to many more months away.

New York state officials say they have sent out $88 million to 2,500 Long Island homeowners in the past few weeks to reimburse them for repair work that wasn’t covered by insurance.

In New York City, officials say they are still plowing through 20,000 active aid applications and have distributed little of the $521 million initially set aside for rebuilding.