Metro

Relief for rebuilding

The city Department of Buildings will waive agency fees for work on the 1,000 or more local buildings damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

The charges won’t go back into effect until October 2014, under a bill the City Council passed yesterday.

The city will also delay plumbing and electrical fees for repairs to those damaged buildings until April 2013.

The council acted on the heels of Mayor Bloomberg’s emergency order last month to waive the fees.

The council yesterday also announced a series of hearings it will hold in January and February to assess the administration’s response to the storm.

Meanwhile, members yesterday introduced bills to strengthen the city’s infrastructure against future storms. One would study the feasibility of burying power lines in certain areas — an extremely expensive endeavor; another would raise by several feet elevation requirements for flood-zone construction.

The federal government is set to put out new maps within the next week that will delineate the city’s most flood-prone areas.