Nyu Langone Medical Center is getting a $114 million grant from the federal government this week as it rushes to reopen in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Cuomo announced yesterday.
The East Side hospital, which was evacuated after it flooded and a backup generator failed the night of the superstorm, sustained $1.1 billion in damages, CEO Robert Grossman said.
The funds are some of the first to flow into the region, along with money for cleanup on Long Island.
Grossman plans to reopen the facility for some overnight patients by Dec. 27 and restore full service by January.
He added that hopefully, more money will be coming from the hospital’s insurance and FEMA.
Cuomo said, “I was here that night and I saw the East River blending into Second Avenue.
“We knew right away the damage that was going to be done in this great institution.
“What do you do with a hospital full of people in the middle of a storm when you lost power? No one could prepare you for it.
“There was no course. There was no manual.”
Hospital officials discharged 250 patients before the hurricane and evacuated 324 after the storm hit
Cuomo said hospital staffers who evacuated the patients “saved lives.’’
Hospital VP Richard Cohen said power and heat has been restored to several of the buildings.
Crews are now using large, high-temperature tubes to dry out the areas that had been flooded.
Cuomo yesterday also announced more than $40 million in federal reimbursement to help remove debris in Nassau County: $24 million to Long Beach and $16 million to the county’s Public Works Department.
Meanwhile Sen. Charles Schumer yesterday toured the Manhattan VA Hospital, which was evacuated before the storm and sustained major damage.
He said a federal bill being debated in Congress would provide $200 million for that hospital. The Senate will vote on the aid bill tomorrow; the House is fighting over it.