Hurricane Sandy inflicted $19 billion worth of damage on New York City — with less than half covered by expected reimbursements, Mayor Bloomberg estimated today.
Bloomberg said that after payments from private insurance and FEMA, the city will need $9.8 billion from Washington to address what will be the biggest budget gap in its history.
“The city will struggle in the long term unless expedited federal funding is supplied,” the mayor wrote in a letter to the city’s congressional delegation.
The mayor is headed to Washington on Wednesday to make a personal plea for the money.
The city’s estimates were:
* $4.8 billion in uninsured private losses
* $3.8 billion in insured private losses
* $4.5 billion in losses and costs incurred by city agencies
* $5.7 billion in lost “gross city product”
* $200 million for the Army Corps of Engineers
Bloomberg said that the Transportation Department alone faces a $1 billion bill, which includes $800 million for street reconstruction.
Mayoral aides said they have notified the governor’s office of the calculations. Gov. Cuomo had earlier said the state needed $30 billion from the feds to be made whole. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has requested just under $30 billion for his state.