File #: Res 1927-2013    Version: * Name: Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. (H.2887/S.1480)
Type: Resolution Status: Adopted
Committee: Committee on Housing and Buildings
On agenda: 9/12/2013
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling upon the United States Congress to enact and the President to sign H.2887/S.1480, a bill to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide assistance for condominiums and housing cooperatives damaged by a major disaster, and for other purposes.
Sponsors: Peter F. Vallone, Jr., Gale A. Brewer, Margaret S. Chin, Mathieu Eugene, Lewis A. Fidler, Vincent J. Gentile, Robert Jackson, Letitia James, Peter A. Koo, G. Oliver Koppell, Rosie Mendez, Annabel Palma, Donovan J. Richards, Ruben Wills, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Jumaane D. Williams, Charles Barron, Inez E. Dickens, James F. Gennaro, David G. Greenfield, James G. Van Bramer, Ydanis A. Rodriguez, Eric A. Ulrich
Council Member Sponsors: 23
Attachments: 1. Committee Report 9/24/13, 2. Hearing Transcript 9/24/13, 3. Committee Report - Stated Meeting, 4. Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 9-24-13
Date Ver.Prime SponsorAction ByActionResultAction DetailsMeeting DetailsMultimedia
9/24/2013*Peter F. Vallone, Jr. City Council Approved, by CouncilPass Action details Meeting details Not available
9/24/2013*Peter F. Vallone, Jr. Committee on Housing and Buildings Hearing Held by Committee  Action details Meeting details Not available
9/24/2013*Peter F. Vallone, Jr. Committee on Housing and Buildings Approved by CommitteePass Action details Meeting details Not available
9/12/2013*Peter F. Vallone, Jr. City Council Introduced by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
9/12/2013*Peter F. Vallone, Jr. City Council Referred to Comm by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
Res. No. 1927
 
 
Resolution calling upon the United States Congress to enact and the President to sign H.2887/S.1480, a bill to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide assistance for condominiums and housing cooperatives damaged by a major disaster, and for other purposes.
 
 
By Council Members Vallone, Brewer, Chin, Eugene, Fidler, Gentile, Jackson, James, Koo, Koppell, Mendez, Palma, Richards, Wills, Mark-Viverito, Williams, Barron, Dickens, Gennaro, Greenfield, Van Bramer, Rodriguez and Ulrich
 
Whereas, Over half a million New York City families reside in cooperatives or condominiums; and
Whereas, Cooperatives and condominiums were among the residences affected by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012; and
Whereas, In some cases, cooperatives and condominiums suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of damages;
Whereas, Under current Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA") policy, cooperative and condominium associations are considered business entities, making them ineligible for the types of federal disaster assistance available to single-family homes; and
      Whereas, Due to their classification as business entities, cooperative and condominium associations are not eligible for grants to make expensive repairs to common areas such as utility rooms, lobbies, and roofs; and
      Whereas, Without this critically needed assistance, cooperative and condominium associations are being forced to take on loans, spend significant portions of their reserves, or in some cases, impose assessments on individual homeowners to cover the cost of repairs; and
      Whereas, H.2887/S.1480, introduced in 2013 by Rep. Israel (D-NY) and Sen. Schumer (D-NY) respectively, would amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the law that created FEMA in 1988, to provide cooperative and condominium associations with the same federal disaster assistance available to single-family homeowners; and
      Whereas, Further, the bill would allow the President to regulate the maximum amount of federal disaster assistance that an association for a cooperative or condominium can receive per disaster; and
      Whereas, Cooperative and condominium homeowners should be entitled to the same federal disaster assistance available to single-family homeowners; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Congress to enact and the President to sign H.2887/S.1480, a bill to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide assistance for condominiums and housing cooperatives damaged by a major disaster, and for other purposes.
 
LS# 4998
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09/03/2013