After Sandy, NYC pins housing hope on repairs

NEW YORK (AP) — Officials have put hopes and hundreds of millions of dollars into jump-starting repairs to make homes livable after Superstorm Sandy left a daunting toll of damage in the nation’s largest city.

The NYC Rapid Repairs program aims to get people back into their own homes, not temporary housing.

Federal and city officials see it as an innovative answer to the challenge of housing thousands of storm victims. The program sends contractors to restore power, heat and other essentials free of charge.

Contractors have done initial assessments of about 7,000 homes in the city and 2,000 for similar initiatives on Long Island. But just about 400 projects have been completed thus far.

Some homeowners say the help isn’t coming fast enough.

Officials stress that they’re still ramping up the program.