FEMA to Give NYC's Public Hospitals $1.6 Billion in Sandy Aid

Four public hospitals damaged by Sandy are in line to receive $1.6 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The four hospitals — Coney Island, Bellevue, Metropolitan, and Coler — will be reimbursed for repairs they’ve made since the storm, and improve their infrastructure to mitigate damage from future flooding, city officials announced.

“This is something that all New Yorkers should appreciate: how the federal government has stood up for us,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday at Coney Island Hospital.

A federal official said FEMA was working with the city to hammer out some details, but that the grant agreement would likely be finalized within the coming days. It will take another six to nine months for the money to actually reach New York, according to city officials.

“This is the largest single upfront FEMA payment ever,” said Senator Chuck Schumer. “And while that’s a demonstration of the amount of damage done to these four hospitals, it’s also a demonstration of the good that government can do when we all come together with our eye on the prize.”

Local lawmakers had questioned why it was taking so long for public hospitals to receive FEMA aid. The privately-owned NYU Langone Medical Center received about $1 billion earlier this year.