Superstorm Sandy

It’s an apocalyptic sight.

The second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy arrived Wednesday in a region where recovery in New Jersey and New York is happening unevenly, with many houses, boardwalks, and businesses rebuilt but many people still unable to return to their homes.

Kathy and Mark Michaels huddled in the attic of their Long Beach home as Superstorm Sandy turned streets into canals, ripped apart the iconic boardwalk, and snapped electrical lines. As blue police lights flashed in the howling wind, the acrid stench of burning buildings wafted through the air.

Hospitals were ill-prepared for the impact of Superstorm Sandy, according to a government study released Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) surveyed 174 hospitals in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York in declared disaster areas during the 2012 storm.

The sound of hammers are finally ringing in Superstorm Sandy-impacted communities, but they are still few and far between. A key ingredient in the progress: the close personal involvement of various elected officials and mayor’s office appointees, including Amy Peterson, director of the city’s Office of Housing Recovery.

New York and New Jersey are among the largest recipients of $102.7 million in grants from the federal government for storm protection.

Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill Wednesday extending tax relief to homeowners facing higher taxes as a result of repairing their homes after Hurricane Sandy.

New York City’s beleaguered Superstorm Sandy housing recovery program, Build It Back, cost taxpayers a whopping $6 million just to create, new documents obtained from the city’s Housing Recovery Office reveal.

Only a handful out of hundreds of small businesses hit by Superstorm Sandy received money from the second wave of recovery loans and grants, many don’t know the opportunity exists.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has named his administration’s top three Superstorm Sandy recovery leaders.

The city’s main housing recovery program, Build It Back, will start rebuilding homes this month.

NEW YORK—Facing an avalanche of questions Monday about the city’s failing Sandy housing recovery plan, Build It Back, the mayor said he plans a complete review of the recovery work inherited from the previous administration.

NEW YORK—The city’s flailing Superstorm Sandy housing recovery program, Build It Back, has gone through almost $10 million in federal disaster aid, but not one home has been rebuilt to show for it. Eight months after its launch, Build It Back is still little more than a behemoth of administration, paperwork, and federal rules that both the city and program applicants find extraordinarily difficult to navigate.

Hotels in New York City had a good year in 2013, ironically in part due to the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. The year following Sandy saw an almost 90 percent occupancy rate, according to the city’s budget which was released last week.

Madelaine Chocolate, a Sandy-damaged chocolate factory in Rockaway Beach had a brief reopening after the storm, but is now up for sale.