NEW YORK CITY — The checkout date for displaced Hurricane Sandy victims currently housed in hotels in New York has been extended to May 1, FEMA announced this week.
The deadline for checkout had been set for April 14, but it was extended to help those still homeless from the superstorm to find long-term housing, FEMA said.
The extension came about a week after Senator Chuck Schumer announced that FEMA and New York State had agreed to provide additional temporary rental assistance to Sandy victims residing in hotels.
“This new program will allow displaced families now living from week-to-week to secure more stable housing,” Schumer said. “It is a better bridge from displacement to permanent relocation in their former homes."
Families whose homes were severely damaged or destroyed by the storm were put up in hotels for free by FEMA through the agency's Transitional Sheltering Assistance program.
Families participating in the program have received numerous two-week extensions since the program started, which Schumer has previously said left residents in a constant state of worry over whether they would be allowed to stay.
A FEMA spokesman said the agency will evaluate all applicants in hotels for continued eligibility in the program.