MANHATTAN — The Lower East Side's Knickerbocker Village and two buildings in the Rockaways will soon get post-Hurricane Sandy repairs, thanks to $2.5 million from New York City's Build it Back program.
Residents of Knickerbocker Village's 12 buildings at Monroe and Market streets have long been waiting for repairs to the basement and boiler room, which flooded during the storm. The affordable housing complex will receive $1.46 million of the funds to fix up the basement, replace equipment and install new elevators, city officials announced Wednesday.
“The more than $2.5 million in assistance for these properties will help more than 1,000 families get back on their feet,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.
Bloomberg and other officials unveiled the funding — which is the first to be released under Build it Back's recovery program for apartment buildings — at a press conference Wednesday at Knickerbocker Village.
In the Rockaways, a rental building at 9501 Rockaway Beach Blvd. will receive $777,000 to install an emergency generator and to move the boilers above flood level. Another Rockaway building, at 334 Beach 54th St., will receive $326,000 to add a rooftop emergency generator and repair six ground-floor units.
Build it Back is the city's program to repair buildings that were damaged in the hurricane and fortify them against future storms, with an emphasis on helping low-to-middle-income residents.
