City forced to sit on Hurricane Sandy money for small businesses thanks to federal rules

[hrmjustin]

JENNIFER FERMINO

A $42 million pot of federal money that the city has been tasked with doling out to Sandy-hit mom-and-pop shops has been allocated to a mere ten businesses, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials conceded it was an abysmally low number 17 months after the killer storm - but did point to a slight bright spot.

"[It] was seven a couple of weeks ago," Small Business Services Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer said at a City Council Hearing on Sandy funding.

The problem, she said, is that the program requires the city to wait until eligible small businesses have exhausted all of their other avenues for relief, including private insurance.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/city-sitting-hurricane-sandy-money-small-businesses-blog-entry-1.1783297#ixzz314WcE52Y