Comments on: Sandy’s hurt, harm, and expense still emerging and likely to grow quickly

By: William R. Cumming

William R. Cumming — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:14:02 +0000

FEMA has $12B in disaster funding [the DRF] available. Already I hear noise that NO MORE will be provided without major oversight and hears by both HOUSES in Congress and this almost automatic gravy train may have to really justify itself for the first time in several decades.

By: Willaim R. Cumming

Willaim R. Cumming — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:30:03 +0000

NYTimes reporting that Governor Cuoumo will be requesting $30B in federal disaster assistance for NY State!

By: A Dangerous Time

A Dangerous Time — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 03:47:03 +0000

At this very moment, many people are w/o electricity and are freezing with such cold and absurd conditionings continuing with Chriustie at home nice and cozy as well as the NYc Mayor and Barry Obama who looked so presidential – give us a break….as we wave from our destruction to Barry Obama – a dangerous man – enroute to Burma far away from NYC and New Jersey.

Last week before elections, an int’l incident went unreported and the Wh could have been questioned. A full “Benghazi Congressional Hearing” will hopefully nab Barry Obama and Hillary Clinton for intentional breach in faith, treason on the American People -

“Treason I Shout and Shame on You I Say” -

By: William R. Cumming

William R. Cumming — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:32:21 +0000

While unconfirmed some indication that Brennan and the HSC and NSS did a Pontius Pilate after arriving in 2009 with respect to disaster housing issues as part of long-term recovery. That policy and operational skill set off-loaded on the Domestic Policy Council [by the way a Nixon creation originally in 1970].

New Yorkers might just have lucked out in having a Governor once Secretary HUD since he knows how to manipulate the levers of power in that Department.

By: Willaim R. Cumming

Willaim R. Cumming — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:36:40 +0000

AND FOR THE RECORD I LONG ADVOCATED FEMA PLAN FOR A DISASTER HOUSING EFFORT THAT COULD HANDLE 5m UNHOUSED DISASTER VICTIMS!
WHY THAT NUMBER: BECAUSE THAT IS IN FACT WHAT COULD BE THE RESULT OF A BIG ONE IN S. CALIFORNIA OR NEW MADRID EARTHQUAKE ZONES! AND THIS NUMBER ACCORDING TO FEMA STUDIES!

By: Willaim R. Cumming

Willaim R. Cumming — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:30:17 +0000

Correction and continuation of comment:
In Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1973, with Congressional approval, Nixon broke up the Office of Emergency Preparedness and sent disaster relief and its disaster housing programs to HUD wherein they became the Federal Disaster Assistance Adminstration later incorporated into FEMA in Carter’s Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978.

Nixon recognized that housing was the lynchpin of long term recovery and in fact the RENT CONROL effort was the first portion of the RENT, PRICE, WAGE FREEZE imposed by Nixon for purposes of Economic Stablilization in 1971.

HUD leadership was not happy to get this mission and fully supported FEMA formation in order to get rid of the disaster housing mission but in fact Nixon was right in putting that mission in HUD. It is a tough one and will be a much bigger problem in the Hurricane Sandy impact areas.

Hurricane Katrina of course largely solved its refugee problem [a word not used by Administration officials] by having one of the largest permanent evacuations of a disaster area in USA history. Still largely undocumented. Some indications that over 100,000 left NOLA permanently for Houston and other parts of Texas.

So here is my estimate, that the permanent reputations of President Obama, Administrator Fugate, Governor Christie, and Mayor Bloomberg will be savaged because of woeful underestimates of Hurricane Sandy’s damages both short and long term.

Again I am guestimating $125B minimum. To start with fuel and energy costs cannot remain privatized and probably the SPR should be tapped now for the Hurricane Sandy effort. Watch for skyrocketing energy cost ripoffs in the impact area and other contractor fraud.

By: Willaim R. Cumming

Willaim R. Cumming — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:12:35 +0000

Yes Phil this post is appropriate. Housing was one reason after Tropical Storm Agnes’ devastation in the Wyoming Valley of PA and the Wilkes-Barre area that President Nixon’s man on the scence Frank Carlucci then a OMB official and the first real Presidential FCO ended up getting Nixon to fire Secretary of Housing and Urban Development George Romney, father of a recent candidate for President in the USA.

In Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1974, with Congressional approval, Nixon broke up the Office of Emergency

By: Philip J. Palin

Philip J. Palin — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:41:46 +0000

Claire, Thank you for the link and for your persistent attention to this crucial issue. You’ve been making a case for a thoughtful approach to long-term recovery since the early hours after Sandy’s landfall… and well-before.

I do not have anything close to a complete inside-view on recovery planning. It is my impression that good work pre-exists this event. I know there are top-notch professionals in the region who have given serious attention to recovery pre-planning. Many of those same professionals are still immersed in response and, I perceive, the key political judgments are still emerging regarding what is possible and where to place priority.

By: Claire B. Rubin

Claire B. Rubin — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:06:00 +0000

In my view the planning for long-term recovery is either not happening or is going on in places the media does not know about.

I have made some suggestions about improving the process in my blog — http://recoverydiva.com/2012/11/03/recovery-planning-for-ny-and-nj-some-ideas/

By: Philip J. Palin

Philip J. Palin — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:00:04 +0000

To be fair, there is a piece in today’s NYT that gives some attention to continued problems in the fuel distribution network. There is also a report on the possible use of sea gates for future protection. Given what has happened and is happening and is unfolding from what was exposed by Sandy, my puzzlement persists regarding reporting priorities.

The fuel story can be accessed at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/nyregion/gas-shortage-persists-in-nyc-and-nassau-county.html

The sea gates are at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/nyregion/after-hurricane-sandy-debating-costly-sea-barriers-in-new-york-area.html?ref=nyregion&gwh=F9F28DBAD71FAD195A55990A7FE21620