FEMA's answer for NY storm victims: Put 'em back in their homes
FEMA's answer for NY storm victims: Put 'em back in their homes
New York (CNN) -- In the aftermath of one of the worst weather systems to hit the Northeast, finding adequate shelter is the big concern.
What to do with displaced residents, whose homes were rendered dark, cold and powerless by Superstorm Sandy, is now the question plaguing emergency management officials across the Tri-State area.
FEMA's answer for New York: Fix up the homes as best they can and put people back in them.
Faced with a lack of physical space for FEMA trailers and limited access to available rental apartments and hotels, FEMA officials in New York said they are bent on making flood-soaked homes inhabitable as winter weather moves in.
"New York is a unique housing environment," said Michael Byrne, federal coordinating officer for FEMA, on Wednesday. "We had to come up with something."
The agency's typical approach to disaster relief, such as the widespread use of emergency trailers for displaced residents and long-term rental assistance, doesn't work as well in the Big Apple.
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