$8.8 Million Home-Elevation Project Launches In Sheepshead Bay & Gerritsen

Neighbors who missed out or gave up on the city’s Build it Back program may get a second chance to have their home elevated thanks to an $8.8 million project by the state.

The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) announced this week they are moving forward on Project Uplift, a resiliency effort birthed in the NY Rising committees that formed in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. The Sheepshead Bay and Gerritsen Beach committee dedicated up to $3.5 million for the project; the Staten Island committee allocated $4 million.

The pilot program, which will target low- and moderate-income homeowners living in the 100-year floodplain in Gerritsen Beach, Sheepshead Bay, and Staten Island, is currently accepting pre-applications. (Found here.)

“Home elevation has been an incredibly valuable tool for increasing the resiliency of homes and our coastal communities,” GOSR Executive Director, Lisa Bova-Hiatt, said in a press release. “Through this pilot program, we can explore ways to elevate non-traditional housing structures, while closing a gap in services for low-to-moderate households who are not eligible for assistance through other means.”

The project is being implemented by the St. Bernard Project, a national nonprofit, and aims to assist residents whose homes were damaged by Sandy and are not eligible for other elevation-assistance programs like Build it Back. Resiliency measures, like home elevation, could save homeowners thousands of dollars per year in insurance premiums.

The effort aims to target challenging housing types, like the semi-attached homes and bungalows found throughout Sheepshead Bay. The bungalows especially have flummoxed city officials involved in Build it Back because of their unique construction and the fact that they are not connected to municipal drainage systems.

Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, celebrated the project’s launch in a press release urging her constituents to apply.

“Now, some three and a half years on, my constituents continue to pick up the pieces following the devastation of Superstorm Sandy. This project offers yet another opportunity to assist those who still need to elevate their home, but cannot afford to do so,” she said.