Treyger To Be City Council’s Point Man In Sandy Recovery

As part of the news earlier this week regarding the appointment of committee chairs in the New York City Council, we noted that Councilman Mark Treyger will head a new committee on Recovery & Resiliency.

Here’s a little more about that newly created committee from a press release from Treyger’s office:

Council Members Mark Treyger and Carlos Manchaca have announced the creation of a new committee to monitor the recovery efforts following the devastation of Super Storm Sandy and to explore ways of addressing infrastructure and resiliency issues to better prepare the city for future storms. The name for this committee is the Committee on Resiliency and Recovery.

Councilman Mark Treyger, who is a former educator and represents a district hard-hit by Sandy, is set to chair this new important committee. This announcement scores an impressive legislative victory for freshmen Councilmen Treyger and Menchaca, who issued a joint statement back in December calling for the creation of a new committee dedicated to the oversight of Sandy recovery efforts.

“I am honored to have been selected to chair this new and vital committee and I take this post very seriously” said Councilman Mark Treyger. “Councilman Menchaca, who has worked diligently to help his district recover, and I understand that the residents of Southern Brooklyn and of all Sandy impacted neighborhoods deserve transparency, accountability, and action in the recovery process,” Treyger continued.

Under the current set up, Sandy recovery efforts have fallen under the jurisdiction of multiple agencies and City Council committees. The Resiliency and Recovery committee will unite the various stakeholders under one umbrella and ensure that issues relating to Sandy recovery receive adequate attention and oversight.

“This new committee will create a mechanism for greater oversight of Sandy recovery efforts in our city and ensure that allocated funds are spent on rebuilding impacted communities, strengthening our infrastructure to build up our resiliency, and preparing our coastal communities for future storms,” Treyger asserted. “The city’s recovery efforts thus far have simply not been fast enough. NYCHA buildings across the city are still running on backup boilers installed after Sandy, which have proven to be faulty during recent storms. They must be replaced with permanent boilers to ensure that families do not lose heat and hot water again due to faulty temporary boilers. Recovery programs such as Build-it-Back, must work in an expedited manner to assist the many homeowners still in need of assistance. This committee will go a long way to ensure that those in power understand that all Sandy impacted neighborhoods deserve a just, equitable and sustainable recovery. I would also like to thank Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for her leadership in acknowledging the need for greater oversight of the Sandy recovery process and for the opportunity to explore methods by which the city can ensure its infrastructure will be resilient enough to meet the pressing challenges of the 21st century,” Treyger added.

“I am proud to have worked closely with Council Member Treyger on the creation of the Resilience and Recovery Committee within the City Council, and I commend the speaker for her leadership in forming this new committee.  Waterfront neighborhoods throughout the City deserve a powerful voice and watchful eye here at the City Council as billions of dollars of aid flow in for Sandy recovery.  This type of work requires a truly collaborative committee that is prepared to work closely with multiple city agencies to ensure that our coastal neighborhoods, our working families and our immigrant communities get the aid and support that they so desperately need and deserve.  We must also make sure that our recovery dollars are used thoughtfully to create economic development opportunities for the very neighborhoods that are still recovering, like Red Hook and Sunset Park.  I look forward to serving on this committee, and fighting to make sure that waterfront communities have a seat at the table as Sandy recovery decisions are made” said Council Member Carlos Menchaca.