Residents affected by Superstorm Sandy met with Jon Kaiman, of New York Rising, on Thursday to demand answers.

Thousands of Long Islanders are still waiting for funds from the state's New York Rising program to help them rebuild after Sandy. Only a fraction of the billions of dollars in federal reimbursements have been doled out by New York Rising.

Jon Kaiman, the special adviser on Superstorm Sandy relief to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, stood before a crowd to answer questions. He said they have sent out about $98 million to Long Island Sandy victims so far. He also said he understands the frustrations of those who still have not received their checks, and blamed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for holding up the process.

"The money we get is through HUD. They set the rules," said Kaiman. "They set the guidelines so we have to make sure that we are abiding by the restrictions that they set because they can recapture the money and we don't want that to happen."

Kaiman said the rest of the reimbursement checks will be sent in the coming weeks and months.