Schumer calls on FEMA to not claw back millions in Sandy aid

There is a fight to prevent a FEMA clawback of millions of dollars in Superstorm Sandy aid that Long Island residents have already spent. Sen. Chuck Schumer held a press conference in a Port Washington

News 12 Staff

Oct 26, 2016, 2:01 AM

Updated 2,904 days ago

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There is a fight to prevent a FEMA clawback of millions of dollars in Superstorm Sandy aid that Long Island residents have already spent.
Sen. Chuck Schumer held a press conference in a Port Washington parking lot on Monday. The lot was where a lot of debris from Superstorm Sandy was stored.
Schumer is calling on FEMA to not claw back millions of dollars in federal funds that the agency doled out to the Town of North Hempstead and the Long Beach School District to remove debris and make emergency repairs after the storm hit back in 2012.
The Office of the Inspector General did an audit, and wants FEMA to take back money it awarded. After Sandy, FEMA gave the Town of North Hempstead $36.6 million, and the inspector general says $9.9 million should go back. The Long Beach School District was given $35.5 million, and Schumer says the inspector general now wants $670,000 back.
Schumer says it's an unfair burden for taxpayers to demand any money back.
"The inspector general says that some of the debris removal contracts were not awarded in a reasonable manner. Hello? Inspector general? It was an emergency," Schumer says.
According to Schumer, the Office of the Inspector General claims the debris removal was not done to federal standards, but that FEMA approved all of it.
FEMA has until the end of this month to respond to the Town of North Hempstead audit. It has until the end of November to respond to the recommendations regarding Long Beach.
A spokesperson for FEMA tells News 12 Long Island that the agency is continuing to address compliance issues in both cases and looks forward to a resolution.
News 12 reached out to the Office of the Inspector General, but has not yet heard back.