More Relief Is on the Way for New Yorkers Recovering From Ida
[Want to get New York Today by email? Here’s the sign-up.] It’s Wednesday. Weather: Mostly sunny until midafternoon, when rain and …
[Want to get New York Today by email? Here’s the sign-up.]
It’s Wednesday.
Weather: Mostly sunny until midafternoon, when rain and thunderstorms sweep in and continue into the night. Heavy downpours could cause flooding in the region. High in the low 80s.
Alternate-side parking: Suspended today (Rosh Hashana).
Credit…Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order Tuesday eliminating city permit fees for New Yorkers trying to repair theirhomes following last week’s deadly floods.
The flooding last week turned many basement apartments into death traps, particularly in Queens, where many low-income and immigrant communities reside in basement homes that are not up to safety codes.
Getting permits from the city to do major construction on these homes could set people back anywhere from $100 to $1,200 each, Mr. de Blasio said during a news conference.
“We don’t want to see anyone have to pay for a permit who’s just been through a horrible disaster,” Mr. de Blasio said.
[Read more about what to do if your home flooded during Ida and federal aid for the New York region.]
More storm relief for New Yorkers
The city has partnered with the American Red Cross to temporarily house New Yorkers in hotels while they repair their homes. Residents can also call 311 to have the city’s sanitation department pump water out of their homes for free.
The Red Cross will provide one debit card per household with up to $515 to pay for basic needs, and New Yorkers can apply for FEMA grants to help pay for damages up to $36,000 each. Mr. de Blasio said New Yorkers should call 311 to learn more.
President Biden visited hard-hit areas of New York and New Jersey
During visits to Manville, N.J., and Queens on Tuesday, President Biden said that Hurricane Ida’s lethal destruction in New Jersey and New York had been caused by a changing climate, and that action was needed to prevent extreme weather patterns from worsening.
“Climate change is here. We’re living through it now,” Mr. Biden said in New Jersey. “We’re at one of those inflection points where we act or we’re going to be in real, real trouble.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said on Twitter over the weekend that she was allocating $378 million in federal disaster funding to protect New York residents against the effects of climate change, and would work with local governments to “identify and fix vulnerabilities so this level of damage doesn’t happen again.”
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Want more news? Check out our full coverage.
The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.
What we’re reading
Several Queens residents who were exposed to raw sewage during the flooding last week say they’ve suffered diarrhea and vomiting, and at least one person had to be hospitalized. [Gothamist]
A 16-year-old horse named Hank was rescued in New Jersey after falling through a wooden bridge weakened by last week’s heavy rains. [NBC New York]
Self-harm in New York City jails has soared since the start of the pandemic. [The City]
And finally: Dr. Anthony Fauci joins The Times to talk about children and Covid-19
As cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus continue to surge across the country and children under 12 are yet to be approved for the vaccine, the return to school can feel uncertain at best and unnerving at worst.
How will this new strain affect our children? Is it still safe for school to take place in person? What preventive measures should we put in place to protect our children?
Hear crucial answers this Thursday at 1 p.m. from Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
Afterward, you can join a question-and-answer session for parents, educators and students everywhere with Times journalists who are parents themselves, including Apoorva Mandavilli, a science reporter, and Lisa Damour, a contributing writer and psychologist, moderated by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Times columnist and DealBook founder.
It’s all part of our latest virtual event series just for subscribers — go here to R.S.V.P. to this event. We look forward to seeing you there.
It’s Wednesday — shanah tova.
Metropolitan Diary: Touching base
Dear Diary:
I was panting heavily, and sweat was dripping from my bare chest onto my shorts. It was dark out, but it still felt like it was over 100 degrees.
Hidden from view, I crouched quietly in the bushes until the prison guards had moved far enough from the flagpole for me to make my move.
I heard my grandmother calling me for dinner from our fifth-floor window. Now is my chance, I thought.
Feeling the pressure to make a move, I burst out of the bushes, lunged 20 feet and tagged the base of the flagpole with my foot, freeing my teammates from Joey Pagano’s seemingly impenetrable fortress.
Everybody scrambled, prisoners and guards alike. I had caught them all by surprise with my brazen sneak attack. As I peered up toward my grandmother, I felt a hand grab my arm. Joey had caught me mid-sprint, making me his captive.
As I sat there, heart pounding, sweat dripping, I was gauging my grandmother’s patience. And just at that moment, I watched each lamp post and apartment light in our complex go out one by one.
On that hot July evening in 1977, all the electricity in New York City drained out like sweat into my dirty socks.
It was one of the best nights of my young life.
— Oliver Quillia
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Read more Metropolitan Diary here.
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