NEW YORK—Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday expanded the state’s Superstorm Sandy buyout program to include 129 additional homes on Staten Island.
The homes in the Ocean Breeze neighborhood will be eligible to receive 100 percent of their pre-Sandy market value. In exchange, the state will own the land. Cuomo has promised not to develop the land, keeping it in its natural state for storm mitigation. The program differs from the city program, in which the property would be redeveloped.
“The reality is that extreme weather is happening more frequently and we must take a new, smarter approach to rebuilding our communities in areas prone to storm damage,” Cuomo said in a statement. “By extending the state’s buyout program to homeowners in Ocean Breeze, we are giving residents an opportunity to move out of an area that could get hit hard again by a future storm and start over without the fear of future devastation as a result of extreme weather.”
When Sandy hit on Oct. 29 of last year, 20 homes were destroyed in Ocean Breeze.
The NY Rising Home Buyout program was launched in April and applies to 613 properties, including 420 in Oakwood Beach Staten Island.
