In the wake of Hurricane Irene, individual assistance is available for homeowners, renters and small businesses in Bronx, Kings, Queens and Richmond counties.  In addition, public assistance is available for NYC agencies and eligible Private Not for Profits (PNPs) that sustained damage or have response/recovery costs associated with Hurricane Irene (DR 4020) in all 5 boroughs.

Residents and small businesses in a total of 27 counties are now eligible to apply for the following assistance: the Individuals and Households Program, Crisis Counseling, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, USDA food coupons and distribution, USDA food commodities, Disaster Legal Services, the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Small Business Administration disaster loans.

The counties currently eligible for individual assistance (assistance to individuals and households) are as follows: Albany, Bronx, Columbia, Clinton, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Kings, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Warren, Washington and Westchester counties.


Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362. Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM (local time) seven days a week until further notice.


Public Assistance

On August 31, 2011, New York City received a Major Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Irene (DR 4020).  All five NYC counties were included in the declaration.  The next step will be an Applicant’s Briefing for all NYC agencies and eligible Private Not for Profits (PNPs) that sustained damage or have response/recovery costs associated with the event. In the past, yeshivot, day schools, hospitals and other quasi-governmental organizations were eligible.

The Applicant Briefings for New York City will take place on:


Friday September 16th, 2011


NYC Office of Emergency Management
165 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn

There will be two sessions
10:00am – 12:00pm
1:00pm – 3:00pm


The briefing will go over eligibility for applicants, facilities, types of work and costs. 

A representative from each agency should attend one of the briefings

To RSVP, email Mariel Diaz (mdiaz@oem.nyc.gov) with the name (and session time) of each individual who will be attending


Following is a link to the form: “Request for Public Assistance”: If possible please fill in the point of contact info and bring to the Applicant Briefing (each city agency will be an individual “applicant.”)  While applicants have 30 days to submit this form, FEMA would like to collect as many as possible up front.


After the Applicant Briefing, FEMA will contact each applicant to schedule a Kickoff Meeting.  This meeting is where FEMA will begin to work directly with that agency to identify damages and write up project worksheets to cover actual costs.  FEMA gives applicants 60 days from the kickoff meeting to identify all potential costs; however, the more prepared you are to present actual costs with supporting documentation the quicker and easier it will be.