March 27, 2013-Springfield, MA- Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced today a $21 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for long-term disaster recovery costs of the severe storms in 2011. This grant, part of $514 million allocated among nine states, is provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program to support long-term disaster recovery efforts in areas with the greatest extent of ‘unmet need.’
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno stated “Within the last two years the residents and businesses of the City of Springfield have been through a lot. Since June 1, 2011 a lot of hard work has gone into our recovery and today marks a significant piece of funding for our long term recovery efforts. This is a great day for the City of Springfield.”
The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, signed into law by President Obama on January 29th, included $16 billion in CDBG-Disaster Recovery funding. Eight days later, HUD announced a first round of aid totaling $5.4 billion for five states including the City of New York all impacted by Hurricane Sandy. HUD will announce additional allocations throughout the year based upon the level of remaining needs to help other states and local communities impacted by natural disasters in 2011-2013.
Mayor Sarno indicated that; “as we continue to maximize and finalize our efforts with FEMA, which is separate from this remarkable announcement, this will allow us to continue our positive momentum toward rebuilding and revitalizing the City.”