Report Claims Minorities in Long Beach Were Ignored During Sandy Repairs

LONG BEACH, NY - The Long Beach City Council recently called for an investigation into the city's housing following a report released by ERASE Racism which stated that minorities in the area were ignored during repairs from superstorm Sandy.

The Syosset-based group, which aims to "expose forms of racial discrimination and advocate for laws and policies that help eliminate racial disparities" released the report titled North Park: Left Out and Denied on March 29, according to the group's website.

The report focused on the area known as North Park, which is a 0.2 square mile area of Long Beach bordered by Reynolds Channel, Long Beach Boulevard, Park Avenue, and Magnolia Boulevard, according to the report.

The homes in the area are managed by the Long Beach Housing Authority, which is separate from the city government and uses federal funding.

According to the report, the city's population is 83 percent white, 6 percent Black, and 14 percent Hispanic or Latino. Within the Channel Park Homes, which are in North Park, 83 percent are Black, 12 percent are Hispanic, and 5 percent are multi-racial.

The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery stated that Channel Park homes "experienced the greatest damage from Superstorm Sandy," including mold remediation, replacement of floors and drywall, painting, replacement of appliances and kitchen cabinets, and repair or replacement of HVAC systems, the study states.

Despite this, out of the 66 Channel Park residents surveyed, 92 percent reported their floor tiles were not replaced after flooding during Sandy, 82 percent reported that their kitchen cabinets were not replaced, and 79 percent reported they did not have damaged appliances replaced, according to the report.

Members of the City Council, as well as City Manager Jack Schnirman, recently sent a letter address to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, which asked officials to "review the report and send federal workers to address environmental and safety concerns," Newsday reports.

ERASE Racism wrote in the report that they recommend that the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery and/or the City of Long Beach assess if funding received by the local Housing Authority was "appropriately used;" and if additional funding is necessary to complete the work needed at Channel Park Homes.

They also claim that they believe the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery should investigate why there are still homes in area reporting certain repairs, especially since they claimed all repairs had been completed at Channel Park Homes.

"ERASE Racism has found that the cutting of walls to prevent mold growth was incomplete and inadequate, based on the in-person responses of surveyed residents," they wrote in the report. "Through anecdotal evidence, ERASE Racism found that due to the lack of proper remediation, walls were exposed to infestation by roaches, mice and other vermin/rodents. It is the responsibility of the Long Beach PHA to exterminate these vermin and rodents and prevent future infestation."

Councilwoman Anissa Moore, who is the city's first black council member, told Newsday that the report "depicted environmental racism" and that she is "extremely disturbed by what the study reveals and how the residents of Channel Park homes were treated after Sandy."

A local resident also started a petition to "call upon the Long Beach Housing Authority to take responsibility for and immediate action to complete Post-Sandy remediation efforts for the units within Channel Park Homes."

So far, a total of 115 supporters signed the petition.