FEMA awards NYU Langone with $1.13B for Sandy recovery projects

NYU Langone Medical Center, which bore the brunt of superstorm Sandy's wrath and suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, received a major financial boost from the federal government yesterday to pay for its recovery and protect it from future storms.

FEMA authorized $1.13 billion for Sandy-related repair work and mitigation that has already been completed or is in the planning stages. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who announced the funding, said this is the second-largest amount dispensed in FEMA's history.

"NYU Hospital is a critical nonprofit institution that sustained massive damage in superstorm Sandy, and this award will enable them to fully recover and provide world-class health care to countless New Yorkers," he said in a statement.

About $540 million will go for repairs to fix mechanical damage, the building's management systems, fire alarms, the fire protection system and other areas, while $589 million will go for flood mitigation construction, such as exterior flood doors, reinforced walls and pumps.

The hospital lost power and had to quickly evacuate its staff and patients during the Oct. 29, 2012, storm after it was flooded. It reopened its emergency room in April.