Although Hurricane Sandy devastated many parts of the eastern seaboard, residents of Staten Island New York were particularly affected. Residents of the shoreline beach community that overlooks the Manhattan skyline have proven to be a very resolute group.
As part of the state-sponsored New York Rising Project, Staten Islanders have been awarded $25 million to help rebuild their shoreline and infrastructure. They recently obtained another $3 million after winning a competition held by the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program, which provides additional assistance based on need – and they worked hard to win it.
Programs such as New York Rising provide Hurricane Sandy victims with the extra funds needed to get the ball rolling. However, those funds wouldn’t be as desperately needed if homeowners’ insurance companies lived up to their promises. Although it’s been more than 18 months since Sandy hit, many homeowners report that they are still battling it out with their insurance companies – and that likely constitutes bad faith.
Insurance companies engage in bad faith insurance practices in a variety of ways, including:
- Denying payments altogether. Many insurance companies deny payments altogether – for bogus reasons or for no good reason at all. Why? Because they know that many policyholders feel intimidated when it comes to challenging denials – especially when insurance companies use confusing contract language that benefits them.
- Offering unreasonable settlement amounts or undervaluing claims. Although insurance companies are required to deal with policyholders fairly and in good faith, many insurers initially offer settlements far below what is fair and reasonable or undervalue claims to see if policyholders will simply accept them and go away. Fair? No. Common? Yes.
- Delaying Settlements. Some insurance companies will delay settlements knowing that homeowners are desperate and might accept whatever is offered. Sadly, many do – without first speaking with a bad faith insurance lawyer.
Rebuilding Staten Island’s Battered Shoreline
According to silive.com, the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program will help fund projects to help rebuild the Island’s battered shoreline and construct preventative infrastructure post Hurricane Sandy.
Residents of Staten Island provided the New York Rising Program Committee with a lot of information over the past six months to win the competition and receive the additional $3 million in funding. According to David Sorkin, co-chair of the Committee:
We pored over thousands of pages of documents, heard testimony from scores of residents who were personally affected by the storm, spent hundreds of hours deliberating, including some heated sessions when the stakes were high, and most importantly, gained a renewed respect for collective impact.
In the end, the $28 million received through the state will go towards resiliency projects throughout the borough. Residents have already proposed numerous development projects that identify and assist at-risk businesses. They plan to continue to do whatever it takes to rebuild their community.
Progress Being Made – Slowly
While it’s clear that progress is being made in the communities affected most by Hurricane Sandy, that progress has been slow – too slow for the many who need funds to rebuild, repair and get out of temporary housing and back into their own homes.
If you’ve been the victim of bad faith insurance practices, contact an experienced New York insurance dispute lawyer who can evaluate your claim, analyze your legal options and help you get your claim settled once and for all.