The document outlines best practices for managing urban disaster recovery based on lessons learned from New York City's Build It Back program following Hurricane Sandy in 2012. It discusses how the CDBG-DR funding works, the timeline and challenges faced by Build It Back, including delays from numerous hand-offs between vendors and incomplete applications. Key lessons are to design flexible programs that can start quickly and simplify processes, while also building strong management, setting deadlines, leveraging data, prioritizing document management, investing in staff, and paying vendors based on outcomes rather than inputs. Final recommendations include planning ahead, setting firm deadlines, simplifying programs, and managing expectations.

1. Best Practices in Managing
Urban Disaster Recovery
Presented by:
Ellen Howard-Cooper
Alison Clarke
Shane Lucas
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2. Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery
(CDBG-DR)
• HUD Program designed to provide a recovery vehicle after a
Presidentially-declared disaster
• Congress appropriates funding, HUD allocates and awards funds and
monitors compliance
• Grantees establish an action plan to spend funds on disaster-related
activities
• Program design must comply with regulations and meet a national
objective; benefiting low- and moderate-income persons, preventing or
eliminating slums or blight, or meeting other community development
needs
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3. Nearly 20,000 homes
sustained some level of
damage.
Hurricane Sandy
October 29, 2012
May 7, 2013
Intake closed, 20,000
applications received
0 families helped
First Anniversary
October 29, 2013January 29, 2013
President signs Disaster
Relief Appropriation Act Total
$16 B overall
Public Law 113-2
Build It Back Program Timeline
October 29, 2014
Slow start, 727 homes in
construction and 878
reimbursement checks issued
Second Anniversary
Build It Back Program initiated
Action Plan Approved
October 29, 2015
Notable progress, 5,700
families helped through
construction, reimbursement
or both.
Third Anniversary
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4. “Every Disaster is a Disaster”
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5. 5

6. 6

7. Main causes for delays
• Delivery and operational structure were built from scratch
• Frequent program changes
• Inadequate intake and document control systems
• Lack of skilled, trained front-line staff, well versed in all aspects of the
program
• Too many hand-offs among vendors
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8. Too many hand-offs
Intake
vendor
Eligibility
vendor
Inspection
vendor
Eligibility review
90% of applications were
incomplete and required
five or more meetings
Document collection
Complicated document
requirements and inadequate
tracking of documents received
Intake
vendor
Eligibility
vendor
Intake
vendor
Benefit determination
Program options poorly
communicated and financials
disputed
Damage assessed
Lack of communication
with other vendors and
homeowner
Rework
Homeowners finally make it to
the end of the process only to
discover errors and/or
documentation was missing
Eligibility
vendor
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10. Program course corrections
• Experienced City managers hired to direct Build It Back centers
• The City strengthened its relationship with HUD, seeking technical
assistance on an ongoing basis when implementing program changes
• Streamlined processes by eliminating hand-offs and adding automation
where possible
• Vendor contracts amended to clarify deliverables and include
performance goals
• Introduced new performance management tools and established data-
driven weekly goals
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12. $ 0
October 2013,
Sandy’s anniversary,
not a single grant had
been awarded
$ 215.8 M
October 2015, increased
construction capacity
program deadlines set
$ 1.8 M
April 2014, fueled by
a first-of-its-kind
reimbursement
program
$ 40.3 M
October 2014,
streamlined
reimbursement
process and 727
construction starts
Build It Back making progress
CDBG-DR funds committed to homeowners
October 29, 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the
city's recovery program for single-family homes will complete
by the end of 2016.
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13. Key lessons learned
• Design a program that is flexible, can be implemented quickly and is
focused on the customer experience. Avoid over-designing
• Build the program on strong management foundation. Avoid under-
managing
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14. Final Recommendations
• Plan ahead: Local governments must be prepared with a delivery mechanism to rapidly implement a
CDBG - DR program.
• Set firm deadlines: Program and homeowners must work together with urgency
• Simplify program design: Assign a single point-of-contact for homeowners. Combine field tasks
when possible e.g. damage inspection, environmental review and design scoping
• Leverage administrative data: Government agencies collect valuable information which can
supplement documentation requirements
• Make document management a priority: Recognize that program compliance is demonstrated
through documents; make document collection central to program design
• Invest in the workforce: Hire the right people and supply them with the tools they need to succeed
• Pay for outcomes: Avoid paying vendors for inputs, instead pay for desired outcomes
• Manage expectations: Experience has shown it take more than 5 years to complete a CDBG-DR
program.
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15. Contact Information
Ellen Howard-Cooper
Deputy Director, Homeowner Services
ehcooper@recovery.nyc.gov 212.615.8326
Alison Clarke
Deputy Director, Administration
aclarke@recovery.nyc.gov 212.615.8076
Shane Lucas
Special Advisor
shane.lucas@ldrconsulting.us 210.392.2831
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