U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke issued the following statement commending the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the 14-day extension to the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program for New Yorkers, and called for a permanent housing solution for residents displaced by Superstorm Sandy.

The checkout date for eligible applicants who were relocated to participating hotels and motels through the TSA program has been extended to February 24, 2013. FEMA will make the necessary notifications by phone. 

“I want to thank FEMA for responding to the needs of New Yorkers since Superstorm Sandy forced thousands of families out of their homes in this city and damaged several small businesses,” stated Representative Yvette D. Clarke.

“Thousands of New Yorkers were displaced after their homes were deemed structurally unsafe or uninhabitable by the NYC Department of Buildings. These families and small business owners are still struggling to rebuild three months after Superstorm Sandy.

“Our city has started on the path to recovery but the work must continue in order to allow New Yorkers to return to their normal lives. We cannot leave our friends and neighbors in the cold. I want to urge FEMA and its partners to explore every option in their search for temporary or long-term housing solutions,” concluded Representative Yvette D. Clarke.

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U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents several neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which includes Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, Ocean Hill, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.