Sen. Whitehouse Tours Sandy Disaster Recovery Projects in Narragansett

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse met with Narragansett Town Manager Richard Kerbel and other officials in Narragansett Wednesday afternoon to tour sites that were significantly damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and receive an update on recovery funding.

Sen. Whitehouse's first stop was a reconstruction project located at the intersection of Colonel John Gardner Road and King Philip Road. The second was the Narragansett Housing Authority site on Perkins Avenue. Both sites are part of Rhode Island’s federal disaster recovery plan, which was approved for the first stage of funding by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) earlier this month.

The funds are provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. So far, HUD has approved $625,612 in block grants for the first phase of Hurricane Sandy repairs in the state. Rhode Island’s total Sandy disaster recovery plan calls for $3.2 million in block grants for necessary repairs.

"Scores of Rhode Island families and businesses were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, and many are still struggling to recover,” said Sen. Whitehouse, who brought members of President Obama's Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force to Rhode Island in July to tour storm-damaged areas. "I'm glad HUD has approved the first stage of Rhode Island's disaster recovery plan, which will allow the state to access disaster funding for badly needed repairs.”