Stringer Audit: Bad Oversight of Emergency Contracts Post-Sandy

The New York City Department of Homeless Services could not prove it had adequate safeguards in place to oversee contractors hired to provide emergency shelter and other services following Hurricane Sandy, city Comptroller Scott Stringer said Thursday.

As a result, said Stringer in his first Sandy-related audit, DHS improperly paid contractors for ineligible expenses and for services that were not actually received.

"The mismanagement of contracts by the Department of Homeless Services after Sandy made the city vulnerable to waste, fraud and abuse," said Stringer.

"Clear contract oversight procedures and vigilant monitoring are crucial, especially in a crisis situation. DHS and all city agencies must plan intelligently and transparently for the next emergency, because there will be another."

When Sandy displaced thousands of New Yorkers from their homes on Oct. 29, 2012, DHS entered into 20 emergency contracts, totaling $19.9 million, with various organizations to provide services for displaced victims. They included assistance with registering and applying for public benefits, securing permanent housing or home repair and obtaining medical help.

Stringer's audit examined a sample of eight of the 20 contracts from October 2012 through November 2013 and found among other things that the department lacked formal procedures to guide oversight and monitoring; lacked evidence to support oversight activities; and inadequately reviewed invoices and supporting documentation.

At a public hearing in late May in Midland Beach, the hardest-hit neighborhood of Staten Island where 23 people borough-wide died during the storm, Stringer heard a barrage of bureaucratic horror stories.

Residents told of lowball assessments, square footage measurements way off, alleged contractor ripoffs, ever-changing paperwork, no returned calls different answers from people at the same agencies.

One man said he received only a $14,000 loan instead of the promised $60,000. When he complained, he said a bureaucrat told him: "If push comes to shove, we win, you lose."

The multitude of anecdotes stunned Stringer.

"Wow," he said. "You can't make this stuff up."

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New York
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