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S. HRG. 112–761 

RECOVERING FROM SUPERSTORM SANDY: 

REBUILDING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND COMMUNITY 

DEVELOPMENT 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON 

BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

ON 

ADDRESSING CHALLENGES TO PUBLIC TRANSIT AND HOUSING IN THE 

NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY REGION FOLLOWING SUPERSTORM SANDY 

AND ACTIONS NEEDED TO STRENGTHEN THE REGION’S INFRASTRUCTURE TO PREVENT DEVASTATION FROM FUTURE SUPERSTORMS 

DECEMBER 20, 2012 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

( 

Available at: http://www.fdsys.gov/ 
COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS 

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota, Chairman 

JACK REED, Rhode Island 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

JON TESTER, Montana 

HERB KOHL, Wisconsin 

MARK R. WARNER, Virginia 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado 

KAY HAGAN, North Carolina 

RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

BOB CORKER, Tennessee 

JIM DEMINT, South Carolina 

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

DWIGHT FETTIG, Staff Director 

WILLIAM D. DUHNKE, Republican Staff Director 

DAWN RATLIFF, Chief Clerk 

LEVON BAGRAMIAN, Hearing Clerk 

SHELVIN SIMMONS, IT Director 

JIM CROWELL, Editor 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman 

JIM DEMINT, South Carolina, Ranking Republican Member 

JACK REED, Rhode Island 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

JON TESTER, Montana 

HERB KOHL, Wisconsin 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

BOB CORKER, Tennessee 

PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

MICHAEL PASSANTE, Subcommittee Staff Director 

JEFF MURRAY, Republican Subcommittee Staff Director 

HAL CONNOLLY, Counsel 

(II)
C O N T E N T S 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012 

Page 

Opening statement of Chairman Menendez .......................................................... 1 

Opening statements, comments, or prepared statements of: 

Senator Schumer 

Prepared statement ................................................................................... 22 

WITNESSES 

Peter Rogoff, Federal Transit Administrator, Federal Transit Administration . 3 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 23 

Yolanda Chavez, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs, Office of 

Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban 

Development ......................................................................................................... 5 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 25 

James Weinstein, Executive Director, NJ TRANSIT Corporation ...................... 12 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 

Thomas F. Prendergast, President, MTA New York City Transit, Metropolitan 

Transportation Authority .................................................................................... 14 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 31 

Patrick J. Foye, Executive Director, Port Authority of New York and New 

Jersey .................................................................................................................... 16 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 32 

(III)

(1) 

RECOVERING FROM SUPERSTORM SANDY: 

REBUILDING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012 

U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met at 11 a.m. in room SD–538, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN ROBERT MENENDEZ 

Senator MENENDEZ. Good morning. Let me welcome everyone to 

today’s hearing discussing the unprecedented challenges our region’s public transit and housing face as a result of Superstorm 

Sandy. 

It has been an incredibly tough morning. We started the day 

with a hearing on the loss of our Ambassador in Libya and those 

challenges, and then, of course, we just had an opening ceremony 

for Senator Inouye lying in state. And now we come to the devastation that the Northeast region has. So it has been a tough day, but 

we appreciate our witnesses’ being here to help us shed some light 

and hopefully some commitment by our colleagues to meeting our 

challenges. 

As you all know, Sandy’s destructive force overwhelmed the region, and particularly in New Jersey and New York, and the result 

is damage on a massive, unprecedented scale. Unprecedented but, 

unfortunately, this was our second hurricane in 2 years, and we expect extreme weather like this to become more common for our region. 

Because we need to prepare for the next storm, it is not enough 

for us to spend our time today simply discussing how we restore 

our housing and transit infrastructure to their vulnerable prestorm condition. In my view, now is the time to determine what actions we must take in order to build back the region in a way that 

makes us less vulnerable in future storms. 

The term we use in Washington to describe this is ‘‘mitigation.’’ 

But I do not think that word makes clear enough the critical task 

we are pursuing here. This is about rebuilding in a smarter, better, 

and stronger way. We should learn from the important lessons in 

the gulf after Hurricane Katrina. Transit agencies lost buses in the 

storm, and when these transit agencies started speaking with 

FEMA about replacing those buses, FEMA said they could not buy 
2 

new buses. They had to buy used buses of roughly the same age 

to replace those buses. 

So these agencies were put in the absurd position of scouring the 

country trying to find someone who would sell them old buses. But 

with mitigation funding, we can pay for a new bus to replace the 

old one, and this same principle applies to rail transit. Hoboken 

PATH Station was badly flooded, and it is coming back to service 

weeks after the storm. 

Should we put that station back together with the same exact 

vulnerability to flooding? Or should we rebuild in a way that would 

prevent such extensive flood damage in the future? 

Of course, we should rebuild to protect against future storms. It 

seems to me that it is not only common sense, but for my friends 

who are fiscal hawks, the reality is that it is far more fiscally responsible to ultimately ensure that we do not have repetitive loss, 

that we do not have economic consequences, and that we do not 

have human consequences as a result of just simply going back to 

that which was. With a smart investment, we can prevent hundreds of millions of future damages to our transit system. 

To understand the importance of rebuilding in a way that hardens our infrastructure and makes us more resilient, let me begin 

by laying out some facts about the damage to our region. 

Based on preliminary estimates—and I underscore that—over 

300,000 homes in New Jersey alone were damaged, over 20,000 

homes were destroyed or made uninhabitable, and we fear the final 

numbers will be much higher. The preliminary damage estimate 

provided by my State alone is up to $36.9 billion in damage. I have 

lived in New Jersey my whole life, and I have never, ever seen the 

type of devastation we have now. 

I would like to tell you the story of just one of many of the homeowners who lost so much. Geri Lynch works as a realtor and lived 

in Oceanport for 10 years in a modest bungalow cottage. When 

word of the storm came, she evacuated with her car and as many 

possessions as she could. Her house was nearly destroyed with 

water rising to 4 feet, and it is still not clear if it will be totally 

torn down or repaired and put on higher stilts. And she does not 

yet know if she will have the money to do that. 

She says that practically the only houses in her neighborhood 

that survived were the ones that were built on higher stilts, which 

is exactly why we need resiliency in our rebuilding. 

So now she is living in FEMA housing until the end of December, 

and she does not know where she will be after that. She says that 

in the interim she is relying on friends and family and community 

to help her. She has a remarkably positive attitude despite all she 

has been through, which is exactly why New Jersey will come back 

from this stronger than ever. But if we do not have a robustly 

funded Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG), 

the funding for her to rebuild stronger simply may not be there. 

To illustrate just how serious the housing damage was up and 

down the Jersey shore, I would like to share these images from 

Union Beach, New Jersey, where homes, cars, and people’s very 

lives were just totally destroyed. Sandy was one of the largest mass 

transit disasters in our Nation’s history. Four out of ten of the Nation’s transit riders had their commuters disrupted. In my home 
3 

State of New Jersey, our public transportation network was completely devastated by Sandy. New Jersey Transit, which carries 

more than 900,000 riders daily, suffered damage to all 12 of its rail 

lines. Miles of track and roadbed were washed out. Electrical substations were flooded and destroyed. Hundreds of cars and locomotives were submerged, some suffering irreparable damage. 

The PATH System, which carries 77 million people between New 

Jersey and Manhattan each year, was brought to a halt by the 

flooding. The Hoboken Station in New Jersey, which provides service to about 30,000 people daily, reopened to the public only yesterday, more than a month and a half after Sandy made landfall. 

To help illustrate just how serious the flooding was, I would like 

to share this image from PATH security cameras showing corrosive 

seawater rushing into the Hoboken PATH Station. 

And in New York, where public transit carries more than 8 million riders each day, the damage was unprecedented. Sandy shut 

down the entire MTA system for only the second time in its 108- 

year history. Eight subway tunnels were flooded, some from floor 

to ceiling, and 12 subway stations suffered major damage or were 

destroyed entirely. 

Again, I want to stress the importance of investing now so we do 

not have to pay again the next time this happens. Where tracks 

need to be raised, we should raise them. Where subway stations 

need to be reinforced against flood waters, we should reinforce 

them. And where electrical substations need to be protected and 

elevated, let us protect and elevate them. The one thing we do not 

want is to find ourselves back in this room when the next major 

weather event strikes our region. 

So, with that, seeing no other Members here at this point—some 

may come and, of course, we are on the Sandy recovery legislation 

as we speak—I want to introduce our first two witnesses, and I 

would ask you each to limit your testimony to roughly about 5 minutes, although your entire written testimony will be included in the 

record. 

The Honorable Peter Rogoff is the Administrator of the Federal 

Transit Administration. As someone whom the Committee knows 

very well and admires and is an able leader in this crisis, I look 

forward to hearing from him today about the Public Transportation 

Emergency Relief program that the Banking Committee helped create and how that will help our region recover in the months ahead. 

Ms. Yolanda Chavez is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant 

Programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and she is here to discuss how the Community Development 

Block Grant program can be used to quickly and flexibly provide 

relief following Superstorm Sandy. 

And with that, Mr. Administrator. 

STATEMENT OF PETER ROGOFF, FEDERAL TRANSIT 

ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION 

Mr. ROGOFF. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me here today to review Hurricane Sandy’s devastating impact on public transportation and discuss the Obama administration’s budget request for assistance 
4 

through the FTA newly authorized Public Transit Emergency Relief program. 

As you pointed out in your opening statement, Mr. Chairman, 

Hurricane Sandy triggered the worst transit disaster in the history 

of the United States. On the Tuesday morning following the storm, 

more than half of the Nation’s daily transit riders were without 

service. And even in the days that followed, as services in Boston, 

Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., came back online, 

still 37 percent, well more than a third, of the Nation’s transit riders were without service. 

We applaud the outstanding and tireless efforts of emergency responders throughout the region who worked together with all the 

affected transportation agencies to restore as much service as 

quickly as possible. 

FTA and the broader Department of Transportation also have 

been proactively engaged throughout this event. We were, even before the storm hit, in regular electronic touch with many of the 

transportation leaders, the Governors, and impacted mayors up in 

the region in terms of preparation, including some of the members 

that are on your second panel. 

FTA also, after the storm, worked with FEMA and the GSA to 

procure well over 200 buses to provide for mobility of thousands of 

New Jersey residents as a result of the loss of rail service. 

I personally got on the phone to secure some donated buses from 

other less impacted transit agencies, and we got on email as well 

as the phone to try and scare up some very hard to find but desperately needed equipment, which we found in Chicago and 

shipped out right away in order to get the PATH service back up 

and running. 

That said, there is still a great deal more to be done. President 

Obama’s supplemental request for disaster assistance seeks $60.4 

billion in Federal resources for response, recovery, and mitigation. 

The Department of Transportation’s share of the request is $12.07 

billion, and of that, $11.7 billion, the majority portion, would directly support the FTA’s effort to repair and replace the affected 

public transit infrastructure and make it more resilient. 

These funds would be administered through FTA’s new Public 

Transportation Emergency Relief program, and I want to thank 

you, Mr. Chairman, and the rest of the Senate Banking Committee 

for its leadership in establishing this program in MAP–21 just a 

few months ago. The Administration requested this program in our 

budget and our policy priorities for reauthorization—you may recall 

I testified on its behalf before the Committee in May of 2011. We 

are also very grateful to the Senate Appropriations Committee for 

responding to the President’s request for aid under this new program. The support of both Committees was both timely and prescient, as our new emergency relief program strengthens FTA’s authority to provide financial disaster assistance to transit agencies 

in times of greatest need and to better coordinate with our partners 

at FEMA. 

FTA’s request reflects two major priorities: 

First, we are requesting $6.2 billion in aid to repair and restore 

public transportation infrastructure in the affected areas of New 
5 

York, New Jersey, also lesser amounts, obviously, in places like 

Connecticut and other States along the Eastern seaboard. 

FTA’s staff and contractors are now working side by side under 

a FEMA mission assignment to conduct damage assessment and 

cost validation work for both operating and capital costs needed to 

restore and rebuild transit capacity. These early joint efforts should 

allow us to compensate the impacted transit agencies promptly 

once assistance is made available by Congress. This was sort of a 

first-time effort to get FTA contractors, FTA staff, and FEMA people working side by side to do cost validation quickly and in concert 

with one another so we have one common cost estimate and the 

ability to compensate people more rapidly. 

Second, the Administration is requesting $5.5 billion to make 

transit facilities more resilient to better withstand severe coastal 

flooding and other weather-related challenges. This country and its 

people cannot afford to endure the loss of life and property that occurs when catastrophic events repeat themselves over and over 

again. The sums needed to harden transit systems to protect them 

from such disasters can be far less than the cost to repair and restore them multiple times. 

Under our budget request, funds invested in projects to mitigate 

against future disasters will be guided by regional response plans 

with guidance and assistance from FTA and other Federal agencies 

along with State and local governments. Indeed, regional cooperation will be absolutely critical to this effort. President Obama, as 

you know, this month established a Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding 

Task Force under the leadership of HUD Secretary Donovan. 

The Deputy Secretary of Transportation, John Porcari, and I 

went up to New York just last week to sit with the heads of NJ 

TRANSIT, the MTA, representatives from Amtrak, as well as the 

Port Authority, to start the regional discussion off to make sure 

that folks are working in a cooperative way, to make sure that they 

identify and we have a process to identify the most cost-effective 

mitigation efforts. 

It is going to be critical that the regions, the two States, all the 

agencies work well together on this. It is really quite possible that, 

if not done correctly, one mitigation investment could worsen the 

potential damage on a neighboring transit asset. This really needs 

to be done in a coordinated fashion that bridges all of the local 

players, all of the local agencies, State and local government to 

make sure that the impacts of Hurricane Sandy do not repeat 

themselves. 

I see I am already over my time, so with that I will submit the 

rest of the statement for the record. Thank you. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you, Administrator. 

Madam Secretary. 

STATEMENT OF YOLANDA CHAVEZ, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR GRANT PROGRAMS, OFFICE OF COMMUNITY 

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING 

AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

Ms. CHAVEZ. Good morning, Chairman Menendez, Members of 

the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding recovering from Superstorm Sandy. In my role as Deputy As-
6 

sistant Secretary for Grant Programs at HUD, I am responsible for 

the Community Development Block Grant program, better known 

as CDBG, the CDBG–Disaster Recovery grants, and the HOME 

program. The CDBG Disaster Recovery program is critical in helping communities recover from and rebuild after natural disasters 

like Superstorm Sandy. 

This morning I will discuss Sandy’s impact on housing and the 

work that HUD has started and will continue through CDBG for 

long-term recovery in the region. Additional details on these points 

and on Secretary Donovan’s role as head of the President’s Sandy 

Recovery Task Force are provided in my written testimony. 

Hurricane Sandy and the nor’easter that followed have had massive and varied impacts along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to 

Rhode Island. Especially hard hit were New York and New Jersey, 

two of our Nation’s critical economic engines. 

One of the major effects of storms like Sandy is damage to homes 

and apartments and the displacement of families and individuals. 

Excluding second homes, more than 150,000 housing units experienced substantial flooding as a result of Sandy. This means that 

housing will be a crucial part of the recovery and rebuilding effort. 

In New Jersey alone, over 44,000 primary residences had flooding, 

more than half experiencing at least a foot of flooding. We project 

that about half of the damaged primary homes in New Jersey were 

occupied by low- and moderate-income households. 

Our research staff has also identified approximately 500 neighborhoods in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut where more 

than 20 percent of the homes were damaged. More than 175 of 

these neighborhoods are in New Jersey. 

HUD is already assisting affected State and local governments. 

Immediately following the storm, we hosted technical assistance 

calls with these grantees to help them understand how existing resources such as CDBG and HOME may be used for response and 

recovery efforts. Further, HUD has issued a series of waivers that 

make it easier to use these funds for emerging needs. 

As you know, the proposed supplemental appropriation for Sandy 

recovery and rebuilding includes $17 billion for CDBG Disaster Recovery. This proposed allocation will provide the necessary resources to plan and implement long-term recovery in the region 

while helping impacted communities effectively mitigate future risk 

of disaster to prevent losses of this magnitude from recurring. Hazard mitigation is not just sensible, but it is cost effective. Studies 

have found that mitigation efforts offer a 4:1 dollar return on investment by preventing future damage. 

For example, in Hope, Indiana, a 2008 CDBG Disaster Recovery 

allocation of $40 million allowed for the rebuilding of stronger and 

safer water and wastewater facilities that have operated since then 

without disruption despite subsequent severe storms and flooding. 

Previous disaster response efforts have proven that CDBG offers 

important flexibility and effectiveness by allowing jurisdictions to 

design long-term housing and infrastructure recovery programs 

based on their specific needs. Our experience also demonstrates the 

importance of early appropriations so that it is clear that the funds 

will be available and planning efforts can include the full range of 

needs. Major infrastructure investments take time to spend out due 
7 

to design, permitting, and staging requirements, but State and 

local governments are unlikely to proceed with these efforts without assurance that they have funding to implement the projects. 

Furthermore, after Katrina, the State of Louisiana waited for 

more than 10 months for a second appropriation before launching 

its main homeownership assistance program. This delayed muchneeded assistance to more than 100,000 households. 

I should also note that CDBG Disaster Recovery funds are not 

actually drawn from the Treasury until shortly before actual payments are made. But the guarantee that these funds will be available is necessary to move the projects forward. The Administration 

urges Congress to pass a supplemental appropriations bill as soon 

as possible to give affected States and communities the support 

they need to recover and rebuild. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I would be pleased to 

answer any questions you may have. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Well, thank you both for your testimony, and 

there are a lot of important things here, both in your oral testimony as well as your written testimony. 

Secretary Chavez, you say, I believe, in your written testimony, 

you cite that New York and New Jersey combined employ 12.7 million workers, or 10 percent of the entire United States employment, 

and that they are an estimated 11 percent of GDP nationally, or 

about $1.4 trillion nationally. 

Don’t those figures make the compelling case that the disaster 

supplemental is not just about building or rebuilding a few States, 

but is helping to rebuild at the same time a national economy? 

Ms. CHAVEZ. Yes, we completely agree with that, Chairman. As 

you said, it is not only critical for the regional economy, but this 

recovery and rebuilding effort is critical for the national economy. 

If we cannot get New York and New Jersey workers and businesses 

back to the pre-storm pace in terms of economic recovery, I think 

we are going to see our economic recovery slow down instead of 

moving forward, as it has been in these last couple of months. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Now, you also mentioned some incredible 

data there that you have determined at HUD that about 500 neighborhoods where 20 percent of that neighborhood has, in fact, been 

damaged or lost, and 175 of those neighborhoods in New Jersey 

alone. What is the impact of that type of damage to a neighborhood? In my own visits in New Jersey, I have seen neighborhoods 

that are multigenerational in terms of their calling a part of a community, you know, their neighborhood, their home. As a matter of 

fact, I had a conference call a day or two ago with a whole host 

of our mayors, and Mayor Kelaher of Toms River told me that he 

had lost 20 percent of his entire ratable base—20 percent of his 

ratable base. 

Now, when you lose 20 percent of your ratable base—I was a 

mayor for 6 years—that is a nightmare because there is no way to 

make it up except for shifting the responsibility for that community’s cost to all of the other ratepayers and/or dramatically cutting 

the various central services like public safety and sanitation collections and other critical elements. So what does that mean to neighborhoods? 
8 

Ms. CHAVEZ. You make the case for why the supplement is important. In order to rebuild the base, not only the community base 

but the economic base of that neighborhood, we need to start rebuilding. What it means, losing 20 percent of the residents, of the 

base, not only in terms of the tax base and property values but also 

in terms of neighborhood safety, is devastating to communities. 

And that is why it is critical that we start this process as soon as 

we can, because this type of disaster could take 4 to 10 years in 

terms of rebuilding. We have seen that in Louisiana and Mississippi. In Mississippi, we are still working with the State to provide assistance to homeowners that are still rehabilitating their 

homes. So we cannot wait any longer to start the process. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Yes, and isn’t it fair to say that a delayed 

recovery is a failed recovery at the end of the day? 

Ms. CHAVEZ. A delayed recovery is a failed recovery. A recovery 

that does not allow for communities to plan for the range of needs, 

understanding that it may take 5 to 10 years to recover, we would 

also say is a failed recovery. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Administrator, taking off from the Secretary’s comments about the regional economy within the context 

of the national economy, transportation is a critical element, is it 

not, of getting people to work, getting a workforce to their jobs, 

being able to create productivity, being able to drive a better bottom line, being able to move an economy? I think sometimes we 

think maybe in other parts of the country of transportation, particularly transit, as some type of luxury. But isn’t it, in essence, a 

necessity to economic success? 

Mr. ROGOFF. Well, it absolutely is, Mr. Chairman, but nowhere 

is it more of a necessity than in the New York-New Jersey region. 

We are talking about 40 percent of the Nation’s transit passengers 

all in the northern part of your State, central and northern part 

of your State, and in and around New York city and southwestern 

Connecticut. 

Importantly, many studies have shown that, after housing, transportation is the second largest draw on a family’s paycheck, so in 

terms of the availability and affordability of that transportation, it 

is absolutely elemental to the overall economic health of the area. 

And as you pointed out in your statement, we are talking about 

more than 10 percent of the Nation’s GDP just in that area. 

Senator MENENDEZ. And what would you think—I know that you 

have helped FEMA do damage assessments, and I know you have 

been up and visited with us and others in the region in terms of 

reviewing the damage personally. Do you think that the region’s 

transit system could possibly be rebuilt and protected with less 

than a third of the funds the Administration requested? 

Mr. ROGOFF. No. In fact, we took note of one of the amendments 

that has been introduced in the Senate that would cut the President’s request by more than 70 percent, specifically in transit 

emergency relief. That amount would not even cover the recovery 

estimates that we currently have, much less get to any of the necessary mitigation investments that have been requested under the 

President’s budget. 

Senator MENENDEZ. So that amount would not even cover the recovery—— 
9 

Mr. ROGOFF. Just the restoration and recovery costs, most of 

which takes the form of reimbursements to the agencies that you 

will hear from on your second panel, will far exceed the amount 

proposed in that amendment. These are costs that in many cases 

have already been laid out by the MTA, by the Port Authority, by 

New Jersey Transit. We are working diligently with FEMA right 

now to validate those costs so we can expeditiously reimburse them 

so they can continue to turn out their service for the year. 

We have to remember that they still have to live within their 

own budget envelopes to provide reliable and desirable service for 

the people of the region on an ongoing basis through the fiscal 

year. Meanwhile, they have laid out a great deal of money just on 

restoration. They have depleted their stocks of spare equipment. In 

some cases, they are stealing equipment from one line to keep another up and running. 

Senator MENENDEZ. And is it possible that if the Congress does 

not respond adequately, they will have to restore to a fare shock? 

Mr. ROGOFF. Well, I think that question would be well put to the 

next panel in terms of how they would make the dollars add up. 

I already know that the MTA has announced that they will need 

to go out and have gone out for additional debt just to cash-flow 

the recovery until we can reimburse them. But I think there is the 

risk of serious service degradation to the public if they cannot, for 

example, restore their stocks of spare equipment to keep the system up and running. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Now, some of our colleagues seem to think 

that any attempt to rebuild our transit systems with an eye toward 

mitigation and making them stronger for the future is a waste of 

money. What is your perspective of that? 

Mr. ROGOFF. Well, one thing that became clear in our after-action look at all this, which gave rise to the President’s request, is 

that the operators have some of the most critical components to 

keep the systems up and running in some of the most vulnerable 

areas. And I think what those folks are saying when they say, well, 

we should not make mitigation investments, is we should take taxpayer money and rebuild those critical components right back in 

the same vulnerable environment. We can do this much smarter 

and, in fact, cheaper over the long run if we can make the necessary investment to protect that situation from happening again. 

So when it comes to things like propulsion power, signal systems, 

we know now that some of those critical elements that are absolutely critical to get that service up and running for 10 percent of 

the American economy are in very vulnerable places. 

None of us, no homeowner that has had their basement flood repeatedly, takes their best family heirlooms and stores it on the 

floor of the basement. We might buy some shelving. We might put 

those heirlooms up on a shelf. What those folks are saying, when 

we say we should not make any mitigation investments, is we 

should put the family heirlooms on the floor of the basement again 

and just wait for the next flood to happen. 

The other thing you need to remember is when we have these repeated disasters, much of those costs would be FEMA eligible, so 

the taxpayer is going to pay again. And we see no wisdom in that, 

and it is why we built the mitigation funding into the President’s 
10 

budget in a very strategic way. They are not going to be just dollars spread around without a plan. The whole notion of the meeting 

we had with Secretary Donovan and the impacted transit players 

up in New York is to start a meaningful conversation of what are 

the most cost-beneficial mitigation investments for the region, looking at the entire transportation network—Jersey Transit, the MTA, 

PATH, even the Staten Island Ferry, and all those things together. 

Senator MENENDEZ. So, in essence, it is more fiscally prudent to 

do the mitigation than to just replace as it was and wait for the 

next storm and repay all over again? 

Mr. ROGOFF. Absolutely. I know it seems trite, but I have a very 

large tree in front of my house. One branch fell and went through 

the windshield of one of my friend’s cars this past year. One went 

through my car. We do not park under the tree anymore. We are 

smarter than that. And I think we need to be that way when it 

comes to transit. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Is your neighbor still talking to you? 

[Laughter.] 

Senator MENENDEZ. Let me ask you one final thing. I was 

pleased, as the Subcommittee Chair working with Senator Johnson 

and the full Committee, to create the program in MAP–21 on emergency relief. How do you think this program can help our agencies 

rebuild better and faster than if we simply had money going 

through FEMA? 

Mr. ROGOFF. Well, I think you pointed out in your opening statement the challenges that we have under the FEMA Stafford Act 

rules where that fund will only reimburse transit agencies to their 

pre-existing condition. You talked about the folks in New Orleans 

after Katrina being told that they had to go find an 8-year-old bus 

to replace the destroyed 8-year-old bus. 

The program that you authorized, Mr. Chairman, allows us to restore the transit agency to the service the public needs, one that 

is reliable, and is up to modern technology. I think importantly, following on the conversation we just had, it also authorizes payments to prevent future disasters, which is why the mitigation investments are authorized under that program. 

The other fact, I believe—was that conversations that took place 

between FEMA and transit agencies after Katrina took many, 

many wasted months to figure out who owed who what. In our 

case, the FTA has an electronic grantmaking relationship that we 

use routinely with all of these agencies. We have that infrastructure in place. We have staff that know these facilities. 

Two of the most tragic elements of the disaster from Sandy, the 

South Ferry Station in Lower Manhattan and Hoboken Terminal 

are two facilities that the FTA had already just puts hundreds and 

hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in, and both sustained extraordinary damage. Our staff knows those facilities. We know 

what went in them. We worked with the very same staff. And rather than now have FEMA staff come in and manage the rebuilding, 

we think there is a lot of efficiency for the taxpayer to have the 

FTA still involved in that in a way that—as one transit grantee put 

it, ‘‘We like having you here because you speak ‘transit.’ ’’ We will 

save time and money because we do. 
11 

Senator MENENDEZ. Finally, Madam Secretary, let me just go 

back to a comment that you made in your oral testimony about 

having the resources necessary to understand and to rely upon so 

that a community or an individual or a business can make an informed decision depending upon and relying upon that that decision will be funded at the end of the day. What are the consequences of not having the resources under which you would make 

those decisions? 

Ms. CHAVEZ. The consequences basically are that the recovery 

will take longer. As you wait longer, it becomes more expensive. 

And that is why it is critical that communities—and we have seen 

this time and again with our experiences in Mississippi, in Louisiana, in Iowa, where when communities understand the funding 

they have, they can really take all of the data in terms of their 

needs, design their program based on those needs, and plan ahead 

2, 3, 5 years down the line because this disaster will take at least 

5 years to rebuild. And that is why it is really critical that they 

know exactly what the resources are right up front, because as 

HUD, we are going to ask them to give us their plan for recovery 

based on their unmet need and based on the funding that is available to meet that and to help them recover. 

Senator MENENDEZ. And, finally, in the CDBG grants that have 

the greatest flexibility, which I know Senator Landrieu by necessity has become almost an expert in this regard as a result of what 

she went through in Katrina in her State, and as the Chair of the 

Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee has made very 

clear, that, for example, a small business, which is the backbone, 

economic backbone, for which I have visited, you know, street after 

street of small businesses that have been closed, and that are trying to make a decision, do I start my business again or do I not, 

based upon trying to get a sense from the Government as to whether there will be any standards under which a grant will be considered, because while many have told me, look, I appreciate a small 

business loan, you know, at low rates and long term, that is just 

adding to a debt I already have. They took out debt to start off 

their business. They took out debt to survive the Great Recession. 

And now they are faced with having lost so much. For them, the 

choice between opening or not opening may very well depend upon 

a CDBG program that they can depend upon once standards are 

set. Is that not a fair statement? 

Ms. CHAVEZ. That is a fair statement. In fact, grantees would 

have the flexibility to determine how to design that program. As 

you said, they could determine that they want to provide grants to 

their small businesses to get them restarted. In other situations 

where maybe the business has already opened but needs some additional assistance, they may determine that it is best to provide 

a low-interest loan or a forgivable loan. There are many options for 

grantees in designing these programs to help their businesses get 

back to working again. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Well, I hope some of our colleagues and/or 

their staff have been listening to this testimony because the reality 

is, I think some of these amendments on the floor that were offered 

are miserly, to say the least, a moment of national imperative, and 

do not have not only the spirit of the season but do not have the 
12 

spirit of what America is all about. This is the United States of 

America. There is a reason we call ourselves the ‘‘United States of 

America,’’ is because we respond collectively to the needs of our 

citizens regardless of what part of the country they are from. And 

we cannot get the type of recovery that both we and the Nation 

need unless we have a more robust response than some are suggesting. 

I want to thank you both for your testimony. I appreciate it. I 

know we look forward to continuing to work with you. And as you 

depart, let me call up and introduce our next panel. 

James Weinstein is the Executive Director of New Jersey Transit, the largest Statewide transit agency in the Nation, and he has 

kept a cool head in a very tumultuous time for the agency, and he 

will help us understand the damage New Jersey Transit incurred 

and the challenges the agency faces in protecting its assets going 

forward. 

Mr. Tom Prendergast is the President of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit. The MTA suffered extensive flooding damage during the storm, and I am glad that he 

is here to help us wrap our minds around what those challenges 

are. 

And Mr. Patrick Foye is the Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. We are happy to hear the 

PATH station is open again, but we know that there are significant 

challenges still. 

So I would like to ask each of you, starting with Mr. Weinstein, 

to give us about 5 minutes or oral testimony. All of your full statements will be included in the record, and then we can have a discussion. 

STATEMENT OF JAMES WEINSTEIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

NJ TRANSIT CORPORATION 

Mr. WEINSTEIN. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you for your leadership in helping our State through this 

difficult time, and thank you and the Members of this Committee 

for providing this opportunity to address you today. 

New Jersey Transit is the second-largest transit agency in the 

Nation, and Sandy hit us particularly hard. While we took extraordinary steps to mitigate potential harm, nonetheless, the transit 

system suffered extraordinary damage to critical bridges, electrical 

substations, track and signal systems, rolling stock, and key terminals. 

In addition, under Governor Christie’s leadership, we worked 

with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. DOT, the 

Federal Transit Administration, and other partners to immediately 

implement extensive interim bus service, ferry service, and other 

services to continue to deliver essential public transportation to our 

region’s transit riders. 

But, Mr. Chairman, Sandy has shown we cannot merely restore 

our rail and other infrastructure to its previous state. That would 

only leave us vulnerable to the next storm. 

It is clear we must go further and make the rail and other transit modes more resistant in the face of future superstorms. Those 

steps will require additional resources. 
13 

We have identified $1.2 billion in resiliency and restoration 

projects that would be eligible under FTA’s Emergency Assistance 

program, projects that would improve our system’s ability to withstand storms of all types, not just superstorms, that mimic Sandy’s 

punishing surge. 

Let me quickly outline a few of these projects for you. 

More than 25 percent of our rail fleet, about 350 rail cars and 

locomotives, were damaged during Superstorm Sandy, most from 

flooding at our Meadows Maintenance Facility, our primary maintenance and repair facility that has never before flooded. To prevent a recurrence, a top priority is ensuring that we have sufficient 

stormproof rail yards to safely store locomotives and rail cares out 

of the reach of flood waters and also out of harm’s way from falling 

trees, electrical wires, utility poles, and other storm-driven debris. 

To that end, we estimate it will cost about half a billion dollars 

to construct new rail yard and inspection facilities, including a new 

yard at a site along the Northeast corridor in New Brunswick that 

is currently owned by Amtrak. This facility will provide a centrally 

located site for safe storage and allow locomotives and rail cars to 

be rapidly reinspected and put back into service once a storm 

passes. 

Additionally, we are seeking $200 million to raise power and 

other systems at the Meadowlands Facility and the collocated Rail 

Operations Center above foreseeable flood levels, as well as flood 

control structures that will allow us to safeguard the most critical 

portions of the complex and ensure that the parts, generators, and 

repair machinery and other equipment can ride out any storm in 

place, as they must. 

Mr. Chairman, Sandy badly flooded, as you pointed out, the historic Hoboken Terminal, as well as portions of the Frank R. Lautenberg Station in Secaucus. We estimate it will cost about $125 

million to restore and strengthen these and other key locations 

against storms. 

Sandy also ruined electrical substations along the North Jersey 

coastline and in Hudson County and elsewhere, which are vital for 

supplying the catenary wires that power our electric trains. 

So we are seeking $275 million to construct seven new elevated 

electrical substations and to improve the coastline’s resiliency by 

constructing seawalls by bridges, building sheathing to prevent 

washouts at bridge approaches, and raising bridge control houses. 

Both the Hudson Bergen and the Newark Light Rail systems 

were impacted heavily by flood waters. Repairing the light rail systems and making them more resilient will cost about $25 million. 

Finally, we are seeking $75 million to cover the cost of substitute 

bus and ferry emergency service provided after the storm, as well 

as to restore, expand, and enhance communications during a disaster. Real-time communications are vital, whether our customers 

are at a station, on a train, on a bus, on the Internet, or using a 

smart phone. This is not only a customer service issue; it is a safety issue, whether a disaster is a result of Mother Nature or an act 

of man. 

Mr. Chairman, we recognize there will be local match requirements for the funding we are seeking, and we are fully prepared 

to work with our local MPO partners to make whatever changes 
14 

are needed to our existing capital program. We also are ready to 

expedite implementation of these projects, including by using fasttrack design-build contracting. 

Mr. Chairman, I would note that these cost estimates are just 

that—estimates that may well evolve over time as we progress the 

work that lies ahead. However, it is clear that money invested preventing future storm damage will limit the bill for future storm relief, as well as ensure that our transit system has a better chance 

of avoiding service interruptions that disrupt people’s lives and undermine the economic vitality of a region. 

We appreciate the Committee’s interest, and any assistance you, 

the Committee, Congress, and the Administration can provide in 

helping renew and improve New Jersey’s public transportation system will be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you, and I will be happy to answer any questions. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Prendergast. 

STATEMENT OF THOMAS F. PRENDERGAST, PRESIDENT, MTA 

NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT, METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY 

Mr. PRENDERGAST. Good morning, Chairman Menendez and 

other Members of the Committee. Thank you for holding this hearing and inviting me to testify today. I am Tom Prendergast, president of MTA’s New York City Transit. The New York MTA is the 

largest transportation provider in the country. 

Every day, the MTA moves more than 8.5 million people—reliably, affordably, and safely -on our subways and buses, the Staten 

Island Railway, Metro-North Railroad, and the Long Island Rail 

Road. Our seven bridges and two tunnels carry nearly 300 million 

vehicles a year. 

The MTA is one of the few transit systems in the world that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And along 

with the other transportation networks represented on this panel, 

we are the lifeblood of a $1.4 trillion dollar regional economy—the 

largest in the country, making up 11 percent of the gross domestic 

product. 

About 2 months ago, however, our region came to a complete 

standstill in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy—a disaster that 

brought our system to its knees. For the second time in its 108- 

year history and in a little over a year, the MTA shut down all of 

its services. And despite unprecedented preparations, we sustained 

damage on a level we had never experienced before. 

Today, most of our customers are seeing service, but our workers 

and those that run the system are seeing another reality: a fragile 

system that is safe but extremely vulnerable. The subway line and 

the bridge connecting the Rockaways Peninsula and the rest of 

Queens were completely washed away. The subway tunnel for the 

R train, the Montague Street tube connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan, is not operational and will only be so for the first time tomorrow. We have subway lines running at longer headways, resulting in longer commutes and severe crowding. We have drawn down 

about 80 percent of our replacement equipment. The useful life for 
15 

many of our signals, switches, and relays has depleted exponentially due to the damage sustained by the storm. 

We estimate nearly $5 billion in immediate repair needs left in 

Sandy’s destructive wake and billions in project needs to protect 

our system from future flooding events like the ones we have experienced. And we will repair and rebuild our system as quickly as 

possible—8.5 million customers are depending on it. 

We have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars to restore 

service as quickly as possible. And just yesterday, our Board approved for us to move forward in selling $2.5 billion in bond anticipation notes that will be used for that rebuilding. 

But we are simply not able to shoulder this incredible burden on 

our own, and we cannot fully undertake these financing efforts 

without knowing what Congress plans to do to support us. A Federal commitment is needed to ensure that we can rebuild and we 

can build back stronger. 

Once a disaster relief supplemental appropriations bill is signed 

into law, we are prepared to immediately enter into contracts to 

begin the projects that are essential to our riders, projects such as: 

South Ferry/Whitehall station restoration; restoring the Rockaway 

line; repairing and replacing damaged signal equipment, including 

switches and relays, damaged vents, pumps, and communications 

equipment; and repairing the roadway structure, ventilation, and 

communications equipment in the Queens Midtown and Hugh L. 

Carey Tunnels. 

And as we work to bring our system back to normal, we must 

also make the necessary investments to protect this 108-year-old 

system from future storms. We must rebuild smarter. 

Manhattan’s South Ferry subway station is a perfect example. It 

was destroyed during the 9/11 attacks, and we spent over $500 million to rebuild it at that time. It serves over 30,000 riders a day. 

It was completely destroyed due to Superstorm Sandy, and we need 

to replace it. This station, eight stories underground, was completely filled with water from floor to ceiling, corrosive salt water, 

which damaged everything. The last thing we want do is to come 

back to Congress for another $600 million after the next storm hits, 

but we will if we have to. It is in the best interest of the American 

taxpayers to protect this critical station and other infrastructure 

elements so that our large Federal investments can be wisely 

spent. 

As Superstorm Sandy demonstrated, when the MTA shuts down, 

the Nation’s largest regional economy shuts down. It is absolutely 

critical that we make the necessary investments to protect the 

South Ferry station and other critical infrastructure elements. 

Our needs are great. But this is clearly much more than a New 

York story or a New York need. This is a national issue, a national 

need. And we need the Federal Government’s help, not only to get 

us on the road to recovery but to protect these critical assets in the 

future. 

Once again, Chairman Menendez, thank you for holding this important hearing and for giving me the opportunity to testify today. 

I will answer any questions later. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Foye. 
16 

STATEMENT OF PATRICK J. FOYE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY 

Mr. FOYE. Chairman Menendez and Members of the Committee, 

thank you for holding this important hearing on the greatest transit disaster in our Nation’s history. 

I am Pat Foye, Executive Director of The Port Authority of New 

York and New Jersey. 

Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the Port Authority, I thank you for 

your ongoing support of our agency and for the people of our region. 

I also want to thank Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and 

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey for their strong leadership 

before, during, and after Superstorm Sandy. 

For those unfamiliar with our agency, the Port Authority operates what is the most important multi-modal transportation network in the world. Our transportation assets include: the busiest 

airport system in the country, including JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports; four interstate bridges, among them the George 

Washington Bridge, which is the busiest vehicular crossing in the 

world; the Holland and Lincoln tunnels that link New York and 

New Jersey; the Nation’s busiest bus terminal, located in Midtown 

Manhattan; the largest port complex on the east coast; and the biState commuter rail system known as PATH. 

Annually, about 77 million riders take PATH, and those who rely 

on it will tell you it is an indispensable part of their lives and jobs. 

While our PATH network is just over 13 miles long, it serves as 

a vital link in the region, carrying passengers under the Hudson 

between New Jersey and New York City. It is an essential artery 

in a region representing, as you have noted this morning, Mr. 

Chairman, more than $1.4 trillion in economic output, fully 11 percent of our Nation’s GDP. 

Of all our transportation facilities, PATH suffered the most severe blow in Superstorm Sandy. We took every step we could to 

prepare for the storm, but despite our preparations, this critical 

interstate link was completely devastated by the historic storm 

surge and flooding that reached over 2 feet above the prior 100- 

year flood level in Lower Manhattan. 

The storm surge breached and blasted through our passenger 

stations, as that slide you had up before, Mr. Chairman, indicates, 

and the PATH tunnels, which are ancient by today’s mass transit 

standards, having been built at the turn of the last century more 

than 100 years ago. 

The PATH network is dense and closely contained with complex 

tunnels interlocking underneath the Hudson. These tunnels, along 

with the box-like structures called caissons connecting the tunnels, 

contained rack upon rack of critical and decades-old signal, switching, and communications equipment that were damaged in the deluge of corrosive seawater during Sandy. 

The waters damaged the signals, switching, communications, and 

other wayside equipment lining the tracks. Most visibly to the public, our stations experienced tsunami-like conditions. Our historic 

Hoboken Terminal, one of the busiest in our system, was inundated 

after flood waters crushed an enclosed elevator shaft, set forth on 
17 

the easel, sending millions of gallons of water pouring into the station. 

In many of our stations, practically every wire, every circuit, and 

every last bit of infrastructure that existed below ground was damaged, destroyed, or otherwise left in need of attention and repair. 

To compound the problem, many of the parts that Sandy destroyed 

are no longer manufactured due to their age. It has been like trying to find replacement parts for an entire fleet of Model T Fords 

in the 21st century. 

Thanks to the heroic efforts of our staff and many others who 

provided assistance, we commenced partial service restoration of 

the system on November 6th, re-establishing service between Journal Square and 33rd Street in Manhattan. On November 12, we 

brought back service to Newark. 

With continued round-the-clock recovery efforts, on November 

26th PATH resumed service to the World Trade Center and Exchange Place stations. And as you noted, Mr. Chairman, I am 

proud to say that just yesterday, I joined PATH employees for the 

inaugural run of restored Hoboken service to 33rd Street on the 

west side of Manhattan. With that, we have restored at least limited service to all of the stations in our network. 

We learned during the storm that the ingenuity and dedication 

of our public servants is unrivaled. In the first days after the 

storm, one of our workers, Tom O’Neill, risked his own life to jump 

into several feet of murky flood waters in a PATH tunnel to restart 

a pump by hand, thus preventing further flood damage. Tom 

O’Neill, in his own words, ‘‘was just doing his job,’’ and it is that 

attitude and the fortitude of all of our PATH employees that continues to bring us back. 

We could not have done this on our own, however. Companies 

and factories from all over the country have helped in our recovery. 

In Pearl, Mississippi, the employees at Trilogy Communications 

worked day and night, on a weekend, to prepare 2 miles of replacement specialized communications cable for our tunnels leading to 

the World Trade Center. 

Invensys Rail, based in Louisville, Kentucky, did the same. U.S. 

DOT and FTA provided critical support. Administrator Rogoff was 

personally involved in securing desperately needed breakers from 

CTA in Chicago for restoration of PATH service. 

But with PATH still operating at less than full strength and on 

partial schedules, and as NJ Transit continues its own efforts to restore service, commutes are still badly disrupted. 

What normally was a 45-minute ride home for many has now 

doubled in length, or worse, as commuters displaced from PATH 

seek alternative transit, bus, or ferry service. Those with late 

evening shifts are still bearing the burden of limited service, having to rely on late night buses to make their way home. 

We continue to rebuild and repair across our network, but as is 

the case for the States of New York and New Jersey, the Port Authority will need the Federal Government’s help. 

Simply put, we are not at full strength, and we have endured 

hundreds of millions of dollars of damage. Old electric substations 

have been patched together with cannibalized parts. Parts of our 

network are operating on so-called manual block, with personnel 
18 

communicating by radio to mark trains passing stations while our 

signaling systems are still under repair. 

To bring our system back will require hundreds of millions of dollars. This will go immediately into signal system repairs, electric 

substation repairs, track work, and communications systems. We 

are still tallying the damage, Mr. Chairman, but we now estimate 

that the costs to fully repair and restore the PATH system may 

total more than $700 million dollars—much more than our early 

and preliminary estimate of $300 million. 

It is also critical that we invest in mitigation measures to protect 

our system from future storms so that we do not find ourselves in 

the same situation just a few years from now. This will include 

projects such as elevating portions of track, elevating critical substations, and strengthening critical caisson rooms within our tunnels beneath the Hudson River. These mitigation measures will 

come at significant cost, but without them, as we have learned over 

the last 2 months, the costs to the taxpayer will be even greater. 

Some of you know that the Port Authority receives no taxpayer 

money from either New York or New Jersey. We rely exclusively 

on user fees—the fares our passengers pay, and rents and other 

fees—all revenue streams that have their limitations. We are still 

assessing the exact costs of repair and recovery, but our needs are 

significant. 

Finally, I urge Congress to act as soon as possible, Mr. Chairman, in approving recovery funding for the New York, New Jersey, 

and Connecticut region. The final costs will no doubt be high, but 

the costs, should we fail to make necessary repairs and investments, are unfathomable in terms of the cost of lost productivity, 

lost jobs, a fractured transportation network, and the economic output that it powers. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you. Thank you all for your testimony. Let me start off. 

You know, some of my colleagues here think you plucked these 

numbers out of the sky and they are all inflated and, you know, 

not necessary. What would you say to them? 

Mr. WEINSTEIN. Mr. Chairman, we have been very sensitive to 

that very issue. These are estimates that are a work in progress, 

and we keep saying that. But I will tell you that, at least from New 

Jersey Transit’s standpoint, railroads are expensive. We move on 

our railroad every day a quarter of a million to 300,000 people. 

Those are people, if they are not on the railroad, they are on the 

roads. And when they are on the roads trying to get into Manhattan to get to work, the road system breaks down, Mr. Chairman. 

This is a network. It is very expensive to maintain it, but the return it has to the economy, the return that it has to the quality 

of life in our region is immeasurable. 

Mr. PRENDERGAST. The net worth of the New York City Transit’s 

part of the MTA infrastructure alone is $750 billion. We have spent 

over $75 billion to repair items since 1982. The damage we sustained is significant. It is affecting our ability to provide service. I 

think Mr. Weinstein elaborated very clearly, if you lived in the region and you experienced in the first few days after the storm the 

gridlock that existed not just in Manhattan but the outer boroughs 
19 

and the region at large, you would see the impacts that occurred 

to the community. To say that the transportation network that all 

three of these agencies provide for the New York region is the lifeblood of the region is an understatement. So that would be the way 

I would respond to it. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Mr. Foye, I heard your numbers. Your numbers went upwards from your original estimate, not downwards. 

Mr. FOYE. They did. 

Senator MENENDEZ. It is very likely that all of your numbers will 

go upwards, not downwards, at the end of the day. 

Mr. FOYE. Mr. Chairman, I think that is right. Obviously, as you 

noted in the case of Hoboken Terminal, service was restored only 

yesterday. Our focus is obviously on restoring service for the 77 

million passengers on an annual basis who use the PATH system. 

Allow me to note three points. 

One, in accordance with the approach that Governor Cuomo in 

New York and Governor Christie have taken, we at the Port Authority believe in accountability. We understand that we are going 

to be accountable to the Federal Government and to our Federal 

funders and ultimately to the taxpayers for every dollar we receive. 

The second point I would note is that the Port Authority has already spent out-of-pocket about $200 million since Superstorm 

Sandy occurred on October 29th. Those dollars are real. We are 

prepared to demonstrate every dollar. 

Third, I would note that none of our agencies are talking about 

a bridge to nowhere. We are talking about restoring tunnels and 

bridges and train stations, whether it is New Jersey Transit, MTA, 

or PATH, which exist, which serve millions and tens of millions of 

passengers a year, and the damage in the case of PATH and the 

caissons at PATH are to equipment that was installed 50, 60, 70 

years ago, which is, frankly, only available and can be viewed at 

the Smithsonian. And we are prepared, Mr. Chairman, to demonstrate and be accountable for every dollar that we are provided. 

Senator MENENDEZ. So tell me what would happen if a—I think 

you are all familiar with the supplemental as the Administration 

submitted it to Congress and that we are pursuing. What would 

happen if you get collectively less than a third of what is being offered? What are your decisions going to be like? How is it going to 

affect you? 

Mr. PRENDERGAST. Well, in terms of what I had stated in my testimony, the board approved the additional funding of $2.5 billion 

in bond anticipation notes, so we are going to run those down, and 

obviously we are going to deal with it on a priority basis. 

We are just getting the Montague Street tunnel back tomorrow. 

We have had extensive signal damage. It has taken us 6 weeks to 

trouble-shoot and get that service running. Tens of thousands of 

people a day use that line. 

The Rockaways has not been restored, that service. That is going 

to draw a large share of that money. And as those monies get 

drawn down and we reach the point where, you know, we are 

reaching the limits of our own ability to generate funds that we can 

use for these types of repairs, we will be forced to put off critical 

repair needs that may result in other delays. 
20 

What we saw in the Montague Street tube we have reason to believe will happen on some of the other tubes in terms of anticipated 

increased failures in those signal systems. So it would affect our 

ability to provide that safe, reliable service on an ongoing basis. 

Senator MENENDEZ. And if you had to draw down the—$2.6 billion, is it? 

Mr. PRENDERGAST. $2.5. 

Senator MENENDEZ. The $2.5 billion, and you do not get a significant Federal response toward that, you are going to have to pay 

those off. 

Mr. PRENDERGAST. We are increasing the debt service to be able 

to do that, yes. 

Senator MENENDEZ. And if you increase the debt service to do 

that, short of getting greater ridership, you are ultimately looking 

at the possibility of a fare increase. 

Mr. PRENDERGAST. Yes, and we just are going forward with a 

fare increase right now according to the budget we had planned for 

both operating and capital needs, and that would have to be revisited. 

Senator MENENDEZ. How about in the case of New Jersey Transit? 

Mr. WEINSTEIN. Mr. Chairman, if we did not get the money that 

we are asking for, or close to it, we are not going to be able to make 

the repairs and, more importantly, the mitigation improvements. 

That is going to leave our system vulnerable for the next storm, 

and we noticed now that we are getting 100-year storms every 

year. And I feel a particular sensitivity at this point in light of the 

fact that our largest maintenance facility in Kearny, New Jersey, 

flooded for the first time in the history of our agency. 

So if we do not have that, we are going to have to make the immediate repairs that we need to run the system every day, and 

over an extended period of time, you know, we would probably have 

to make the repairs that would add the kind of resiliency. But during that time we would be exposed to the same kind of damage 

that we experienced in Superstorm Sandy, and the investments 

that we had made would be washed away, and we would be coming 

back to the Federal Government and to FEMA. 

And, Mr. Chairman, the other point, I think, to the issue about 

upping estimates and on that, I think that the system and the 

group that Administrator Rogoff spoke about, putting the FTA and 

FEMA and the agency teams together, working on the development 

of those project costs, working on the development of those, that is 

a very serious effort, and it is not a frivolous effort. As somebody 

who is regulated by the FTA on a day-to-day basis—and you know 

this very well, Mr. Chairman—that agency takes how we spent 

Federal dollars very seriously; we take it very seriously. What we 

are engaged in is not a frivolous effort. It is an effort to make our 

system resilient so that we do not have to come back every time 

we have a superstorm. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Mr. Foye—actually, all of you I think are involved in this, so you can all answer. Didn’t we learn a lesson in 

a different context after September 11th that in a post-September 

11th world, multiple modes of transportation are critical not just 

for all of the economic reasons we have talked about, not just about 
21 

getting people, the workforce, to work, getting salespeople to their 

venues, getting people to hospitals, getting people to home, getting 

people to recreation, but, in fact, on that fateful day when every 

system of transportation was shut down, it was ferries that got 

people out of Lower Manhattan into New Jersey hospitals. So it 

sent us a lesson, I think, that the importance of multiple modes of 

transportation, in addition to all the normal reasons we accept, is 

also a security issue. So getting these systems up and running and 

getting them up and running in an efficient and safe manner is not 

only a driver to our economy and to our quality of life, it is also 

a security imperative. Would that be a misstatement? 

Mr. FOYE. No, Mr. Chairman, that is exactly right. Obviously, 

the Port Authority was terribly impacted by 9/11, given the fact 

that 84 of our members died at the World Trade Center. One of the 

lessons of 9/11, Mr. Chairman, and Superstorm Sandy in October 

was that from an economic, from a national security point of view, 

from a homeland security point of view, the transportation system 

is critical, and that each of the transportation agencies—New Jersey Transit, PATH, the MTA, Amtrak—are interdependent. When 

one or more of them, or in this case all of them, are taken out of 

service, the impact on the region from an economic point of view, 

from a transportation point of view, but also from a public safety, 

national security, and homeland security point of view is magnified, Mr. Chairman, and that point is exactly right. 

Mr. PRENDERGAST. I would like to add also, in addition to from 

a security standpoint, the integral element of the MTA Hurricane 

Plan, developed in concert with the city of New York, is that the 

MTA and its agencies are the service providers in evacuation. We 

are the ones that transport people in mass volumes from areas 

likely to see tidal surges and flooding. And without a transportation network that spans even beyond the MTA, would go in the 

case of New Jersey Transit and PATH, without those systems up 

and running before and after the storm, you could not provide for 

that. So it is an extremely important point. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Well, thank you all for your testimony. I 

hope it makes the case with many of our colleagues here to understand the scope and magnitude of our challenge and why we need 

a strong Federal response to that challenge working with our State 

and regional partners. 

The record will remain open for 1 week for any Member who 

wishes to submit any questions for the record. We would ask all 

of our witnesses, if they do receive questions, to please respond as 

expeditiously as possible. And with the thanks of the Committee, 

this hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 12:07 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

[Prepared statements supplied for the record follow:] 
22 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR CHARLES E. SCHUMER 

Thank you for taking the time to hold this hearing to discuss Superstorm Sandy’s 

devastating impact on the Nation’s largest transportation systems and efforts to rebuild our infrastructure. I’d like to especially thank Chairman Menendez and Ranking Member Vitter for holding this hearing today and for their continued support 

during these difficult times. 

New York State suffered nearly $7.3 billion in transportation-related and $9.6 billion in housing-related damages due to Superstorm Sandy. Over 300,000 households 

in New York have experienced damage to their home because of Sandy’s high winds, 

heavy flooding and storm surge. 

Neighborhoods like Breezy Point Queens lost over one hundred homes alone due 

to a fast-moving fire that was sparked thanks to Sandy’s swift winds, not to mention 

the many more that were lost in that region due to significant flooding. I personally 

toured the Red Hook Houses in Brooklyn, New York—one of New York City Housing Authority’s oldest developments and among the nearly 40,000 units of public 

housing that lost power, running water, and heat for weeks after Sandy hit. 

While communities and neighborhoods are slowly picking up the pieces after 

Sandy, they cannot do it alone. Congress must not shirk from its responsibilities. 

Congress could provide immediate assistance to localities impacted by Sandy by 

funding the Community Development Block Grant CDBG adequately and ensuring 

flexibility with the program. 

Of the total transportation-related damages, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority sustained approximately $5 billion in damages after its system 

was inundated with storm surge. As many of you know, the MTA is the largest public transportation system in the country and lifeblood of the New York metropolitan 

region. From New York City through Long Island, southeastern New York State and 

Connecticut, MTA’s subways, buses and railroads provide New Yorkers with approximately 2.63 billion trips a year. 

While the MTA took all necessary precautions in preparation for Sandy, this 108 

year-old system has never been subjected to a storm of this size or magnitude. To 

their credit, the MTA smartly put up temporary barriers placed in front of subway 

entrances for stops along the system. In many cases, they worked. But in other 

areas, like at the South Ferry Station, these barriers were knocked over by Sandy’s 

high winds and flying debris, causing stations to become inundated with salt water. 

Overall the MTA sustained: 8 flooded subway tunnels and 2 flooded vehicular tunnels; 12 subway stations including the South Ferry Station are badly damaged or 

completely destroyed; an entire subway bridge and rail line serving the Rockaways 

in Queens no longer exists; 15 miles of damaged or destroyed signaling; entire rail 

yard and maintenance shops were underwater and are damaged; 80 of the general 

stock equipment has been depleted. 

Amazingly, despite the immense damage sustained by the MTA a large amount 

of service was recovered within a week of the storm because of the dedication and 

commitment of the MTA staff. There is no doubt in my mind that if Congress gives 

the MTA the right tools and adequate resources, this system can be back up and 

running as good as new. But the MTA is prohibited from entering into contracts for 

any capital project without a funding commitment that ensures that the full terms 

of the contract will be met. In order to move forward with the MTA’s rebuilding effort, Congress must act in passing a comprehensive supplemental appropriations bill 

so that critical restoration work can begin. 

And as MTA continues to work to restore its system again, Congress should fund 

programs like the FTA’s Emergency Repair program to ensure that mitigation is 

also a strong factor in the rebuilding effort. It does not make good fiscal sense for 

Congress to pay to fix our broken infrastructure—which we know we are legally required to do—without paying a little more to protect that investment and prevent 

similar costly damage in the future. New York has no choice: we must simultaneously rebuild and adapt to protect against future storms. We are a waterfront city 

and a waterfront State. It has become abundantly clear we are in the path of violent 

new weather realities. The modern infrastructure that powers and moves New York 

was not built to withstand Mother Nature’s wrath in this rapidly changing climate. 

Congress must act now to support our critical infrastructure systems like the 

MTA. We cannot wait any longer. I thank the Chair and the Committee for this 

opportunity. 
23 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF PETER ROGOFF 

FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION

DECEMBER 20, 2012 

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member DeMint, and Members of the Subcommittee: 

Thank you for inviting me to appear before you today to discuss Hurricane 

Sandy’s devastating impact on public transportation systems and to discuss the 

Obama administration’s budget request for assistance through the Federal Transit 

Administration’s (FTA) newly authorized Public Transit Emergency Relief program. 

Hurricane Sandy triggered the worst transit disaster in U.S. history. On the Tuesday morning following the storm, more than half of the Nation’s daily transit riders 

were without service. Even in the days that followed, as services in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. came back on line, 37 percent, or well 

over one-third, of the Nation’s public transit riders still had no access to regular 

train or bus service. In the days that followed, the heroic efforts of thousands of 

transit and utility workers throughout the region allowed services to be brought 

back up incrementally. But, even today, there are passengers in the Rockaways and 

those who typically take the PATH trains from Hoboken Terminal into Lower Manhattan who are waiting to return to their normal commuting pattern. 

We applaud the outstanding and tireless efforts demonstrated by emergency responders throughout the region who have worked together with the Metropolitan 

Transportation Authority (MTA), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 

Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and others in the weeks since the storm to restore as 

much service as possible, as quickly as possible. Even before the storm hit the impacted region, the leadership of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and 

the FTA were in careful and regular communication with the leadership of the responsible transportation agencies throughout the region. 

Following the superstorm, the FTA worked closely as part of the larger DOT effort 

to develop a rapid-response strategy to assist transit providers in the short-run, 

while laying the foundation for the responsible administration of Federal-aid funds 

in the months ahead. Among the steps the FTA has taken thus far: 

• FTA worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through 

the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition service to procure 

250 buses to temporarily replace lost rail service in New Jersey. This enabled 

commuters to take buses to ferry terminals or directly to Manhattan. 

• FEMA issued FTA two mission assignments directing FTA to oversee and engage its project management oversight contractors to conduct continuing damage assessments and cost-validation work for both operating and capital costs 

associated with restoring and rebuilding transit capacity. These early joint efforts with FEMA are expected to allow us to compensate the impacted transit 

agencies promptly once assistance is made available by Congress. 

• FTA worked with the Chicago Transit Authority to secure hard-to-find but essential equipment so that PATH service could be restored between New Jersey 

and New York. 

• FTA drew upon its regional staff to stand up a Regional Emergency Response 

Coordinator for the New England Region to support the DOT’s Emergency Support Function 1 under the National Response Framework. This provides daily 

on-the-ground monitoring and contact with the affected agencies to obtain a 

real-time view of challenges, needs, and progress. 

• FTA repositioned staff to Joint Field Offices in New York and New Jersey to 

assist State and local governments and other infrastructure owners in the effort 

to restore transportation service. 

We believe these are all important steps in the right direction, but a great deal of 

work remains to be done as we move into the recovery and rebuilding phases of the 

disaster. 

Thankfully, President Obama has responded to the needs of the region by promptly requesting resources to aid in the recovery of the region. 

In total, the Administration’s Supplemental Appropriations Request for Disaster 

Assistance seeks $60.4 billion in Federal resources for response, recovery, and mitigation related to Hurricane Sandy damage in all affected States. This includes efforts to repair damage to homes and public infrastructure and to help affected communities prepare for future storms. 

The DOT’s share of the President’s total request is $12.07 billion, of which $370 

million supports restitution of highways and bridges, aviation, and freight railroad 

infrastructure. The majority share—$11.7 billion—would be directed to the FTA to 
24 

repair and replace the affected public transit infrastructure and make it far more 

resilient. 

The FTA’s $11.7 billion request reflects two important and related purposes: 

First, based on our ongoing cost-validation work with FEMA, FTA is requesting that $6.2 billion be directed to FTA’s newly established Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program to aid in the repair and restoration of public transportation 

infrastructure in the New York City metropolitan area destroyed or damaged by 

Hurricane Sandy, including infrastructure controlled by the MTA, the Port Authority, New Jersey Transit, and the New York City Department of Transportation, as 

well as other transit providers throughout the impacted region. I want to thank the 

Senate Banking Committee for its leadership in establishing this program in response to the Administration’s budget request and my testimony before the Committee on May 19, 2011. I am also grateful to the Senate Appropriations Committee 

for responding to President Obama’s request for aid by proposing $10.78 billion in 

appropriations for the program. The support of both committees was both timely 

and prescient. 

The Public Transportation Emergency Relief program was created in the Moving 

Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP–21) (Public Law 112–141)—the 

surface transportation reauthorization enacted on July 6, 2012. In the past, assistance for transit agencies to respond to and recover from Stafford Act disasters has 

typically been provided through FEMA. FTA’s Emergency Relief program addresses 

recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office in 2008 that DOT 

should evaluate the feasibility of options to increase FTA’s authority to provide financial disaster assistance to transit, noting that FTA has the capability to fulfill 

those roles and responsibilities; sufficient experience in dealing with needs of public 

transit providers and Federal transit assistance; and can target emergency relief 

funds to transit providers with the greatest needs. 

MAP–21 requires that DOT and FEMA work in concert to make sure that the use 

of emergency funds are coordinated. FTA’s mission assignment from FEMA offers 

an opportunity to reach a single cost estimate for each damaged asset, or set of assets, which can then serve as the basis for reimbursement by the FTA Emergency 

Relief program. The FTA’s $6.2 billion funding request assumes that a non-Federal match of 10 

percent will be required and that funding will not be used to supplant third-party 

insurance coverage. In addition, an appropriate set-aside should be provided for 

transfer to the DOT’s Inspector General for oversight of spending provided for Hurricane Sandy response and recovery, and an appropriate take-down must be provided for FTA’s oversight and administrative expenses. 

It is extremely important that going forward, we rebuild our public transit and 

other transportation systems with greater resiliency, so they are able to better withstand powerful natural and man-made disasters. This also entails building greater 

redundancy into public transit and other transportation systems, to ensure that viable alternatives are available when primary systems—like the New York subway— 

are crippled. Therefore, the second component of the FTA’s funding request is for $5.5 billion 

to support resiliency investments to make the region’s transportation infrastructure 

able better withstand and recover from coastal flooding and other weather-related 

challenges. 

This will entail not only excellent financial stewardship, transparency, and accountability, but also unprecedented cooperation with our counterparts in numerous 

Federal departments and at the State and local level. 

Regional cooperation will be critically important for identifying the right resiliency 

investments. To foster greater regional cooperation and information-sharing and 

analysis, and address these challenges in a coordinated fashion, President Obama 

on December 7, 2012 created the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force (Executive 

Order 13632), and appointed Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan as chairman. As President Obama stated on 

standing up this Task Force: 

A disaster of Hurricane Sandy’s magnitude merits a comprehensive and collaborative approach to the long-term rebuilding plans for this critical region 

and its infrastructure. Rebuilding efforts must address economic conditions 

and the region’s aged infrastructure—including its public housing, transportation systems, and utilities—and identify the requirements and resources 

necessary to bring these systems to a more resilient condition given both 

current and future risks. 

In anticipation of these objectives, Deputy Transportation Secretary Porcari and I 

hosted a meeting with HUD Secretary Donovan last week in New York City to 
25 

jump-start the local process on coordination of resiliency investments. We met with 

executives of Amtrak, the MTA, New Jersey Transit, and the Port Authority of New 

York and New Jersey to discuss resiliency investments and the need for multi-agency collaboration with the Task Force under Secretary Donovan’s leadership. 

All of these initial efforts set the stage for making the necessary investments to 

rebuild our infrastructure and defend it against future incursions. As regional response plans are formulated, with guidance and assistance from FTA and other Federal agencies in partnership with State, and local entities, they will be instrumental 

in presenting options that can be ranked by their estimated cost-effectiveness, and 

developed in coordination with the Task Force. 

As the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reported, current projections 

are that Sandy is on track to be the second or third most costly natural disaster 

in U.S. history, behind Hurricane Katrina (2005) and close to Hurricane Andrew 

(1992). The setback to our public infrastructure was extremely severe. In Manhattan 

alone, all seven subway tunnels under the East River flooded, as did the Hudson 

River subway tunnel, the East River and Hoboken River commuter rail tunnels, and 

the subway tunnels in lower Manhattan. The South Ferry transit terminal, rebuilt 

and modernized with significant Federal assistance within the last 3 years, was virtually destroyed. 

We cannot, as a Nation, afford to be caught unprepared time after time as events 

like these befall us with little warning. We must prepare, and be prepared, to protect and preserve the public transportation infrastructure and other assets that the 

United States depends on to move people and goods, maintain the free flow of commerce, and drive our economy forward. 

The havoc wreaked by Hurricane Sandy was a tragedy and also a wake-up call. 

It brought into sharp focus the need for us as a Nation to do a better job of building 

public transportation systems—and all of the infrastructure our economy depends 

on—to withstand strong physical forces. As Deputy Transportation Secretary 

Porcari has said, our watchwords must be resilience, redundancy, and regionalism. 

FTA and DOT will continue to work with all partners at the table—Federal, regional, and local—to recover from this disaster and apply new lessons learned for 

the future. And we are committed to ensuring all Federal resources appropriated 

to us are used responsibly and that the recovery effort is a shared undertaking. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, for inviting me to 

testify today. I would be happy to respond to any questions you may have. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF YOLANDA CHAVEZ 

DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR GRANT PROGRAMS, 

OFFICE OF COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

DECEMBER 20, 2012 

Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member DeMint, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding recovering from 

Superstorm Sandy and rebuilding the housing and transportation infrastructure in 

the affected region. I have served for more than 3 years as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs in the Office of Community Planning and Development 

at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In that role, I am 

responsible for overseeing key programs that promote affordable housing and community development, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) 

program, the CDBG–Disaster Recovery (CDBG–DR) grants, and the HOME Investment Partnerships program. These grants, particularly the CDBG–DR program, 

have played a critical role in helping communities recover from and rebuild after 

natural disasters like Superstorm Sandy. 

In my testimony today, I will cover four subjects: 1) the damage caused by 

Superstorm Sandy, particularly to housing infrastructure; 2) HUD’s participation in 

the ongoing response and recovery efforts; 3) the longer term rebuilding efforts with 

respect to Sandy, including the role of HUD and the special role of HUD Secretary 

Shaun Donovan under the President’s Executive Order; and 4) the supplemental appropriations request that the Administration has submitted and which is currently 

under consideration by Congress. 

The Impact of and damage caused by Superstorm Sandy 

Hurricane Sandy and the nor’easter that followed have had immense and varied 

impacts in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, West Virginia, Maryland, and a 

number of other States. Within the United States, the hurricane itself resulted in 
26 

121 confirmed fatalities, major flooding, structural damage, and power loss to over 

8.5 million homes and businesses, directly affecting more than 17 million people as 

far south as North Carolina, as far north as New Hampshire, and as far west as 

Indiana. Especially hard hit were New York and New Jersey, which are critical economic engines of our Nation. These two States employ 12.7 million workers, accounting for about 10 percent of U.S. payroll employment. They export about $90 

billion in goods annually, accounting for about 7 percent of such exports, and contributed $1.4 trillion to our gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, accounting for 

more than 11 percent of GDP. Thus, recovery and rebuilding is not only a State and 

local priority, but a crucial national priority as well. 

Unfortunately, one of the major effects of storms like Sandy is destruction and 

damage to the homes and apartments where people live, and the displacement of 

numerous families and individuals. Excluding second homes, more than 150,000 

housing units experienced substantial flooding as a result of Sandy, meaning that 

work on housing will be an early, continuing, and crucial part of the recovery and 

rebuilding effort. In New Jersey, over 44,000 primary residences had flooding, more 

than half with over 1 foot of flooding in the first floor. We estimate around half of 

the damaged primary residences in New Jersey were occupied by low and moderate 

income households. 

But this is more than just damaged homes; this is also about the fabric that 

makes our communities work. Every county in New Jersey, for example, was a 

Presidentially declared disaster area. Our research staff has identified approximately 500 neighborhoods in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut where more 

than 20 percent of the homes were damaged, more than 175 of these in New Jersey. 

When large numbers of units in a neighborhood are impacted, recovery takes longer, 

and families and communities need to make hard decisions about if, how, and where 

they should rebuild. 

HUD’s participation in ongoing response and recovery efforts 

HUD has played a significant role in response to and recovery from past major 

storms, and is doing so with respect to Sandy as well. 

Before I describe some of HUD’s activities, it is important to note the unprecedented cooperation that is taking place among Federal, State, local, and tribal authorities. HUD, FEMA and other parts of the Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS), as well as the Departments of Transportation and Health and Human Services plus the Small Business Administration and the Army Corps of Engineers, are 

all in place and working together. We are all coordinating our work with State, 

local, and tribal officials, who are doing a truly herculean job on the response and 

recovery. The private sector has been deeply involved as well. This unprecedented 

level of cooperation and partnership will ensure that we continue to speed recovery 

resources and provide related assistance to the most affected areas. 

For example, within a week after Sandy hit there were almost 15,000 Federal responders on the ground from FEMA, the National Guard and the Army Corps of 

Engineers, HUD, Department of Transportation, and HHS, as well as tens of thousands of utility workers from across the Nation. In the weeks since the storm, 

FEMA has approved nearly $2.7 billion in emergency assistance. 

A key HUD priority has been providing immediate help to storm-displaced families to find temporary replacement housing, whether they were displaced from private or government-assisted housing. We have identified thousands of housing units, 

including more than 12,000 available units in HUD-assisted housing, and have been 

working to ensure that the relevant information is provided to displaced individuals. 

We also are allowing providers of housing for seniors the flexibility to open up vacant units to storm evacuees. 

HUD has also focused on help to persons living in and owners of HUD-assisted 

housing damaged or destroyed by the storm. This includes, for example, helping to 

temporarily house displaced persons, getting boilers and generators to impacted developments that house low-income families, and waiving administrative requirements (while ensuring appropriate safeguards) so as to facilitate the rapid delivery 

of safe and decent housing to displaced public housing authority (PHA) and multifamily housing residents. We have also increased fair market rental allowances to 

make it easier for displaced Section 8 voucher recipients to find replacement housing. 

HUD is working to encourage the private sector to help displaced families. Shortly 

after the storm, HUD Secretary Donovan reached out to several private sector organizations to encourage their involvement in this effort, and a number have stepped 

forward at least partially as a result. This recognizes the importance of engagement 

by the private sector as well as government in relief efforts. For example, Angie’s 

List is providing free, 1-year memberships to one thousand homeowners in the New 
27 

York City tri-State area to help with Sandy relief by making it easier for families 

to find local contractors, auto repair specialists, and health care professionals who 

are highly rated by other consumers. Walk Score has launched a Web site to support people in search of temporary housing after Sandy. HotelTonight recently announced a $60,000 contribution to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts 

for Sandy victims, and will donate 10 percent of its net revenues in New York City 

for the month of November to the Red Cross for this purpose. 

We have deployed HUD personnel to help staff FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers 

and do other storm-related work. This has included providing local housing resource 

help, program information, and other help to storm victims, mobilizing special needs 

providers from other States to assist families in shelters, and activating our Northeast network of field offices to communicate daily with impacted PHAs. 

There are more than 200,000 homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages in the affected areas in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. HUD has provided foreclosure protection for storm victims with FHA-insured mortgages through a mandatory 90-day moratorium on foreclosures. 

We are also offering assistance to storm victims who must rebuild or replace their 

homes. In particular, FHA insurance is available to such disaster victims who seek 

new mortgages, and borrowers from participating FHA-approved lenders are eligible 

for 100 percent financing, including closing costs. HUD is also directing banks to 

provide insurance payments they receive related to the storm directly to homeowners, in order to avoid the problem that occurred after Hurricane Katrina where 

some mortgage companies used some insurance payments that were supposed to be 

used to rebuild damaged homes for other purposes. HUD is working to get information on these and other assistance efforts to affected homeowners. 

HUD is also providing help to affected State and local governments. Immediately 

after the storm, HUD hosted technical assistance conference calls with all HUD 

grantees. We have provided waivers of existing rules so that existing Federal CDBG 

and HOME funds in New Jersey and elsewhere can be used for disaster relief. Collectively, the CDBG and HOME grant programs allow grantees to meet a broad 

range of needs, including housing, economic development, infrastructure, and the 

provision of public services. We are also working with State and local governments 

and tribes to develop interim housing plans and to provide loan guarantees for housing rehabilitation. 

The role of HUD and Secretary Donovan’s role as designated by the President concerning Federal rebuilding efforts 

As you know, on November 15, President Obama announced that HUD Secretary 

Donovan will lead coordination of the Federal action relating to Superstorm Sandy 

rebuilding efforts, and issued an Executive Order on December 7 providing that he 

will serve as chair of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force. This role is different from and in addition to the role that Secretary Donovan usually carries out 

with respect to disasters as HUD Secretary. In understanding the Secretary’s role 

in relation to the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF), it is important 

to understand the NDRF and how it was developed. 

Early in his first term, President Obama recognized that previous experience concerning Hurricane Katrina and other disasters highlighted the need for additional 

guidance, structure, and support to improve how we as a Nation address disasterrelated recovery and rebuilding challenges. In September 2009, President Obama 

charged the Departments of HUD and Homeland Security to work on this effort and 

to establish a Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group, composed of more than 

20 Federal agencies. HUD, DHS, and the Working Group consulted closely with 

State and local governments as well as experts and stakeholders, and worked on 

improving the Nation’s approach to disaster recovery and on developing operational 

guidance for recovery efforts. As a result, FEMA published a draft of the NDRF in 

2010, carefully reviewed and considered more than one hundred public comments, 

and the final version of the NDRF was published in September, 2011. 

The NDRF addresses the short, intermediate, and long-term challenges of managing disaster-related recovery and rebuilding. It recognizes the key role of State 

and local governments in such efforts, and sets forth flexible guidelines that enable 

Federal disaster recovery and restoration managers to operate in a unified and collaborative manner and to cooperate effectively with State and local governments. 

The NDRF defines core recovery principles; roles and responsibilities of recovery coordinators and other stakeholders; flexible and adaptable coordinating structures to 

align key roles and responsibilities and facilitate coordination and collaboration with 

State and local governments and others; and an overall process by which communities can capitalize on opportunities to rebuild stronger, smarter, and safer after 

a disaster. 
28 

Under the NDRF itself, HUD plays an important role in recovery from disasters 

like Sandy. It is involved in carrying out several Federal recovery support functions, 

which provide the coordinating structure for Federal efforts to support State and 

local governments and tribes by facilitating problem solving, improving access to resources, and fostering coordination among all participants in recovery efforts. Under 

the NDRF, HUD is the coordinating agency for the housing recovery support function, and is charged with coordinating and facilitating the delivery of Federal resources and activities to assist local, State and Tribal governments in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of destroyed and damaged housing and the development of 

other new accessible, permanent housing options, where feasible. 

In addition, because Sandy will be one of the most devastating and costly disasters in our history, the President recognized that responding to this disaster required an additional focus on rebuilding efforts coordinated across Federal agencies 

and State, local, and Tribal governments in order to effectively address the enormous range of regional issues. Accordingly, the President signed the Executive 

Order creating the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force and designating the 

Secretary of HUD to be the chair. 

The Secretary’s responsibilities in this role will occur in coordination with the 

NDRF and will involve cooperating closely with FEMA and the other agencies already involved in recovery efforts. The focus will be on coordinating Federal support 

as State and local governments identify priorities, design individual rebuilding 

plans, and over time begin implementation. The Secretary will be the Federal Government’s primary lead on engaging with States, tribes, local governments, the private sector, regional business, nonprofit, community and philanthropic organizations, and the public on long-term Hurricane Sandy rebuilding. 

Secretary Donovan has explained that the Task Force will not seek to impose a 

one-size-fits-all solution on localities. Instead, with the expertise of virtually the entire cabinet represented, it will provide leadership and connections that actively 

support local visions and rebuilding efforts. It will have four major responsibilities: 

First, and most important, it will coordinate with all stakeholders to support cohesive rebuilding strategies and develop a comprehensive regional plan within 6 

months of its first meeting. It will share the best practices of recovering communities, creating a vision for long-term rebuilding by State and local stakeholders— 

a vision that will be supported by more thoughtful planning and a focus on resilient 

rebuilding that addresses not only existing but future risk and long-term sustainability of communities and ecosystems. 

Second, it will identify and work to remove obstacles to effective rebuilding efforts, 

particularly by helping State and local governments and tribes as they seek Federal 

assistance for longer term projects. 

Third, it will develop a plan for monitoring progress in rebuilding efforts. At a 

moment like this, because Americans are anxious about the recovery, they have little patience for ineffectiveness or waste. 

Finally, the Task Force will facilitate the offering of technical assistance and 

tools—providing critical support as those on the ground realize their vision for rebuilding and redevelopment. 

Work on the structure and functioning of this new effort is proceeding rapidly. 

Secretary Donovan has already met with a number of the most directly affected 

Federal, State, and local officials, and I know he is looking forward to working with 

this Subcommittee and other Senators and Representatives on this important effort. 

The request for supplemental disaster assistance 

Rebuilding must be a community driven effort, with a community-based vision at 

its heart. But supporting that vision through financial means is a key part of the 

Federal role—one that has consistently been provided by the Federal Government 

for communities experiencing disaster. 

On December 7, the President delivered to Congress a request for $60.4 billion 

in supplemental assistance to aid in Sandy recovery and rebuilding. The request includes funds for transportation, support for the Small Business Administration and 

its disaster loan program, CDBG–DR funds to be provided to communities, and a 

range of other critical priorities. 

The Administration issued a Statement of Administration Policy on December 17 

in support of the Senate legislation providing supplemental appropriations for fiscal 

year 2013 to respond to and recover from the severe damage caused by Superstorm 

Sandy. We look forward to working with the Congress to refine this legislation. The 

Senate measure will provide the necessary resources to continue ongoing response 

and recovery efforts, while helping impacted communities effectively mitigate future 

risk of disaster to prevent losses of this magnitude from recurring. Hazard mitigation is not just sensible, but it is also cost effective. The Multihazard Mitigation 
29 

Council examined 10 years of FEMA mitigation grants data and found that mitigation efforts offer a 4 to 1 dollar return on investment by preventing future damage. 

Given the emergency and one-time nature of the proposed supplemental appropriation, and in keeping with the response to Hurricane Katrina, Deepwater Horizon, and other disasters, the Administration supports the decision to not offset these 

funds. The proposed funding meets the definition of emergency funding that should 

not be offset, as set forth in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 

Act of 1985, because it is sudden, urgent, unforeseen, temporary, and needed for the 

prevention or mitigation of, or response to, loss of life or property. The Administration remains committed to balanced deficit reduction, and it believes that the Executive and the legislative branches can come together to achieve that, while ensuring 

that communities damaged by Sandy have the support they need to recover and rebuild. 

The proposed supplemental appropriations include $17 billion for CDBG–DR disaster funding. As we have seen with respect to previous disasters, such CDBG funding offers important flexibility and effectiveness in responding to disasters. Previous 

uses of CDBG disaster funding have included, for example: 

• The State of Louisiana used CDBG–DR funds to leverage private equity investment and Low-Income Housing Tax credits to produce rental housing, spending 

more than $500 million that has produced 6,780 rental housing units, 58 percent of which are affordable housing. 

• The State of Indiana budgeted approximately $40 million in CDBG–DR funds 

to rebuild and mitigate damaged infrastructure following 2008 flooding. As a result, water and wastewater facilities in the town of Hope were rebuilt safer and 

stronger, and the facilities have continued operation without disruption despite 

subsequent severe storms. 

• The State of Iowa budgeted some $260 million toward voluntary buyout of 

homes and commercial properties within the floodplain, resulting in the acquisition of more than 2,075 properties. 

• The State of Louisiana supplemented its small business loan program with $43 

million in CDBG–DR funds to provide technical assistance to help businesses 

get back on their feet and maximize the impact of their loans. To date, more 

than 3,000 businesses have been helped. 

HUD has been a partner with State and local governments in the recovery efforts 

of several of the States in the region affected by Sandy. New York, New Jersey, and 

Rhode Island have CDBG disaster recovery experience and know the recovery grant 

process. New York and New Jersey received a 2011 CDBG–DR grant following Hurricane Irene, prepared CDBG disaster recovery action plans for that grant, and are 

expending the funds. Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Maryland have also received 

CDBG disaster recovery grants as a result of past hurricanes and flooding. 

Our experience with CDBG–DR also demonstrates the importance of early appropriations so that it is clear that the funds will be available and planning efforts encompass the full range of needs. For example, major infrastructure investments take 

time to spend out due to design, permitting and staging requirements, but governments receiving CDBG–DR funds are highly unlikely to proceed with these efforts 

without assurance that they have funding to implement the projects. The assured 

availability of these funds is crucial to ensure that workers can be hired and other 

commitments can be made to move projects forward. 

Providing the requested Federal funding for response, recovery, rebuilding, and 

mitigation following Superstorm Sandy will maintain the Nation’s tradition of pulling together to help one another in times of greatest need. The Administration looks 

forward to working with Congress on the legislation and urges Congress to pass a 

supplemental appropriations bill as soon as possible to give affected States and communities the support they need to recover and rebuild. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today. I would be pleased to answer 

any questions you may have. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JAMES WEINSTEIN 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NJ TRANSIT CORPORATION

DECEMBER 20, 2012 

Good morning Mr. Chairman and Senators. 
30 

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to outline the unprecedented damage Superstorm Sandy inflicted on NJ TRANSIT and, just as importantly, to describe the need to rebuild a more resilient transit system for the future. 

NJ TRANSIT is the Nation’s second-largest transit agency, and Sandy hit us 

hard. NJ TRANSIT took sound steps to mitigate potential harm. Nonetheless, the 

transit system suffered extraordinary damage to critical bridges, electrical substations, track and signal systems, and rolling stock. 

In addition, under Governor Chris Christie’s leadership, we worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Transit Administration and other 

partners to immediately implement extensive interim emergency bus, ferry and 

other services to continue to deliver essential regional transportation services while 

the region’s transit systems were being restored. 

But Mr. Chairman, Sandy has shown we cannot merely restore our rail and other 

infrastructure to its previous state. That would only leave us vulnerable to the next 

superstorm. 

We must go further and make the rail and other transit modes more resistant 

in the face of future superstorms. Those steps will require additional resources. We 

have identified some $1.2 billion in resiliency and restoration needs—resiliency 

projects that would be eligible under the Federal Transit Administration’s Emergency Assistance program. Moreover, these projects are targeted to improve the 

transit system’s ability to withstand storms of all types, not just superstorms that 

mimic Sandy’s punishing surge. 

Let me outline a few of these projects for the Committee now. 

As you may know, more than 300 rail cars and locomotives were damaged during 

Superstorm Sandy. To prevent that from ever occurring again, our top priority is 

ensuring we have sufficient, stormproof rail yards to safely store locomotives and 

train cars, out of the reach of flood waters and also out of harm’s way from falling 

trees, electrical wires, utility poles and other storm-driven debris. 

To that end, we estimate it will cost some $500 million to construct new rail yard 

and inspection facilities, including a new yard at a site along the Northeast Corridor 

in New Brunswick that is currently owned by Amtrak. This facility will provide a 

centrally located site for safe storage, and allow locomotives and rail cars to be rapidly re-inspected and put back into service once a storm passes. 

The Meadows Maintenance Complex in Kearny—the ‘‘MMC,’’—is our prime rail 

inspection, maintenance and repair facility, and is also a major site for rail equipment storage. The Rail Operations Center called the ‘‘ROC,’’ sits in the same complex and is the central nervous system for the railroad, controlling all dispatching 

and signaling system-wide. We are seeking $200 million to raise power and other 

systems for the MMC and the ROC above foreseeable flood levels, as well as to install beams and other anti-flood control structures, so that we can safeguard the 

most critical portions of the complex, and ensure that the parts, generators, and repair machinery and other equipment at the MMC can ride out any storm in place, 

as they must. 

Mr. Chairman, Sandy badly flooded the historic Hoboken Terminal, as well as 

portions of the Frank R. Lautenberg Station in Secaucus. We estimate it will cost 

$125 million to restore and strengthen these and other key locations against storms. 

This money will fund projects involving both temporary and permanent flood and 

storm water controls. 

Sandy was at her most wrathful along the Jersey Coast. I’m sure you saw the 

pictures of boats and even metal shipping containers left on our North Jersey Coast 

Line rail bridges by the storm. Sandy also ruined electrical substations along the 

coast and in Hudson County and elsewhere which are vital for supplying the catenary wires that power our electric trains. 

So we are seeking $275 million to restore the Coast Line, and construct seven 

new, raised electrical substations and to improve the Coast Line’s resiliency by constructing sea walls by bridges, building sheathing to prevent washouts at bridge approaches and raising bridge control houses. 

Mr. Chairman, you are very familiar with our light rail systems. Both Hudson 

Bergen and the Newark Light Rail were impacted heavily when flood waters rushed 

in. Repairing the light rail systems and making them more resilient will cost an estimate $25 million. 

Finally, we are seeking $75 million to cover the cost of substitute bus and ferry 

emergency service provided after the storm, as well as to restore, expand and enhance communications during a disaster. Real-time communications are vital, 

whether our customers are at a station, on a train, on a bus, on the Internet or 

using a smart phone. This is not only a customer service issue; it is a safety issue, 

whether a disaster is a result of Mother Nature or an act of man. 
31 

Mr. Chairman, we recognize that there will be local match requirements for the 

funding we are seeking and we are fully prepared to work with our local Metropolitan Planning Organization partners to make whatever changes are needed to our 

existing capital program. We are also ready to expedite implementation of these 

projects, including by using fast track design-build contracting. 

Mr. Chairman, I would note that these cost estimates are just that—estimates 

that may well evolve over time as we progress the work that lies ahead. Before I 

close, I want to thank Administrator Rogoff and the FTA, as well as the leaders and 

staff at FEMA and the U.S. Department of Transportation for their assistance and 

support during this trying time. They have been true partners in the recovery effort. 

And I want to thank Gov. Christie, for his continued emphasis on bringing New Jersey back to a state of normalcy for the people of the Garden State. 

I also want to again express my thanks to our hundreds of thousands of daily customers, for their patience and understanding while NJ TRANSIT, and, indeed, the 

entire State of New Jersey continues to rebuild after Sandy. 

Finally, I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman and the Committee for your interest 

and for the opportunity to speak today. Repairs and resilience both take funding. 

Money invested in preventing future storm damage will limit the bill for future 

storm relief—as well as ensuring that our transit systems have a better chance of 

avoiding service interruptions. 

We appreciate the Committee’s interest and any assistance the Committee, Congress and Administration can provide in helping us renew New Jersey’s transit system, and improve it for the future. 

Thank you and I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THOMAS F. PRENDERGAST 

PRESIDENT, MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT

METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

DECEMBER 20, 2012 

Good morning, Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member DeMint, Senator Schumer 

and other Members of the Committee. Thank you for holding this hearing and inviting me to testify today. I’m Tom Prendergast, President of the MTA’s New York City 

Transit. The New York MTA is the largest transportation provider in the country. 

Every day, the MTA moves more than eight and a half million people—reliably, 

affordably, and safely on our subways and buses, the Staten Island Railway, MetroNorth Railroad, and the Long Island Rail Road. Our seven bridges and two tunnels 

carry nearly 300 million vehicles a year. 

The MTA is one of the few transit systems in the world that operates 24 hours 

a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And along with the other transportation networks represented on this panel, we are the lifeblood of a $1.4 trillion dollar regional economy—the largest in the country, making up 11 percent of the Nation’s 

GDP. 

About 2 months ago, however, our region came to a complete standstill in the 

aftermath of Superstorm Sandy—a disaster that brought our system to its knees. 

For the second time in our 108-year history, the MTA shut down all service. And 

despite unprecedented preparations, we sustained damage on a level we have never 

experienced. 

Today, most of our customers are seeing service, but our workers are seeing another reality—a fragile system that’s safe but extremely vulnerable. The subway 

line and the bridge connecting the Rockaways Peninsula and the rest of Queens 

have completely washed away. The subway tunnel for the R train connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan still isn’t operational. We have subway lines running at longer 

headways, resulting in longer commutes and severe crowding. We’ve drawn down 

about 80 percent of our replacement equipment. The useful life for many of our signals, switches, and relays has depleted exponentially. 

We estimate nearly $5 billion dollars in immediate repair needs left in Sandy’s 

destructive wake, and billions in project needs to protect our system from future 

flooding. And we will repair and rebuild our system as quickly as possible—our 8.5 

million customers are counting on it. 

We’ve already spent hundreds of millions of dollars to restore service as quickly 

as possible. And just yesterday, our Board approved for us to move forward in selling $2.5 billion dollars in Bond Anticipation Notes that will be used for rebuilding. 

But we are simply not able to shoulder this incredible burden on our own and 

we cannot fully undertake these financing efforts without knowing what Congress 
32 

plans to do. A Federal commitment is needed to ensure that we can rebuild and we 

build back stronger. 

Once a Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations bill is signed into law, we are 

prepared to immediately enter into contracts to begin the projects that are essential 

to our riders. Projects such as: 

• Restoring the South Ferry/Whitehall Street subway station; 

• Restoring the Rockaway line; 

• Repairing and replacing damaged signal equipment, including switches and relays, and restoring our damaged vents, pumps, and communications equipment; 

and 

• Repairing the roadway structure, ventilation, and communications equipment in 

the Queens Midtown and Hugh L. Carey Tunnels. 

And as we work to bring our system back to normal, we must also make the necessary investments to protect this 108-year old system from future storms. We must 

rebuild smarter. 

Manhattan’s South Ferry subway station is a perfect example. This station, which was destroyed during the 9/11 attacks, reopened in 2009. The station cost over $500 

million to rebuild and it serves over 30,000 riders every day. It was completely destroyed, again, this time by Sandy. This station, eight stories underground, was 

completely filled from floor to ceiling with corrosive salt water. We estimate that 

rebuilding the station will cost the MTA around $600 million dollars. The last thing 

we want do is to come back to Congress for another $600 million after the next 

storm hits but we will if we have to. It is in the best interest of the American tax 

payers to protect this critical station and other large Federal investments or we 

could be here again seeking billions of dollars to repair our system. 

As Superstorm Sandy demonstrated, when the MTA shuts down, the Nation’s 

largest regional economy shuts down. It’s absolutely critical that we make the necessary investments to protect the South Ferry station and the MTA’s 108-year old 

assets from future storms. Failing to protect these assets places the region’s $1.4 

trillion dollar economy, representing 11 percent of the Nation’s GDP, at risk. 

Our needs are great. But this is clearly much more than a New York story, or 

a New York need. This is a national issue . . . a national need. And we need the 

Federal Government’s help—not only to get us on the road to recovery, but also to 

protect New York and our Nation’s economy in the future. 

Once again, Chairman Menendez, thank you for holding this important hearing 

and for giving me the opportunity to testify before the Committee. I welcome any 

questions you may have. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF PATRICK J. FOYE 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY

DECEMBER 20, 2012 

Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member DeMint, Senator Schumer, and Members 

of the Committee, thank you for holding this important hearing. 

I am Pat Foye, Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New 

Jersey. 

Chairman Menendez and Senator Schumer, on behalf of the Port Authority of 

New York and New Jersey, I thank you both for your ongoing support of the Port 

Authority and for the people of our region. 

I also want to thank Governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie 

of New Jersey for their strong leadership before, during and after Superstorm 

Sandy. 

For those unfamiliar with our agency, the Port Authority operates what is arguably the most important multi-mode transportation network in the world. 

Our transportation assets feature: 

• the busiest airport system in the country, including JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports; 

• four interstate bridges, among them the George Washington Bridge, which is 

the busiest vehicular crossing in the world; 

• the Holland and Lincoln tunnels that link New York and New Jersey; 

• the Nation’s busiest bus terminal, located in Midtown Manhattan; 

• the largest port complex on the East Coast; and 

• the bi-State commuter rail system known as PATH. 
33 

Annually, about 77 million riders take PATH, and those who rely on it will tell 

you it is an indispensable part of their lives. While our network is just over 13 miles 

long, it serves a vital link in the region, carrying passengers under the Hudson between New Jersey and New York. It is an essential artery in a region representing 

more than $1 trillion in economic output; fully 11 percent of our entire Nation’s 

GDP. 

Of all our transportation facilities, PATH suffered the most severe blow in 

Superstorm Sandy. We took every step we could to prepare for the storm, but despite our preparations, this critical interstate link between New Jersey and New 

York, was completely devastated by the historic storm surge and flooding that 

reached over two feet above the prior 100-year flood level in Lower Manhattan. 

The storm surge breached and blasted through our passenger stations and the 

PATH tunnels, which are ancient by many of today’s mass transit standards, having 

been built at the turn of the last century more than 100 years ago. 

The PATH network is dense and closely contained with complex tunnels interlocking underneath the Hudson. The tunnels, along with the box-like structures 

called caissons connecting the tunnels, contained racks upon racks of critical and 

decades-old signal, switching, and communications equipment that were flooded in 

a deluge of corrosive seawater during Sandy. 

The waters damaged the signals, switching, communications, and other wayside 

equipment lining the tracks. Perhaps most visibly to the public, our stations themselves experienced tsunami-like conditions. Our historic Hoboken Station, one of the 

busiest in our system, was flooded as an enclosed elevator shaft was crushed by the 

strength of the floodwaters, sending millions of gallons pouring into the station. 

In many of our stations, practically every wire, every circuit, every last bit of infrastructure that existed below ground was damaged, destroyed or otherwise in need 

of attention and repair. To compound the problem, many of the parts that Sandy 

destroyed are no longer manufactured because of their age and obsolescence. It has 

been like trying to find replacement parts for an entire fleet of Edsels in the 21st 

century. 

Thanks to the heroic efforts of our staff and many others who came to help them, 

we commenced partial service restoration of the system on November 6, re-establishing service between Journal Square and 33rd Street in Manhattan. On November 12, we brought back service to Newark. 

With continued round-the-clock efforts, on November 26, PATH resumed service 

to the World Trade Center and Exchange Place stations. And finally I am proud to 

say that [just yesterday], I joined PATH employees for the inaugural run of restored 

Hoboken service. With that, we have restored at least limited service to all of the 

stations in our network. 

We learned during the storm that the ingenuity and dedication of our public servants is unrivaled. In the first days after the storm, one of our workers, Tom O’Neill, 

risked his own life to jump into several feet of murky floodwaters in a PATH tunnel 

to restart a pump by hand, thus preventing further flood damage. O’Neill, in his 

own words, ‘‘was just doing his job,’’ and it is that attitude, that fortitude of all of 

our PATH employees, that continues to bring us back. 

We could not have come this far on our own. Companies and factories from all 

over the country have helped in our recovery. In Pearl, Mississippi the employees 

at Trilogy Communications worked day and night, on a weekend no less, to prepare 

3,200 pounds of replacement specialized communications cable for our tunnels leading to the World Trade Center. 

Invensys Rail, based in Louisville, Kentucky, manufactured a replacement microprocessor for our destroyed caissons in Hoboken in record time: The process normally takes 6–9 months, but at our request, Invensys worked 24/7 to deliver the 

microprocessor in just 6 weeks. But with PATH still operating at less than full 

strength, and on partial schedules, and as NJ Transit continues its own efforts to 

restore full service, commutes are still badly disrupted. 

What normally was a 45-minute ride home for many has now doubled in length— 

or worse, as commuters displaced from PATH seek alternative transit, bus or ferry 

service. Those with late evening shifts are still bearing the burden of limited service, having to rely on late night buses to make their way home. 

We continue to rebuild and repair across our network, but as is the case for the 

States of New York and New Jersey, the Port Authority will need the Federal Government’s help. 

Simply, we are not at full strength and we have endured hundreds of millions of 

dollars of damage. Old electric substations have been patched together with cannibalized parts. Parts of our network are operating on so-called ‘‘manual block,’’ 

with personnel communicating by radio to mark trains passing stations while our 

signaling systems are still under repair. 
34 

To bring our system back will require hundreds of millions of dollars. This will 

go immediately into signal system repairs, electric substation repairs, track-work, 

and communications systems, and the rehab of rolling stock that was partially submerged in salt water. We are still tallying the damage, but we now estimate that 

the costs to fully repair and restore the PATH system may total over $700 million 

dollars—more than $400 million than what we originally estimated to repair our 

system. 

It is also critical that we invest in mitigation measures to protect our system from 

future storms so that we do not find ourselves in the same situation just a few years 

from now. This will include projects such as elevating portions of our track, elevating critical substations, and strengthening critical caisson rooms within our tunnels beneath the Hudson River. These mitigation measures will come at significant 

cost, but without them, as we have learned over the last 2 months, the costs are 

even higher. 

Some of you know that the Port Authority receives no taxpayer money from either 

New York or New Jersey. We rely exclusively on user fees—the fares our passengers 

pay, and rents and other fees—all revenue streams that have their limitations. We 

are still assessing the exact costs of repair and recovery, but our needs are significant. 

I urge Congress to act as soon as possible in approving recovery funding for the 

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut region. The final costs no doubt will be 

high, but the costs—should we fail to make necessary repairs and investments—are 

unfathomable in terms of the cost of lost productivity, a fractured transportation 

network, and the economic output that it powers. 

Thank you for your help, and for inviting me to speak today.