Clouds roil over the White House in Washington on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, as Washington has less than 48 hours to avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take hold on Jan. 1. Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate were hoping to reach a deal to avoid going over the cliff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Clouds roil over the White House in Washington on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, as Washington has less than 48 hours to avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take hold on Jan. 1. Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate were hoping to reach a deal to avoid going over the cliff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer of Md., pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, where he urged House Republicans to end the pro forma session and call the House back into legislative session to negotiate a solution to the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
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President Barack Obama walks past a Marine honor guard as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returned early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, speaks to reporters about the fiscal cliff negotiations at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Hopes for avoiding the "fiscal cliff" that threatens the U.S. economy fell Friday after fighting among congressional Republicans cast doubt on whether any deal reached with President Barack Obama could win approval ahead of automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts kick in Jan. 1. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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President Barack Obama waves as he leaves the podium after speaking about the fiscal cliff in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
NYC announces $15 million mold cleanup program
NEW YORK (
AP) — New York City is beginning a $15 million program to clean up at least 2,000 homes that became contaminated with mold after they flooded during Superstorm Sandy.
The program, paid for with private donations, comes following months of desperate pleas from storm victims and advocacy groups, who said mold had become a nightmare for many homeowners in flood-ravaged parts of the city.
People enrolled in the program will be able to get their homes treated for mold at no cost by either private contractors or trained volunteers.
Money for the project is being put up by three charities: The American Red Cross, the Robin Hood Foundation and the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.
No federal, state or city tax dollars are involved. The work is being overseen by a nonprofit development company, Neighborhood Revitalization NYC, which is an affiliate of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.
The Mayor's Fund, which supports city programs with private donations, will also be running mold treatment workshops and distributing thousands of mold-remediation kits for homeowners who aren't accepted into the program.
The cost of properly removing mold from a flooded home can be substantial, and unlike other types of damage, the Federal Emergency Management Agency doesn't provide direct assistance for mold problems.
New York City and FEMA also have been operating a massive program to restore heat, hot water and power to damaged homes for free, but that federally funded program did not include mold removal.
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