On June 26, students had the opportunity to meet with Morgan Jones, the senior adviser for outreach for Mayor Office of Housing Recovery in Queens. Students heard firsthand about New York City's flood recovery program Jones helped launch last year, Build It Back, in response to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Since the storm that devastated hundreds of New Yorkers last year, with 150,000 needing to find temporary housing or get immediate home repairs, Jones has worked tirelessly to help those who have been afflicted by the flood.
Sandy was the largest hurricane to be recorded over the Atlantic Ocean and wreaked damage in the greater New York City area, resulting in it becoming the second costliest storm in American history, after Katrina. Working with developers and focusing on rebuild options, Jones' Build It Back program was allocated $648 million from the $61 billion federal sandy recovery bill that Congress passed in January 2012.
"It's great to know that someone like Morgan Jones is working to help those in need," said National University of Singapore's Jenny Jiang. "What's even more outstanding is that he gathers so much support from the community and encourages them to help each other out."
