Storm over Sandy Storm Money

Back on 19 August 2013, this blog weighed in on the entitlement mentality vis-à-vis victims of Superstorm Sandy and the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA).  Included in the blogpost was mention of "the broader issue of the government throwing out so many dollars with so few strings attached, and then wondering why so many people are defrauding it."

Well now, FEMA seeks recoupment of funds improperly paid (which means, in addition to outright willful fraud, duplicated funds paid to the extent that private insurance policies also gave coverage).

Included in the 19 August 2013 blogpost was mention of "the broader issue of the government throwing out so many dollars with so few strings attached, and then wondering why so many people are defrauding it."

I applaud FEMA's purported efforts at recoupment, but FEMA is still encouraging affected homeowners to file claims.  My only qualm is the effective usurious interest rate FEMA intends to slap on the affected payees.  There is a mixed message here. 

Removed as I now am geographically, economically, and socially from the situation (other than having some former clients who were affected), I do not now attempt to prognosticate the success or failure of FEMA's declared recoupment program.  However, one can easily see political officeholders at various levels trying to call off FEMA on that one; nor would I rule out a race-based distinction in enforcement efforts, brought about at the behest of the White House.

Sandy Victims Victimizing the Public

We had some damage from fallen trees and wind and the like from Superstorm Sandy.  I say "Superstorm" because Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York's duly elected Chief Executive, declared that because Sandy had weakened to the level of a tropical storm before it made landfall, it was not an official hurricane and the insurance companies could not treat it as such.

Following the storm, Long Island and other storm-hit areas of the country were invaded by various itinerant insurance adjusters, building contractors (or, for that matter, demolition contractors), utility workers, and other opportunistic enterprisers who, to their credit, were, for the most part, actually ready, willing and able to bust their baytzim for long hours to earn a living, and who temporarily augmented the resident cadres of such laborers.

A group of men whose ability to wield their chainsaws was far greater than their ability to speak English hooked up with my backyard neighbor, who walked around the block to knock at my door to implore me to give the impromptu work crew access to my back yard so that they could completely and safely (relatively speaking) remove the tree that I had not until then realized had fallen into my yard.

No Problem!  And while they were here, would they be able to remove the heavy 40-foot tree that had fallen onto my wife's car?  With my neighbor aiding in bridging the gap between Inglés y Español, we agreed on the dinero and about 45 minutes later, my wife's care was relieved of the weight of one large Douglas Fir tree, and my wallet relieved of the burden of carrying around three hundred dollars.  They carted away the branches and logs in the deal, so I really couldn't complain.  The matters of removing the stump, replacing the shingles on the roof and the gutters, and removing some other trees which fell down without damaging anything more than other trees and bushes had yet to be attended to.

The insurance adjusters arrived at my house.  I use the plural because the damage to the car was covered by our automobile policy with one insurance carrier, and the trees and house were covered by our homeowner's policy with another carrier.  My wife had intended to keep her car until it hit 100,000 miles, but, with the big dents (and, as it turned out, frame damage), she added the insurance proceeds to the trade-in at 78,000 miles and got herself a new car.

As for the homeowner's policy, I showed the adjuster what happened.  He asked if there was any food spoilage from the power outage.  I told him that as the storm was approaching Florida, I took the precautions of adding lots of ice packs, and we did not open the freezer during our almost 2 days without power, so none of the food in our freezer went bad.

The adjuster told us that we probably could get away with declaring $200 - $300 of food spoilage.  I told him that we were declaring zero, because that is what our food spoilage was.

Understand that I am no great fan of the insurance companies, but for $300 I have no intention of letting my good name go bad.  I am now litigating a case worth far, far more than the $300 phantom food spoil, and have been engaged to write a legal memo for another attorney in another matter which will probably get me about $500, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the millions at stake in that litigation (and there may be some criminal prosecutions coming out of that one as well).  How did I get those cases?  The first one is from a long-time client who trusts me.  The second was on account of a recommendation from another attorney with whom I have not spoken in almost 10 years (I'll have to give him a call and thank him once I collect my fee, which should be in the next week or two).

It all comes down to my good name and reputation!

Superstorm Sandy did highlight some very positive qualities in lots of people.  People who were willing to work, people who were out there helping those in need, people who were more concerned for their good names and reputations than in making a few dirty dollars.

Unfortunately, not everyone gave due deference to the public weal.  Caterina Curatolo, who owned two houses in Queens which she did not see fit to properly keep up, and which were relatively unaffected by Superstorm Sandy, allegedly posed as a homeless storm victim and sponged hotel housing and debit cards, living the good life.   Turns out that Queens Beep Helen Marshall had named Caterina as a distinguished Queens resident back in 2004.

My record for predicting criminal sentences will not get me a job in London's High Street betting parlors any time soon, and my contact in the New York Attorney General's office is, as usual, limiting her remarks to those set forth in the official press releases.  Whether Caterina does or does not get any jail time will be left to the bookies in Queens, London, and everywhere in between.  I do believe, however, that I can safely predict that Caterina will be liquidating one or both of the homes she owns in order to pay her legal expenses.

But then, there is the broader issue of the government throwing out so many dollars with so few strings attached, and then wondering why so many people are defrauding it.

Experience Keeps a Dear School

I have not (yet) accessed an actual copy of Poor Richard's Almanack, published by Benjamin Franklin, but one of the many famous aphorisms from Franklin's annual tomes goes to the effect that "Experience keeps a dear school, but a fool will learn in no other."

But for all of the fools who pay the high tuition fees to learn in the School of Experience, there are always some who don't learn the lessons.

Such as the shmucks at New Jersey Transit.

Despite multiple emphatic predictions from the various weather wonks (plural), the NJT folks insisted on parking their rail equipment (commonly known as "trains") in the Meadowlands yard at Kearny to wait out Hurricane Sandy.  And so, all of those brand new locomotives and rail cars got soaked with the filthy saline solution constituting the storm surge.

This in and of itself is not remarkable.  But the Long Island Railroad and the Metro North Railroad did take the weather predictions seriously, and did move their equipment away from the low-lying areas.

And over at the other end of the NJT, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority actually did learn from its expensive lesson last year with Hurricane Irene.  For those who are unfamiliar, assuming that the rails are not flooded out and that the equipment is in fact running, one can, as I have done on a few occasions, ride NJT from New York to Trenton and then catch a SEPTA train from Trenton to Philadelphia, and vice-versa.  Some SEPTA rail cars parked at the Trenton station during Hurricane Irene got soaked when the Assunpink Creek, which flows by the tracks at the Trenton station, overflowed.

[It is parenthetically noted that much of the railroad right of way between Trenton and Princeton Junction is in low-lying flood-prone territory, and indeed, I have over the years been delayed on more than one Washington to New York Amtrak train on account of the surfeit of hydrogen hydroxide on and around the rails.].  Ironically, when Hurricane Irene hit last year, it was NJT that moved its cars from Trenton.

This year, the SEPTA people were determined to not make the same mistake, and moved their equipment before Sandy came.

Given the enormity of the storm, I would give the LIRR a B-minus in its performance during Hurricane Sandy, a tremendous improvement over their D-minus to F grades which have been typical over the years.  LIRR thought about recovery.  LIRR did not have any significantly damaged equipment on account of Sandy.  And LIRR has recovered as best it can; the tunnels under the East River are the property of Amtrak, upon whom LIRR must unfortunately depend for tunnel maintenance and accessibility.  Is this just a fluke, or is LIRR really beginning to understand the lessons which are part of the curriculum of the School of Experience? 

Hurricane Sandy's Nonphysical Damage

Various prior postings to this blog have mentioned the technophobia of the various insular religious rabbinical authorities, who have at various times banned internet access in the home, text messaging, social media such as Facebook, et cetera.  And incidents of rejection or expulsion of students from private religious schools on account of having an internet connection in the home, an e-mail account and/or a Facebook or Twitter presence, or a cell phone have been legion.

I could not agree more that the internet poses some significant major league moral and ethical obstacles to society.  But the internet also provides significant advantages and efficiencies in the communication of valid and useful information.

Many insular Jewish religious communities were devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  And it turns out that many individuals who nominally are members of those afflicted insular Jewish religious communities have made use (and continue to make use) of one or more of the banned evil technologies in order to, quite literally, weather the storm and its aftermath.  For some, the use of those evil prohibited technologies have no doubt made the difference between life and death.

Yes, the insular religious rabbinical authorities can continue to deny that the new electronic technologies are of any good to their constituencies.  But due to the recent and ongoing Hurricane Sandy experience, those denials can no longer command much credibility by the rabbis' followerships.  

Oiling the Machinery for New York Disaster Relief

   

My politics are not consonant with those of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (nor, for that matter, with those of his father, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo).  Nevertheless, I applaud him for his willingness to cut some slack on the tax angle in order to facilitate the disaster relief required in New York. 

Andy Cuomo is providing a commodity that has long been scarce in the Executive Chamber in Albany -- Leadership.  He has (through what surely were direct orders to his underlings):

            *  Postponed filing and payment deadlines for taxpayers affected by Hurricane Sandy, including special provisions for employers' tax filing and payment of withholding taxes.

            *  Waived the Highway Use Tax and Fuel Use Tax for trucks carrying disaster relief supplies or equipment.

            *  Simplified the paperwork requirements normally required to the import of motor fuel into New York State.

            But I will be quick to observe that the measures imposed by Andy's administration effectively amount to an admission that (A) the government's paperwork burdens stifle economic efficiency; and (B) higher tax burdens likewise stifle economic efficiency.

New York City's Endurance

Though running is my physical workout mode of  primary choice, I have never had occasion or desire to run in a marathon (though several years ago I did do a solo run of 30 miles in what was initially intended as a 4-mile excursion).  It has been a number of years since I have run competitively, mostly in the 5 - 10 km range.  It nevertheless pleases me that there are many organized marathons.

The New York City Marathon is a very worthwhile event.  It is good for the economic and physical health of the population, notwithstanding the significant but temporary transportation irregularities from road closures.  Having stated this, I unequivocally endorse the decision to completely cancel the 2012 running of the New York City Marathon.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg had initially asserted that, notwithstanding the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Sandy, the 2012 Marathon would go forward.  Bloomie cited the decision of his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani, to hold the 2001 Marathon notwithstanding the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.  But the two situations are inapposite for several reasons:

A.  In 2001, the only people who could not return to their homes (temporarily or permanently) were those who lived in the vicinity of the World Trade Center, at the lower tip of Manhattan.  The 2012 hurricane has displaced people -- many more in total than were displaced from Lower Manhattan in 2001 --  in geographically diverse New York City neighborhoods.  I will venture to conservatively estimate that in excess of 80% of the population of New York City and Long Island has at least one friend who has been made homeless by Hurricane Sandy (and though my home incurred but minor damage, my wife and I know at least two homeless co-workers or colleagues).

  Many services -- transportation, electric power, gas and water utilities, gasoline for automobiles -- are simply unavailable to many New Yorkers (and, for that matter, many on Long Island and in other suburbs).

Expending resources for the Marathon -- including electrical generators which could be used to power the darkened homes of many New Yorkers -- is not in the City's best interests.  And running the Marathon on its route through several afflicted neighborhoods only adds insult to the injury incurred by the residents.

B.  Many of the 100,000 + entrants in the New York City Marathon are from out of town, and therefore ensconce themselves in New York City hotels for the event.   Under normal circumstances, this would be good for the economics of the city.  But, unlike the statutes and ordinances enacted by the New York City Council, the New York State Legislature or the United States Congress, the laws of supply and demand, like the laws of gravity, are inviolate.  If large numbers of out-of-towners bed down in New York City's hotels, then the cost of shelter for those displaced by Sandy cannot help but rise. 

C.  [This is the reason which the Main Stream Media will not report (and will take affirmative measures to censor from its content)]:  In 2001, there was a need to show the Muslim world that their attack on New York City did not break the New Yorkers' spirits.  Running the 2001 New York City Marathon was an important element of that.

And to those of you sob sisters who sing the "Not All Muslims Are Terrorists" song, I will reiterate that in 2001, there was a need to show the Muslim world that their attack on New York City did not break the New Yorkers' spirits.  Muslims in America, particularly the Muslim youth, needed to see that New York City was not a vanquished loser, that New York City had a fighting survival spirit, and that there were viable alternatives to Islamic terrorism available for them.  It is because of these alternatives that not all Muslims in America are terrorists.  And the alternatives had to be demonstrated definitively and expeditiously.  Running the 2001 New York City Marathon did just that.

For Hurricane Sandy, the Islamic terrorist factor does not present itself -- at least not in the same manner as it did in 2001.

Mayor Bloomberg  realizes that he called this one wrong, and he accordingly reversed himself.  But then again, Bloomie has been calling many things wrong of late.