Interview: Brad Gair

Interview: Brad Gair on What We Can Learn from NYC’s Hurricane Sandy Recovery

November 4^th, 2022

10 years ago, Hurricane Sandy pummeled New York City and the surrounding metro area. Today, the streets have been cleared, debris hauled away, and homes rebuilt, but the time in between was difficult for many of those affected by the storm. 
 
Nearly 300 properties were destroyed, and more than 69,000 people had to relocate due to the damage caused by the massive storm. Recovery was hampered by bureaucratic delays and challenges inherent to the federal government’s recovery assistance. 

Witt O’Brien’s Senior Managing Director, Brad Gair, was head of the Office of Housing Recovery Operations for New York City after Hurricane Sandy hit. He was recently interviewed about the challenges to New York’s housing recovery, and he highlighted key areas to address for future events.  

“We did 12,000 homes in 100 days at the cost of less than $700 million. That was a real success story. Where it stumbles is what happened next.”  

To read more about New York’s Hurricane Sandy recovery and Brad Gair’s first-hand analysis, please click here.