NEW YORK (AP) - New York City's novel effort to hasten home repairs after Superstorm Sandy has finished work on more than 20,000 houses and apartments.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday that the NYC Rapid Repairs program is expected to complete all its work next week.
It dispatches contractors at government expense. They install boilers, replace electrical panels and do basic work needed to make homes habitable.
The city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency call it an innovative approach. It got about 54,000 people back into their own homes in a city where temporary housing can be scarce and expensive.
Some residents and advocates said the repairs weren't rapid enough, at least in the early going.
At the program's peak, some 2,300 trades people were working on more than 200 homes a day.
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For the first time since the death under mysterious circumstances of hop music mogul Chris Lighty nine months ago, his grieving mother is breaking her silence.
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