Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Thursday from hard-hit Long Beach on Long Island that the American Red Cross has pledged an additional $6 million to storm victims.
That’s on top of the $308 million it raised previously for Sandy relief.
“It really was a collegial effort. We would help them improve their transparency, improve their disclosure. We now all understand exactly what the money is going for. They are working to correct some problems and go back and review cases where people might have been denied relief that maybe should have gotten it,” Schneiderman said.
“The needs of Sandy survivors remain significant, and the Red Cross has agreed to step up and commit additional funds to address these unmet needs,” Red Cross president and CEO Gail McGovern said in a statement.
Three other charities have agreed to a timetable for spending money still sitting in the bank as the storm’s anniversary approaches.
They are the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church; Kids in Distressed Situations; and the Brees Dream Foundation, which was established by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
The charities will hand out nearly $10 million combined to help those affected by Sandy.
“In the case of some of the smaller ones, some of them just popped up and they lacked experience, they weren’t sure where to spend the money or how to spend the money,” Schneiderman said. “Some of them were holding money back because they wanted to use some of it for overhead.”