The Office of Resilient Homes and Communities (RHC) strives to address communities’ most urgent needs, while also encouraging the identification of innovative and enduring solutions to strengthen the State’s infrastructure and critical systems.

Superstorm Sandy hit New York in October 2012, bringing record-breaking high winds, heavy rain, and significant flooding that damaged tens of thousands of homes and killed dozens of New Yorkers. Hurricane Irene hit New York in August 2011, followed by Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011, causing severe flooding and storm-related damage across the state.

In June 2013, following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and Superstorm Sandy, Former Governor Andrew Cuomo set out to centralize recovery and rebuilding efforts in impacted areas of New York State. The Governor's Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) was established as a temporary agency to coordinate statewide recovery efforts. GOSR invested in housing recovery, small businesses, community reconstruction, and infrastructure programs to address immediate rebuilding needs while facilitating long-term resiliency planning.

In October 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the creation of a permanent Office of Resilient Homes and Communities (RHC), which assumed GOSR's portfolio. RHC now serves as the lead principal office responsible for the administration of New York State’s climate change adaptation and storm recovery initiatives.

The office utilizes approximately $4.4 billion in flexible funding made available by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program to concentrate aid to four main areas. Paired with additional federal and state funding sources, RHC programs are enabling homeowners, small businesses and entire communities to build back even better and resilient. And in a State already known for its great resiliency and can-do spirit, the efforts are paving the way for a tremendous comeback– one that will reinvigorate New York and better prepare it for future extreme weather events that come its way.