Almost two years after being badly damaged and needing to beevacuated after Superstorm Sandy, NYU Langone Medical Center willreceive $1.13 billion in recovery aid, reportsThe New York Times. The aid will be used to restoredamaged buildings and better protect the medical center from futureflooding disasters.

The center, which is located by New York's East River, willinstall interior flood doors and barriers, as well as reinforcedwalls, seals, and pumps to protect it from flooding, says theTimes. When Sandy made landfall, the river filled themedical center basement, knocking out power and forcing doctors,nurses, and emergency workers to carry patients down darkenedstairwells to evacuate the center.

According to the Times, Senator Chuck Schumer says thenew system of payment was put into the $50 billion Hurricane Sandyrelief bill to give institutions the confidence not to skimp onneeded repairs.

This is the second-largest award for a single project in thehistory of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMAspokesperson Dan Watson told the Times the largest awardwas $1.17 billion for the Recovery School District in the aftermathof Hurricane Katrina.

The Langone Center will receive the payment in a lump sum inadvance, rather than bit by bit as repairs are made and receiptsare submitted, says the Times.

Read more from Anemona Hartocollis at The New York TimesHERE.