NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The Small Business Administration is known mostly as the organization that gives loans to entrepreneurs looking to start businesses, but when a disaster is declared, the agency does a lot more.

“When a disaster is declared, SBA is the primary source of federal assistance for owners of private property, which would be homeowners, renters, businesses of any size, as well as most private nonprofit organizations,” said SBA spokesman Mark Randle.

1010 WINS’ Gene Michaels reports

As 1010 WINS’ Gene Michaels reported, Randle hopes homeowners and renters who suffered damage during Superstorm Sandy and registered with the Federal Emergency Management Administration have not thrown away the applications that came in the mail from the SBA.

“SBA provides loans, and so far, we have approved over $73 million in New York state to help disaster victims,” Randle said.

More than $67 million of those funds went to homeowners and renters, he said.

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