New York City Teachers’ Pension Fund Pledges $1 Billion For Hurricane Sandy Relief

The New York City Teachers Retirement System is pledging $1 million in investments that go toward relief from Hurricane Sandy.

The $1 billion Hurricane Sandy pledge came through a project of the Clinton Global Initiative, The Associated Press reported. Former President Bill Clinton announced the pension fund’s investment, which will go toward repairing roads and bridges damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

Money from the pension fund will go to projects that affect transportation, power, water, communications, and housing in New York City and the surrounding region. That may include rebuilding houses destroyed by the storm, which hit New York and New Jersey the hardest, leaving neighborhoods leveled and millions without power.

The announcement of the teachers retirement system’s $1 billion pledge brought out some big players in government and education, including United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, city Comptroller John Liu and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

The funds were meant to help New York City better protect itself from rising flood waters, the group announced. It could also spur new jobs as many people will be needed to complete the construction work, Clinton added.

Damage from Hurricane Sandy reached $33 billion in New York alone, CBS News reported.

“Together the work will benefit our future not only in terms of more efficient buildings and reducing the threat of climate change, but also in the lives of teachers, construction workers, and in lowering energy costs for people all over America,” Clinton said. “This is a remarkable commitment.”

The Teachers Retirement System has assets of close to $46 billion for its 110,000 current members and 80,000 retirees.