Jon Kaiman, a special advisor to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for storm recovery on Long Island, defended the program, which has more than 10,000 applicants. To date, Kaiman said, it has distributed more than $400 million on Long Island.

“There’s thousands of people who have received checks and they’re rebuilding their homes,” Kaiman said. “We appreciate that some folks feel they aren’t getting what they think they should get, and our commitment is to get to every applicant and get them the money they’re eligible to receive. If anyone hasn’t gotten their money, it could be that they are not eligible or that we need different calculations that need to be addressed, but the vast majority of people have received tens of thousands of dollars from us.”

Last month, the state said that NY Rising had distributed more than $280 million to 6,388 homeowners for damage from Sandy and Tropical Storms Irene and Lee. Mittleman and many of the protesters, however, said that those numbers are misleading, and that residents continue to voice their frustration with the complexity of the program, its seemingly unaccountable bureaucracy and the small grant awards.

“The problem with all their numbers is that they’re skewed because they issued award letters that were absolutely incorrect — and then people had to go back and present receipts and documentation and the numbers were all reconfigured,” Mittleman said. “I think people are definitely questioning the numbers — it’s a complicated process. Originally, people were getting one award number, but it wasn’t enough for them to elevate or rebuild.”

The award letters issued in October, she said, were all “bogus,” and varied greatly from what was promised.

Many homeowners say they are being shortchanged because of NY Rising’s stringent duplication-of-benefits standards. Barnes Street residents Kevin and Kristie Reilly, whose home was more than 57 percent damaged, are relying on the program to help them elevate their home, which could cost more than $100,000. They were eligible for a $34,000 grant, Kevin said, but after their insurance payout for repair work and contents was deducted, it was reduced to just $712.