The National Insurance Crime Bureau said progress is being made in identifying and 
removing thousands of vehicles damaged beyond repair by Sandy. The estimate of 
230,000 insurance claims for vehicle damage in the areas affected by Sandy 
remains unchanged at this time.

 Many of those vehicles were flooded and are 
being towed to holding areas where they will be loaded on car haulers and taken 
to facilities to be crushed.

 Last week, representative from NCIB visited holding areas in Brooklyn where more than 
7,000 new vehicles awaiting delivery to dealerships had been parked when Sandy 
flooded the area with more than three feet of water. All but 800 cars had been 
removed. The vehicles suffered extensive damage as the wind and water shoved 
them into each other and flooded their electronic systems, damaging them beyond 
repair.
"New York City Police and the other law enforcement agencies around the area 
were understandably focusing on other emergencies and disaster efforts 
initially," said NICB New York Region Operations Director Thomas Lohmann. 

"Now 
they have begun to address the issue of dealing with thousands of flooded and 
damaged vehicles, and they are doing an outstanding job of getting these 
vehicles towed to holding areas where they can be identified and accounted for 
prior to being scrapped. They are also going after towing companies that have 
taken cars off the street without permission, and are submitting outrageous 
towing and storage bills to insurance companies," he said. By Joseph Szczesny