More than half of the active applicants to the city's Build it Back recovery program have been helped so far, according to the figures released Thursday, a week before Sandy's third anniversary.

Build it Back was designed to provide long-term repairs to homes damaged by Sandy, but by the end of the first 10 months no households had been helped in the program. Waterfront communities were frustrated and numerous applicants dropped out. Now just 9,300 of the original 20,000 registrants remain.

The turnaround suggests that several reforms undertaken shortly after Mayor Bill de Blasio took office are working. The city made it easier to process reimbursement checks (which is easier and faster than arranging for repairs) and also increased the number of contractors working on homes.

According to officials:

• About 61 percent of the active households have either received a check for repair reimbursement or have had city contractors begin work on their homes, or both;
• Construction has begun on 1,837 homes out of 6,209 cases deemed eligible for repairs or reconstruction;
• Some 5,272 reimbursements have been sent out, representing nearly all households expecting checks.