It was Ms. Doe who started the relief program after the storm. So far, she said, about half a million dollars’ worth of food, diapers and other items donated by people and organizations from as far away as Japan and Norway have been distributed, while doctors and other health care workers have provided free medical care.

But just before Christmas, Ms. Doe said, officials from the New York City Housing Authority, which owns the building, told her to stop the relief efforts before the end of the year so that the center could be cleaned, and turn over supplies to city-run relief operations.

In an e-mailed statement housing authority officials said that their agency and the Department of Youth and Community Development, which contracted with Ms. Doe’s group to run the after-school programs, wanted academic and community services to resume.

“We need to inspect the center in order to begin necessary cleanup and remediation work so that we can transition the facility back to a community center space,” the officials wrote, adding that on Monday they planned to meet with people from the center “to discuss the cleaning process and next steps in restoring services.”