Cuomo: State to cover city’s share of Sandy rebuilding

Schnirman: Long Beach was on the hook for more than $10M

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Gov. Cuomo announced on Wednesday that the state will provide funding to cover local governments’ costs to repair and rebuild infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

As part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s public assistance program, local governments and public entities are required to cover 10 percent of the costs incurred as a result of federally declared disasters. For those municipalities eligible to receive Sandy funds, excluding New York City, the total local share is more than $175 million, of which $145 million will go to Nassau and Suffolk counties. To ensure that these communities can continue with their recovery without the need to borrow funds, dip into emergency reserves, or pass the costs along to local taxpayers, Cuomo today directed that state-allocated Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Relief funds be used to cover the localities’ costs.

“After the devastating storms New York has experienced over the past few years, the state has been partnering with communities to help them recover and build back better and stronger than before,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Following storms Irene and Lee, the state stepped up to cover the costs facing local governments. Today we are pleased to announce that once again, we are going to help municipalities pay to rebuild, bolster critical infrastructure and work to revive their local economies in the process.”

The FEMA public assistance program covers immediate post-storm response needs like debris removal and emergency protective measures, and provides funds for the repair and rebuilding of publically-owned infrastructure that was damaged, including roads, schools, bridges, parks, hospitals, police stations, fire houses, water and waste water treatment facilities and other public facilities.

As a federal match program, FEMA pays for 90 percent of a project cost with the municipality paying the remaining 10 percent of the cost. This allocation of CDBG-DR funds will make up the difference and make public entities whole. For Long Beach, this means a savings of more than $10 million.

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