Village wasn’t wrong on flood maps

To the Editor:

In reviewing the flier being handed out by the Citizens Independence Party, I am a little concerned that the candidates for this party do not understand how things really work. They are laying the blame for their increase in flood insurance on the village administration.

What must be realized is that the village never agreed with FEMA’s finding, and that the village had to attempt to have homeowners qualified for any type of flood insurance. This was totally out of the village’s control. We all have to remember, the homeowner is the ultimate one affected: He complains to the village, the village complains to the Town of Hempstead, the town complains to Nassau County, the county complains to New York State and the state complains to Uncle Sam. Now that is a lot of complaining and the only deciding factor here is FEMA, which is part of Uncle Sam.

There are seven different layers from top to bottom, from where the decision is made to the homeowner. If anyone thinks that the village, which is extremely low on the totem pole, as is the homeowner, has the clout to dictate or influence the federal government on what the new definition of the flood zones are to be, they must be very confused or out of their minds. Any time the federal government makes a ruling, it is very difficult to overcome.

The village has approached this issue on behalf of the residents in an orderly and professional manor via the proper channels. Unfortunately, addressing these problems does not mean you will get a satisfactory, expeditious answer, because dealing with the federal government is always drawn out and takes forever. Sen. Chuck Schumer has addressed this issue with residents, village officials and even FEMA representatives in an attempt to determine a resolution to the problem. Senator Schumer recently spoke at a meeting and officially stated that the village did everything proper and is not to blame for this FEMA mess.

Any candidate who is running for office and doesn’t understand the entire process, with its seven layers, and who is the ultimate decision maker, shouldn’t be running.

Michael Tully

Valley Stream