Senator Flanagan Joins With Governor Cuomo To Announce New York State Aid For Counties Response And Recovery

Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) joined with his colleagues in state government and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to announce that New York State will provide the funding to cover the local share of disaster response and recovery costs resulting from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) usually covers 75% of eligible disaster response and recovery costs, and the remaining 25% is typically shared equally by the state and localities.  Last week, the Governor announced that the state will make $61 million available to 25 counties to cover costs associated with emergency shelter, road, water system and infrastructure repair, stream and riverbed mitigation, and other clean-up projects. 

This state funding will provide an additional $8.5 million to Nassau and Suffolk counties.  The state is able to cover the local share of costs through funding put in place by the Legislature and additional federal funds requested by the Governor. 

Long Island counties receiving funds include: 

County                 Estimated Cost of Recovery Projects                Local Share (to be covered by state) 

Suffolk                           $36,011,959                                                      $4,501,495 

Nassau                          $32,192,431                                                       $4,024,054 

Total                              $68,204,390                                                      $8,525,549

Senator John Flanagan said, "Storm preparation and recovery are costly undertakings for local governments and it is important that New York State assist in relieving the burden these important efforts can place on taxpayers.  Long Island leaders and our region’s first responders were proactive in doing what was needed to provide our residents with a greater sense of comfort and this state funding will help ensure that they will be able to continue to do so if needed in the future."

"New Yorkers were the first to lend a hand to help their neighbors in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, and by covering the local share of recovery costs the state is now lending a helping hand to localities," Governor Cuomo said.  "Covering these costs will be a major shot in the arm for local governments and will allow existing rebuilding and recovery projects to move forward as quickly as possible."

Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos said, "At a time when municipalities were already cash-strapped, last year's storms compounded this dire financial situation by causing devastating damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure.  I applaud the Governor for responding to the concerns of local governments by picking up the local share of flood relief so the focus can continue to be on regaining lost jobs and rebuilding communities."

Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee caused widespread destruction across New York late last summer, marking one of the largest disasters in the state's history.  The total storm recovery cleanup cost is expected to exceed $1.6 billion and involve approximately 15,000 separate response and recovery projects.