Senator Zeldin Named to Bipartisan Senate Task Force for Hurricane Sandy Recovery

This week, State Senator Lee M. Zeldin (R, C, I- Shirley) was named to the New York State Senate Task Force for Hurricane Sandy Recovery.

As New York begins large-scale rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, this bipartisan Senate task force has been charged with undertaking some of the recovery’s biggest challenges.

As federal and state aid begins to materialize, task force members will play a pivotal role in developing the short and long-term plans to help bring back these communities. Each task force member represents one of New York State’s hardest hit areas and is thus uniquely qualified to pinpoint those neighborhoods and businesses most in need.

Other members of the task force include co-chairs Senator Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) and Senator Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) as well as Senator Diane Savino (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. (R-Merrick), Senator-Elect James Sanders, Jr. (D-Queens), Senator Jack Martins (R-Mineola), Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland), Senator Martin J. Golden (R-Brooklyn), Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Queens).

The task force, which includes members from all three Senate conferences, will tour and hold hearings in hard hit communities across the New York metropolitan region.

The Bipartisan Senate Task Force for Hurricane Sandy Recovery has three major goals:

• Identify areas most in need of recovery assistance.

• Review rebuilding and storm planning policies to remove roadblocks and ensure better storm-preparedness.

• Develop legislative solutions that will implement the forthcoming recommendations made by the NYS 2100 Commission, the NYS Respond Commission and the NYS Ready Commission – all established by Governor Cuomo in November.

“Through our efforts on this Task Force, we can help recover from the damage caused by Super Storm Sandy and best prepare for the future. Many of my constituents were greatly impacted by this devastating storm and we must now do everything in our power to help rebuild our communities throughout the NYC metropolitan area. There is an urgent need for state government, working with all other levels of government, to deliver short and long term solutions to challenges we face now and in the years and decades ahead,” said Senator Lee Zeldin.