Senator Golden Asks Fema to Do More for Brooklyn in Wake of Super Storm Sandy

Brooklyn- State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) has issued the following statement following his learning that the Federal Emergency Management Agency may not necessarily take into account coastal protections like dunes and sea walls when calculating flood insurance costs for residents:

"For the Federal Government to essentially tell residents, and the City, that billions of dollars in coastal improvements is irrelevant to the cost structure for flood insurance is mind boggling. How a federal agency can state that building sea walls to protect coastal communities from flooding wouldn't be a factor in lowering the price of flood insurance is the equivalent to stating that these communities should be abandoned, because no amount of protection will effectively lower their rates.

"We have seen enormous increases in flood insurance rates put forth by the Federal Government. Local municipalities, in order to prevent further major damage and loss of life, plan to put up multiple protections including sand dunes, to help stem future flooding. The Federal Government's failure to include these billion dollar projects in its estimation of the likelihood of another flood happening is disappointing at best. I call on Congressional leaders to mandate that FEMA take these into consideration so we don't price entire communities out of their homes."