Kaminsky Questions NYS Homeland Security Comm. on Island Park Flooding

Today, Senator Kaminsky questioned New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (“DHSES”) Commissioner John Melville on the progress of flood mitigation efforts in Island Park after superstorm Sandy.

“It is disgraceful that four years after superstorm Sandy, a drizzle can still flood Island Park,” said Senator Todd Kaminsky after the hearing. “We have had standing water so bad that parents had to hand their children to firefighters through car windows. These bureaucratic delays are threatening the safety of Long Islanders, and we need to end them.”

Senator Kaminsky also urged agency representatives to meet with residents of Island Park and other areas vulnerable to flooding to explain the delay.

DHSES currently administers a $40 million grant awarded to the Village of Island Park, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (“HMGP”). The purpose of the HMGP funding is to help communities implement hazard mitigation measures following major disasters.

Senator Kaminsky has been a longstanding champion for victims of superstorm Sandy. As an Assemblyman, he pioneered legislation to provide oversight and accountability to the NY Rising program, successfully passed a bill that gave property tax relief to homeowners rebuilding damaged homes, and introduced legislation to reduce taxes for victims forced to use retirement savings to fix damage from the storm.