SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE MORE THAN $2.7 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS FOR HARDENING OF SANDY-DAMAGED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, ON LONG ISLAND
Funding Will Be Used to Repair the Damaged Infrastructure of the City’s Maintenance Building
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that the City of Long Beach in Nassau County, NY, has been awarded $2,777,740.42 in federal funds for the implementation of its Hazard Mitigation Proposal. The federal funds are administered through U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The funding will be used to install back flow preventers, remove and relocate existing electrical panels, and install a flood wall, flood plank barriers, and interior slab replacement for the city’s Maintenance Building.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused significant damage to the city’s Maintenance Building, which houses three different Department of Public Works offices including the Sanitation Garage, Beach Maintenance Building and Highway Garage. Flood levels reached approximately 2 to 3 feet above the finished floor of the Maintenance Building, resulting in damage to architectural features of the building and to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems throughout the facility.
“In the continued aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, delivering federal funds such as these are crucial to repair the damages caused by the devastating storm surge and are essential to fortifying our critical infrastructure against future weather events. With these funds, the City of Long Beach’s Maintenance Building and the offices housed within will be returned to their pre-disaster function and capacity,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “These federal funds will help make the City of Long Beach whole again and make our infrastructure stronger than before, without leaving local taxpayers on the hook for these expenses.”
“There is still so much work that needs to be done for the City of Long Beach to fully recover from Hurricane Sandy and to prepare for the next big storm. This funding is an important investment that will allow the City of Long Beach to install critical protections and improve the resiliency of the city’s Maintenance Building,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “I will always work to make sure that our communities have the support they need to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.”
“The City’s maintenance building plays a vital role for daily public works operations and emergency response during extreme weather events, and it is also home to an important resource for those in need – the Long Beach Soup Kitchen,” said Long Beach Council President Anthony Eramo. “These funds will go a long way in making sure the building, its offices, and the vehicles stored there are operational during extreme weather events, so we can maintain services and aid in recovery efforts. We thank Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, not only for ensuring resources were available in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, but for helping to expedite funds since then.”
FEMA provided this funding through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), which provides grants to states and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration. The purpose of the HMGP is to reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters and to enable mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster. The HMGP is authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
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