FEMA reverses decision, recognizes late March storm as federal disaster

COURTESY CONGRESSMAN TIM BISHOP
Congressman Bishop announces FEMA’s decision to declare the March 29-30 storm a disaster, accompanied by state and local elected officials and Riverhead community members.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has overturned its previous denial of New York’s request to combine the March 29-30 storm with a previously declared storm as one disaster, according to Congressman Tim Bishop of Southampton.
The decision means that Suffolk County and municipalities, including the Town of Shelter Island, are now eligible for reimbursement of more than $6 million in direct expenses related to the March storm, according to Mr. Bishop.
“This is very good news,” Mr. Bishop said at a press conference announcing the reversal Saturday in Riverhead, where some Horton Avenue homeowners have yet to return to flood-damaged homes.
“I am delighted that Congressman Tim Bishop has been able to get FEMA to reverse its decision,” Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty said after he heard the news from the congressman on Saturday. “We will aggressively pursue reimbursement,” he added. Just under $140,000 of town funds were spent in June on private contracting and Highway Department costs to pump down ponds that flooded three Island neighborhoods. Coupled with other costs associated with clean-up from the March storms, the town could be reimbursed over $150,000, Mr. Dougherty said. The town initially filed $20,600 in claims prior to the denial of the disaster declaration.
In addition to reimbursing the local government costs, the FEMA reversal will strengthen government applications for hazard mitigation grants, which could be used to help municipalities take pre-emptive measures to mitigate future disasters, including elevating homes, filling in basements or possibly buying out homeowners in extremely impacted areas like the Horton Avenue area of Riverhead. The FEMA reversal also acts to  increase the pool of funds available to over $15 million and may assist individual’s seeking grants or loans by affirming that the storm which flooded their homes is a federally recognized disaster.
This spring, a March 13-15 storm system that hit Long Island met the qualifications for federal disaster aid, but the March 29-30 storm on its own did not. Then, a proposal to have the March 29-30 storm included as part of the same storm system as the March 13-15 was rejected, Mr. Bishop said.
“Inexplicably, the administration denied that claim, even though they had granted exactly similar claims to Connecticut and Rhode Island,” the congressman said.
Mr. Bishop said that when he learned this, his first action was to call the White House. “I said I simply could not let this decision stand.”
“Then, we pulled together every level of government” to fight it, eventually culminating in the ruling this weekend, he added. In June, Mr. Bishop met with FEMA and New York State Emergency Management Office (NY SEMO) officials in Washington, D.C. to facilitate New York’s appeal.
He announced the reversal at Riverhead Town Hall, where he was joined by Assemblyman Marc Alessi, Kristen Walsh on behalf of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Suffolk County Deputy County Executive Christopher Kent, Riverhead Town Councilmembers George Gabrielsen, Jodi Giglio and James Wooten, and Riverhead Superintendent of Highways George “Gio” Woodson.
“I am grateful FEMA has overturned its denial of the request to combine the two March storms,” Suffolk County Legislator Ed Romaine said after the announcement, thanking Governor David Paterson, Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand as well as Mr. Bishop. The declaration will open the door to grant money “while relieving local governments of significant unbudgeted expenses,” he added.
“It is important to note that every level of government has been on the same page, working for a solution,” Mr. Bishop commented in a statement to the press. “All too often, we hear about government at its worst.  This effort has been government at its best, officials at all levels working together to fight for the interests of the community,” said Congressman Bishop.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CARA LORIZ