Comptroller extends ’07 flooding legal deadline

Flooding victims from three summer storms last year can still file legal action with the city thanks to a deadline extension from Comptroller William Thompson’s Office.
“It was important to extend the deadline for another six months to give us the chance to try to come up with solutions for the residents for the city particularly in Queens and Staten Island that was a little more equitable and fairer to them,” Thompson said.
After each of three storms, which occurred on April 15, July 17-18 and August 8 of last year, the number of claims submitted to Thompson’s office increased significantly from 64 claims requesting about $1.3 million for the first storm to 888 claims for more than $16.4 million from the August storm. Meanwhile, Queens took the brunt of the August deluge with more than 800 of the claims coming from the borough.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determined that the damage from the storms qualified the residents for federal funds, but the Comptroller’s Office couldn’t process the requests until the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) submitted its findings. DEP’s recommendations specified that the city was not responsible for the findings.
“I subsequently met with DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd and notified her that we must look to the future, so that the city’s infrastructure is equipped to handle substantial storms, and New Yorkers know that the city is accountable and responsive,” Thompson said.
The six-month filing extension expanded the typical one year and 90 day limit claimants have until filing legal action against the city.
City Councilmember Leroy Comrie, who represents areas in southeast Queens that were devastated by the flooding, praised the Comptroller’s efforts, but he didn’t think enough was being done to prevent future disasters.
“No, absolutely not,” Comrie said. “We need to have a major effort to work on gaining federal funding to keep improving our infrastructure.”
In addition to federal funding, Comrie said that both the city and state must increase their efforts to address the infrastructure issues both in the short and long-term to prevent widespread damage after storms.
“DEP cannot self sufficiently maintain or keep up with the levels of repairs needed to get the system where it needs to be,” Comrie said, noting that residents could not afford to see funding slashed from the DEP that would only hamper its progress.