The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) announced on September 30 that the city has met the federal threshold for public assistance and will seek a major disaster declaration after the two tornadoes and a macroburst caused millions of dollars in damages in Brooklyn and Queens on September 16.
“We’re taking the next step in recovery by asking the federal government to declare major disasters in Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island and help us pay for the damage caused to our public infrastructure,” said OEM Commissioner Joseph Bruno. “We have made significant progress. Every single report we have received about trees on homes, cars or roadways has been addressed.”
The next steps in the recovery process are to remove and chip fallen trees and hanging limbs, remove all access debris from roads and parks and to repair the approximate 1,200 cases of significant sidewalk damage, a task the Department of Design and Construction (DDC) continues to address already issuing 280 work orders.
“Our work has not let up since the storm touched down two week ago,” said Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. “More than 70 DOT crews have worked to clear and repair our road and we will continue to bring resources to rebuild our streets and sidewalks until the job is done.”
A preliminary assessment of Queens by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has shown $17 million in damages to public infrastructure. Queens County, Kings County and Richmond County have all become eligible to apply for public assistance. On October 2, Congressmembers Joseph Crowley, Anthony Weiner and Michael McMahon sent a letter to President Barack Obama strongly supporting Governor David Paterson’s recent request for a declaration of a federal disaster in New York.
“The devastating storms that hit our city last month not only caused millions of dollars in damages, but also placed an incredible burden on the city, as well as residents and business owners. This declaration is critical to helping our communities rebuild, restore and recover,” said Crowley.
The letter urges the President to include individual assistance relief from FEMA for homeowners, renters and businesses that sustained damage during the storm. So far, FEMA has not yet determined if New York City has met the criteria for individual assistance.
For those that still need to remove trees or dangerous limbs from their property, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has provided the names and phone numbers of approved private contractors on their homepage, www.nyc.gov/parks. Homeowners will be responsible for paying the bill and may apply for reimbursement from the Comptroller’s Office by visiting www.comptroller.nyc.gov. To sign up for free emergency alerts in New York City, visit www.nyc.gov/notifynyc.
