Congressmember Joseph Crowley, Anthony Weiner and Michael McMahon along with Borough President Helen Marshall have expressed their gratitude to President Obama for his administration’s decision to provide federal funds for the massive clean-up operation following two tornados and a macroburst that leveled parts of Queens. The city and state will be reimbursed 75 percent of the clean-up costs that have been reportedly totaled at over $27 million.
“Downed trees and power lines, uprooted sidewalks, destroyed vehicles, damaged buildings and hundreds of tons of debris, combined to provide a major challenge for our police, fire, sanitation, parks and Office of Emergency Management (OEM) agencies in the wake of the storm. Now, the majority of the cleanup costs will be reimbursed,” said Marshall.
It was only a day after the brief, but violent storm hit New York City that elected officials were calling for Governor David Patterson to request federal assistance. While public funding has been approved, FEMA has yet to rule on whether individuals and businesses will receive disaster relief funds.
“This news comes as a great relief to New Yorkers who incurred significant damage as a result of these storms. Providing this much needed assistance to the city was the right move. We still have more work to do before the mess is finally clean, but this will help,” said Congressmember Weiner.
