Governor Andrew Cuomo’s New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program could bring roughly $100 million to help southern Queens rebuild bigger and better after Sandy.
Rockaway is set to receive $60 million, $13 million for Broad Channel and $20 million for Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach for “protection funding,” said Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder.
However, through this unique program, community leaders, experts and officials in each neighborhood will form committees to determine just how the rebuilding will pan out.
“New York’s effort to build back better must be a two-pronged approach,” Cuomo said, “with the state not only leading critical infrastructure and broad investment strategies but also providing localities the resources they need to invest in their own future.”
Goldfeder said community members know their community better than anybody else and there is “no such thing as a bad idea when it comes to storm mitigation.”
“If you allow the community to have a voice, you can get things done but ensure that it’s in line with what the community desires,” he said.
Committees are still being finalized in each individual area, but the state would like to receive rebuilding proposals within eight months.
“Arguably you could see shovels in the ground within a year,” Goldfeder said.
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