Forum Photo by Patricia Adams
A year ago, Hurricane Ida caused hundreds of millions of dllars damage across The World’s Borough.
By Michael V. Cusenza
A year after Hurricane Ida tore through Queens, killing 11 residents and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the borough, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the release of the proposed Action Plan by the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery to recover from Hurricane Ida and to strengthen the resiliency of communities in future storm events.
The proposed plan includes $41.2 million in federal funding to support initiatives that will help residents adapt to the effects of climate change while prioritizing historically underserved communities, Hochul said on Monday.
The Governor also announced that the State will be collecting public input on a variety of proposed programs that will remediate Ida-related damage to residential homes, improve resiliency to reduce risk of future flood damage, and to focus on recovery in low- to moderate-income communities. New Yorkers are invited to provide feedback on the plan at https://stormrecovery.ny.gov/funding/action-plans-amendments. by September 28, by attending the in-person public hearing on September 8 at 6:30 pm at New Rochelle City Hall, or the virtual hearing on September 13 at 6:30 pm; click here for more info: https://stormrecovery.ny.gov/funding/action-plans-amendments.
Following the public comment period that is open from now through September 28, GOSR may update the Action Plan based on feedback from the comments and hearings. Any updates will be available at https://stormrecovery.ny.gov/funding/action-plans-amendments. Informed by GOSR’s grassroots, neighborhood-driven process that was used to plan projects following Superstorm Sandy, the agency will then work with local communities, elected officials, and stakeholders to formalize project plans and implement construction.
The proposed Action Plan reflects months of outreach to local officials, community leaders, non-profits, public housing authorities, and other government agencies. GOSR determined that housing recovery represented the largest unmet need in the communities impacted by Ida. The agency then prepared a risk assessment to identify the greatest mitigation needs in the disaster area. Water and flooding were found to pose the most significant risk and therefore reducing flood impacts would have the greatest impact to security and resiliency.
The agency used the Social Vulnerability Index to measure vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and natural disasters. This research showed that the communities that sustained the most damage were those that could least afford to recover and had historically been underprioritized during disaster recovery in the past, such as individuals with limited English proficiency and low-to moderate-income residents.
As a result, GOSR will make grant funding available to a variety of long-term recovery and resiliency programs targeting renters, homeowners, and owners and operators of affordable housing with a focus on low- to moderate-income residents. Programs will be open to counties outside New York City with a presidential disaster declaration for individual assistance, including Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties. New York City received its own allocation of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding from HUD.
Proposed grant programs include: Renters Resilient Housing, Housing Recovery and Reimbursement, Affordable Housing Resiliency, Resilient Investments.
“Our Action Plan will prioritize funding for housing, businesses, and other key programs in the most impacted and distressed areas—helping ensure all New Yorkers are lifted up as we recover,” Hochul said.
