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Hurricane Ida tore through Queens in September 2021, flooding thousands of basements.
By Forum Staff
Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday announced that Meng’s bill seeking to help combat flooding in Queens has been signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The measure, which follows unprecedented flooding that Queens experienced from Hurricane Ida as well as flooding from other storms, authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers – in working with the City of New York – to spend nearly $120 million on upgrading environmental infrastructure in the borough. These include projects to help improve water and wastewater infrastructure, storm water management, and combined sewer overflows.
The legislation was signed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which is Congress’ annual defense spending bill. It was signed after passing the House and Senate last month.
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“Addressing this problem has got to be a top priority, and the signing of my legislation into law brings us one step closer toward developing solutions and upgrading the infrastructure we need,” Rep. Meng said.
“Hurricane Ida devastated communities across New York, and Queens in particular suffered immense damage to its roads, businesses and homes, and lives were tragically lost,” Schumer said. “I visited Queens after the storm with Rep. Meng and we worked together to deliver this valuable federal support to improve flood protection and upgrade our water and sewer systems. Now, we are another important step closer to improving water infrastructure and management to help combat future flooding.”
Meng’s legislation allows the Army Corps to spend the money to address the problem of flooding, and now that the measure has been enacted, Congress must allocate the funding for it so that the Corps can move forward with needed improvements.
“During Hurricane Ida in September 2021, severe flooding wreaked havoc on Queens, hitting my congressional district especially hard,” Meng said. “Lives were lost and homes and property sustained extensive damage. In addition, our borough was impacted further over the past year by heavy rainfall that caused additional flooding in our communities. Addressing this problem has got to be a top priority, and the signing of my legislation into law brings us one step closer toward developing solutions and upgrading the infrastructure we need.”
