Public Works

CORAM, NY -- Congressman Tim Bishop today blasted a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to deny New York State’s request to combine the March 29-30 storm with a previously declared storm as one disaster. Bishop called the decision "unfathomable," given that similar declarations were issued for Rhode Island and Connecticut for the same events.

"It stands to reason that two areas separated by nine miles of water, affected by the same storm system at the same time would receive the same consideration from the federal government," Bishop said. "I am dismayed that the relief Long Island deserves will be further delayed by the appeals process, or denied entirely. I urge Governor Paterson to appeal this boneheaded denial and I will do whatever I can to support that appeal."

Congressman Bishop had previously scheduled a meeting for tomorrow at 11am with officials from FEMA, the New York State Emergency Management Organization (SEMO), local residents and elected officials to discuss what aid would be available to Riverhead residents who are still suffering as a result of the March storms. He said that meeting will now focus on the appeals process. Congressman Bishop will be holding a press availability immediately following the meeting at approximately noon at the Riverhead District Office of Assemblyman Marc Alessi, located at 4466 Route 25 in Calverton.

Governor Paterson followed the Governors of Connecticut and Rhode Island in requesting the March 29-30 rain event be combined with the previously-approved declaration for the March 13 storm. In a May 5 letter to President Obama and FEMA, Congressman Bishop wrote in support of Gov. Patterson's request: "In its amended request the state has included a report from the National Weather Service documenting that the multiple rainfall episodes that hit New York during March and April were the result of a single weather stream and should therefore be considered as one large event."

Bishop also plans to bring the discrepancy in the disaster declarations to the attention of FEMA administrator Craig Fugate and the White House directly.

"Government weather maps tell us there's only about 10 nautical miles separating Eastern Long Island from Rhode Island and Connecticut. FEMA's decision brings to mind another nautical term: 'unfathomable,'" Bishop said.

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Hauppauge—Suffolk Executive Steve Levy asked Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials on April 5 to assist property owners in a section of Riverhead Town that was ravaged by a March 30 rain storm that damaged numerous homes.

“This is a concerted effort by various levels of government,” said Levy, who was joined by an array of officials at a news conference along Riverhead’s Horton Avenue, which was especially hard hit. “We are prevailing upon federal authorities to recognize the devastating impact of this storm.”

Immediately after the downpour, Levy had directed officials from the Suffolk County Department of Public Works (DPW) to deploy equipment and personnel to the area. Four DPW staffers worked for three days in the flood-beleaguered Horton Avenue vicinity, joining town personnel in the relief effort. DPW water pumps with four- and six-inch diameter hoses were used to down water levels that had reached well above street level and prompted the evacuation of numerous homes.

A full week after the torrential downpour, "We still have a lake in the middle of the street,” Levy said at the news conference. “We hope the federal government will be there for these residents who have been displaced.”

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter said that, as a result of the storm, residents in the Horton Avenue region have lost clothing, furniture and other possessions. Walter thanked Levy for supporting the town at an essential time: "We are grateful for the county's contribution and for the assistance we're receiving from community groups, churches and other organizations," he said.

Following the news conference, FEMA officials got a first-hand look at the aftereffects of the rain storm as part of their preliminary review of the situation. In the days ahead, FEMA personnel were scheduled to go elsewhere in the county, to areas including a residential area in Miller Place where flooding caused major problems for some homeowners and Dune Road in Westhampton, where sand and beach areas have been hit hard by four major snow and rainstorms in recent months.

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