SCHUMER ASKS FOR SECOND FEMA CENTER IN ROCKLAND

BY MICHAEL CAHILL

Democratic New York Senator Charles Schumer pushed for FEMA to open a second Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in Rockland County, in Piermont, during a tour of the storm-ravaged village of Piermont.

“The more disaster recovery centers we can have, the more money will flow to home owners, to store owners, to communities, to towns and villages quickly,” said Schumer. “We’re going fight hard to get one.”

DRCs provide residents with a place to go to get information disaster aid for their homes and businesses. Currently Rockland County has one DRC in Pomona at Provident Bank Park.

Schumer’s tour began in front of Village Hall. Newly reelected Congresswoman Nita Lowey, State Senator David Carlucci, Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, and Assemblyman Kenith Zebrowski joined Schumer.

Schumer visited several shops hit hard by the storm along Piermont Avenue. Many of the business were still closed. Trash and debris from flooded buildings were piled high on the sidewalk in some places. At one of the few open businesses, Schumer stopped in at Lizzie’s restaurant to talk with two electrical workers eating lunch.

“The village hasn’t stopped working since the storm,” said Piermont Mayor Christopher Sanders. “There is still a lot to do, and the hard work starts now.”

In a press conference following the tour, Schumer said he and Lowey are working hard to get as much federal aid to New York for storm recovery as possible. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo estimates that the statewide damage from Hurricane Sandy could be as much as $33 billion.

Schumer’s stop in Piermont was his last stop on a tour of areas hardest hit by Sandy. “It leaves you speechless, the extent of the damage, the different types of damage that’s occurred,” he said. “The only thing that gives me strength is New Yorkers.”

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