Nyack Gets Long-Awaited $1.7M in Federal Aid for Hurricane Sandy Clean Up

BY BILL DEMAREST

NYACK – This week, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Representative Nita Lowey announced that the Village of Nyack will receive $1,762,175.82 in federal funds to cover costs for repairs made to Memorial Park and the Nyack Marina, which were heavily damaged during Hurricane Sandy.

The funding is being allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) public assistance grant program. As a result of Hurricane Sandy, the Village of Nyack needs to repair many of the retaining walls in Memorial Park, which is an outlet of Nyack Brook.

“This funding will allow us to restore a unique and valuable village asset, our waterfront and finally put an end to the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy,” said Jen White, Mayor of the Village of Nyack. “We are so grateful to FEMA and all of our Federal officials.”

The village also needs to replace many docks and retaining walls at the marina along with the public launch dock. Finally, the village must replace the entire electrical system for the marina, as well as two-thirds of the bulkhead barrier, both of which were destroyed in the storm. The village will also be reimbursed for other small repairs it made throughout the park and marina. The total cost of the project is $1,957,973.13, and FEMA covers 90 percent of the village’s costs.

“I applaud FEMA for recognizing the importance of this project and cutting through the bureaucratic red tape to enable the Village of Nyack to make repairs to its marina and to Memorial Park, both of which were victims of Hurricane Sandy’s wrath,” said Schumer. “These Nyack treasures suffered serious damage during Hurricane Sandy and this federal disaster assistance goes a long way in taking the cost burden off of taxpayers and reassuring local residents that the federal government will be there as they continue their recovery efforts.”

“This is great news for the Village of Nyack,” said Gillibrand. “This critical FEMA funding will help provide the village with much-needed resources needed to help in their recovery efforts as they work to restore the marina area and Memorial Park. I will continue to work with my colleagues at every level of government to ensure communities impacted by Superstorm Sandy can rebuild, with even stronger infrastructure that better withstands future storms.”

“I’m pleased to see more federal dollars going to reimburse localities for damage caused by Hurricane Sandy,” said Lowey. “We have made much progress, but there is still plenty of work that remains. This grant money will help ease the burden on local taxpayers. As Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, I fought tirelessly to secure the $60 billion aid package following Sandy, and I will continue to work with communities in Rockland and Westchester until their needs are met.”

Through the public assistance program, FEMA provides reimbursement funding for eligible projects including those related to debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities and the facilities of certain Private Non-Profit (PNP) organizations. The PA Program also encourages protection of these damaged facilities from future events by providing assistance for hazard mitigation measures during the recovery process. This reimbursement program is a cost share program, with the Federal government covering 90 percent of eligible costs.

Republished: Nyack Free Press