As of this past fall, the Town of North Hempstead is fully reimbursed for all completed projects related to Superstorm Sandy, according to Supervisor Judi Bosworth and the town board.
This news came after the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) announced that it would reimburse 10 percent of the town’s Superstorm Sandy related costs with funding received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This is in addition to the 90 percent already received by the town from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The total cost of these completed projects was just under $21 million.
“This funding from our federal and state partners has allowed us to restore so many areas of our town that were damaged during Superstorm Sandy without impacting our taxpayers,” Supervisor Bosworth said. “These projects are critical to improving the resiliency of our town and keeping our residents and communities safe.”
The town has more projects that are still scheduled for which they will apply for reimbursement. Since Superstorm Sandy, the town has been approved for 33 projects from FEMA for a total of more than $41 million, with two projects still pending approval and one more pending submission.
The town has also been awarded a $256,508 FEMA Public Assistance Grant for an engineering study to investigate and assess the condition of the town’s outfall pipes, which suffered damage during Hurricane Sandy. Outfall pipes collect water from rainstorms away from streets, parking lots and channel it through various drainage outfalls that discharge into its streams, ponds and tidal waters. During Hurricane Sandy, storm surge water flooded the coastal outfall pipes and by doing so, potentially deposited sand, silt and debris, and damaged the over 120 drainage outfall pipes.
“The town’s network of outfall pipes took a beating during Hurricane Sandy and this grant will enable us to have the damage assessed,” said Supervisor Bosworth. “With this project the town continues to move towards a more resilient and environmentally sound future for all town residents.”
The engineering study will entail identifying the locations of the outfall pipes that were previously mapped, investigating the conditions of the pipes visually and by utilizing cameras and evaluating the information and making recommendations.
If you have any further questions on Superstorm Sandy related recovery projects in town, please call 311 or 516-869-6311.
—Submitted by the Town of North Hempstead
