Community Corner

FEMA Officials Assess Irene-Damaged Long Beach

City meets with state agency on reimbursement and recovery plans.

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured various parts of Long Beach — including the Magnolia Boulevard playground, the Lifeguard Station at National Boulevard beach and the snow fencing surrounding the dunes —guided by City Manager Jack Schnirman, Council President Fran Adelson and Public Works Commissioner Kevin Mulligan, on Jan. 13.

The tour was part of an effort by FEMA to determine how much the City of Long Beach should be reimbursed for the costs associated with Tropical Storm Irene, which slammed Long Beach in late August and caused millions of dollars worth of damage, according to the Long Beach Herald.

Last November, when the city faced a shortfall in payroll for the following month, former City Manager Charles Theofan said that part of the money the city would recoup in 2012 was an expected reimbursement of at least $1 million from FEMA to cover the costs of the storm. But new City Manager Jack Schnirman said he doesn't want to speculate on what the city may get from FEMA.

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“I can tell you that FEMA came last week as part of a regularly scheduled visit to work on the reimbursement and recovery, and we wanted to use that opportunity while FEMA was here to introduce them to the new administration.”

Last October, the state Department of Environmental Conservation's Coastal Erosion and Tidal Wetlands staff visited the West End and inspected the storm-wracked dunes in Long Beach and offered suggestions on how the city could better protect its shorefront. 

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DEC spokesman Bill Fonda said the state suggested that the city bring the dunes up to pre-hurricane height, develop standards for building the walkways and to replace the snow fencing that was also damaged by the hurricane, and develop a dune maintenance program.

“We discussed going forward and developing a more standardized system to keep the dune level at a consistent height,” Fonda said.


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