The City of Long Beach will receive $6.6 million in federal funds to cover the costs to remove hazardous debris after Hurricane Sandy, U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced Monday.
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According to the senators, more than 156,000 cubic yards of sand, as well as trees and other vegetative materials, were strewn across Long Beach’s roadways due to Hurricane Sandy, which posed an immediate threat to public safety and needed to be removed. To clean up the debris in a timely manner, the city set up temporary disposal staging and reduction sites as collection points to process and later haul to a final disposal site.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing the $6.6 million in funds for the debris removal, which represents 90 percent of the city's costs.
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“Long Beach was extremely hard hit by Hurricane Sandy, and forcing residents to pay expensive cleanup costs would be adding insult to injury,” Schumer said in a statement announcing the funding. “These federal funds will go a long way towards ensuring that Long Beach does not have to foot the bill for storm cleanup, and instead can continue to get back up on its feet.”
The funds are in addition to $19.7 million that FEMA distributed to the New York State Department of Transportation in July 2013 for the costs of collection, removal, and disposal of debris in Long Beach due to Sandy.
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“This federal funding will provide much needed relief for Long Island families and businesses impacted by Superstorm Sandy,” Gillibrand stated. “It is critical that Long Beach has the necessary resources on the ground to recover and rebuild.”
Long Beach Councilman Scott Mandel said that after Sandy the city was responsible for managing “a monumental sand and debris removal procedure.”“We thank Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for cutting through the bureaucracy and expediting the reimbursement process,” Manel added. “The federal funding that we will now receive covers significant costs we incurred and is another important step towards rebuilding stronger, smarter, and safer."
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