Heavy flooding leaves components of Queens underwater. Native officers say eliminating FEMA’s BRIC program places communities at better threat.
File photograph from the Workplace of James Sanders Jr.
A slew of elected officers from Queens have blasted the Trump Administration’s determination to chop greater than $300 million in federal funding for flood safety and local weather resiliency throughout New York State, together with assets to fight flooding in Queens.
U.S. Reps. Grace Meng and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined State Senators John Liu and Jessica Ramos, Meeting Members Larinda Hooks, Jessica González-Rojas and Nily Rozic, and Council Members Francisco Moya and Sandra Ung to situation a joint assertion criticizing the Trump Administration over cuts to a number of key flood reduction initiatives throughout New York State.
President Donald Trump introduced Tuesday that he would eradicate FEMA’s Constructing Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. This system gives federal funding to state and native governments to mitigate pure disasters.
Critics of the Trump Administration mentioned the choice will end in greater than $325 million in cuts to vital pending initiatives throughout New York State and threat about $56 million price of labor that has already begun.
In the meantime, Queens-based elected officers mentioned Trump’s determination to eradicate FEMA’s BRIC program would have a “devastating impact” on Queens.
They mentioned Wednesday that the choice to eradicate FEMA’s BRIC program would affect a number of Queens initiatives, reducing $46 million from the Kissena Hall Cloudburst Hub and $47 million from the Corona-East Cloudburst Hub.
Moreover, eliminating BRIC will end in $50 million price of cuts to the East Elmhurst Cloudburst Flood Mitigation, which goals to mitigate the affect of high-intensity rainfall in a 485-acre space with primarily residential neighborhoods.
They mentioned FEMA funding supplied a lifeline for native communities within the wake of Hurricane Ida, including that “lives will be put at risk” with out entry to the funding sooner or later.
“We all remember how Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on our borough. Lives were lost, and homes and businesses sustained extensive damage. We fought hard for these needed funds and without the money, more lives and property will be put at risk,” Queens elected officers mentioned in a press release criticizing the Trump Administration.
A automotive parked whereas rainwater flooded the car parking zone in Bay Terrace Procuring Heart throughout Hurricane Ida. (Photograph courtesy of Lois Christie)
They added that Queens must be “better prepared” towards the specter of future flooding and have the ability to mitigate the consequences of extreme storms and heavy rainfall however argued that funding cuts could have the other impact.
“Slashing this funding will leave us less prepared and susceptible to more devastation. We urge the administration to immediately abandon this reckless decision,” they mentioned in a press release.
In a separate assertion, Ung mentioned the choice to slash funding for flood mitigation initiatives in Kissena Park could be devastating for native residents.
“This is not just a budget line on a spreadsheet, it is a life-or-death issue for our community, which knows the devastating consequences of inadequate infrastructure all too well,” Ung mentioned in a press release Thursday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul additionally criticized the choice to eradicate BRIC in a press release Tuesday, describing the cuts as “short-sighted” and a large threat to public security.
“Without support for resilience projects now, our communities will be far more vulnerable when disaster strikes next,” Hochul mentioned in a press release Tuesday. “As I’ve said all along: no state in the nation can backfill the massive cuts being proposed in Washington, and it’s critical New Yorkers stand united to call out the damage this will cause.”
New York State Division of Homeland Safety and Emergency Companies Commissioner Jackie Bray moreover warned that the choice to chop funding would finally be extra pricey to the federal authorities.
“It is far more expensive to rebuild than it is to prevent damage before it happens,” Bray mentioned in a press release. “Mitigation is the best way to save taxpayer dollars and increase resiliency. These projects were created with the sole purpose of helping prevent further damage from the storms that continue to impact the residents of New York State.”
