Heavy flooding leaves elements of Queens underwater. Native officers say eliminating FEMA’s BRIC program places communities at better danger.
File picture from the Workplace of James Sanders Jr.
A slew of elected officers from Queens have blasted the Trump Administration’s choice to chop greater than $300 million in federal funding for flood safety and local weather resiliency throughout New York State, together with sources 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 concern a joint assertion criticizing the Trump Administration over cuts to a number of key flood aid initiatives throughout New York State.
President Donald Trump introduced Tuesday that he would get rid of 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 stated the choice will lead to greater than $325 million in cuts to vital pending initiatives throughout New York State and danger about $56 million price of labor that has already begun.
In the meantime, Queens-based elected officers stated Trump’s choice to get rid of FEMA’s BRIC program would have a “devastating impact” on Queens.
They stated Wednesday that the choice to get rid of FEMA’s BRIC program would impression 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 lead to $50 million price of cuts to the East Elmhurst Cloudburst Flood Mitigation, which goals to mitigate the impression of high-intensity rainfall in a 485-acre space with primarily residential neighborhoods.
They stated 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 stated in an announcement criticizing the Trump Administration.
A automotive parked whereas rainwater flooded the parking zone in Bay Terrace Procuring Heart throughout Hurricane Ida. (Picture courtesy of Lois Christie)
They added that Queens ought to 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 may 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 stated in an announcement.
In a separate assertion, Ung stated the choice to slash funding for flood mitigation initiatives in Kissena Park can 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 stated in an announcement Thursday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul additionally criticized the choice to get rid of BRIC in an announcement Tuesday, describing the cuts as “short-sighted” and a large danger to public security.
“Without support for resilience projects now, our communities will be far more vulnerable when disaster strikes next,” Hochul stated in an announcement 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 Providers Commissioner Jackie Bray moreover warned that the choice to chop funding would in the end be extra pricey to the federal authorities.
“It is far more expensive to rebuild than it is to prevent damage before it happens,” Bray stated in an announcement. “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.”
