Governor, State Legislature commit to more money for shoreline homeowners who suffered damage from flooding
Photo by Tom Rivers: A homeowner in Kendall stacked sandbags to try to protect property from being washed away from high waters last year along Lake Ontario.
The governor and State Legislature are working to increase the funding for Lake Ontario property owners who suffered property damage from last year’s flooding.
The state last year approved $15 million to help homeowners with damaged breakwalls and houses from the rising waters and pounding waves.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this afternoon he wants that amount increased to $50 million total.
“The months-long flooding that occurred along the Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River shoreline did tremendous damage to local communities, and the impacts of this severe weather continue to be felt across the region,” Cuomo said. “To ensure all New Yorkers have the resources they need to recover and get back on their feet, I am doubling the available funding to homeowners and increasing the State’s commitment from $15 million to $30 million. Additionally, I previously advanced $5 million in funding that was finally approved by the legislature this week—bringing our total commitment to $50 million. I will continue to work with the legislature to secure additional funding for this important program and help the families along the Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River shoreline build back stronger and smarter than ever before.”
The Senate majority also released a press release this afternoon, touting the $5 million it is pledging in additional state funds for the affected homeowners.
“These efforts are only the latest demonstration of the priority Senate Republicans place on providing critical relief to Lake Ontario’s flood victims,” said State Sen. Robert Ortt, R-North Tonawanda. “I am proud to be part of a conference that is committed to helping those families in need along the lake’s shoreline and mitigating the disastrous effects of plan 2014. It is imperative that we learn from this past year’s experience and implement flexible policy should Lake Ontario overflow again this year.”
