Assemblyman Steve Otis (D- 91st District) and Senator George Latimer (D- 37th District) today announced that Governor Cuomo has included the City of Rye in the New York Rising Community Reconstruction program to help fund storm recovery projects in response to damage from recent severe storms. The legislators expressed their thanks to Governor Cuomo for his support of flood related projects in Westchester.

Governor Cuomo established the New York Rising Community Reconstruction program to provide rebuilding and revitalization assistance to communities damaged by Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. In his State of the State address, the Governor announced plans for Phase II of the New York Rising program – the allocation of $650 million in federal recovery funds to support community-developed resiliency projects throughout the state. The City of Rye was selected for Phase II funding based on demonstrated financial damages as reported to FEMA. In upcoming months, the City will develop a list of actual projects to repair or rebuild damaged infrastructure in ways that will make the community more resilient to future storms. This week’s announcement allows Rye to access $3,000,000 in federal funding towards infrastructure projects.

“This is a perfect example of every level of government working together to deliver a real benefit to the residents of Rye,” stated Senator Latimer. “The residents, activists and officials in Rye have always done a good job identifying priorities regarding this issue and I’m confident that with this infusion of money, the City of Rye will be able to take their flood mitigation and prevention efforts to the next level.”

“The Governor has done an outstanding job of marshalling storm recovery efforts throughout the state and then maximizing our access to federal funds to help pay for those efforts,” said Assemblyman Otis. “The severe storms of recent years have taken a huge toll on our Sound Shore communities, which individually lack the financial resources to undertake major infrastructure improvements that will help protect our residents from devastating flooding and other storm damage. That’s why this funding is such welcome news for the people of Rye.”

Earlier this week, the Governor, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, announced at $17 billion program, “Reimagining New York for a New Reality,” that will transform the state’s infrastructure, transportation networks, energy supply, coastal protection, weather warning and emergency management systems to better protect New Yorkers during future weather events. The NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program is part of these larger storm preparedness efforts.

Assemblyman Otis and Senator Latimer are working with a number of communities they represent on flood mitigation and storm resiliency projects. This announcement is just one of many efforts in Westchester to make New York State better prepared for natural disasters. Senator Latimer and Assemblyman Otis have long made flood mitigation and emergency preparedness efforts a top priority. They have been advocating with federal and state officials on behalf of Westchester communities as part of the Rising Community Program.