Meng and Espaillat Secure Billions in Disaster Relief for New York City

Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (NY-06) and Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) announced that they secured over $11 billion in federal relief to help New Yorkers recover from the devastation caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

"The havoc that Ida wreaked on my congressional district, and our region, has continued to devastate so many of my constituents, and they remain in need of help," said Congresswoman Meng. "As I have said, New York needs as much federal aid as possible to assist with recovering from this catastrophic storm, and in addition to the emergency and major disaster declarations, these funds will go a long way towards providing needed relief, and building back better. I thank Rep. Espaillat for partnering with me to obtain this vital funding."

"Hurricane Ida marked the second time in two months our communities were flooded as a result of the climate crisis, and New Yorkers need our support," said Congressman Espaillat. "While we continue to survey the economic toll this storm took on our communities, it's clear that our people needed immediate and tangible relief - and I'm proud to have secured this much needed funding so that our communities can begin to rebuild from this crisis, and build back better, and stronger than ever before."

Earlier this month, Meng and Espaillat spearheaded a bipartisan letter to the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee asking them to include the highest amount of federal funds possible for New York in the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, which continues vital federal funding through December 3. The committee, of which Meng and Espaillat are members, is the panel in Congress that is responsible for allocating emergency disaster funding.

Meng and Espaillat were able to secure additional funding for the following appropriations accounts, the majority of which will provide disaster relief.

$5 billion for HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program. Maximum funds would support large-scale resiliency projects and grants to homeowners. After Hurricane Sandy, New York City and Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island received $16 billion. These funds were used to support individuals and families that helped them rebuild and recover from the storm. This fund will be essential for New York's recovery.
Continued access to the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund. Funding would support general reimbursement, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grants, and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
$50 million for FEMA Emergency Management Performance Grants. Funding would help with emergency planning for future extreme weather events.
$2.6 Billion for the DOT Federal Highway Administration. Funds would support street design and flooding remediation.
$3 Billion for USACE Construction Funding. Funds would support existing resiliency projects and additional ones that may be needed.

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