Today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office announced the awarding of grants of roughly $50,000 each by the New York Department of State to 13 towns and villages in upstate New York, for rebuilding from the Irene and Lee floods.
The list of awardees includes the Delaware County town of Middletown, along with its two villages, Margaretville and Fleischmanns; the Delaware County village of Sidney; the Schoharie County town of Blenheim; and the Greene County town of Prattsville.
In the announcement, Cuomo's office said that towns can submit applications for another round of similar grants to the Department of State until March 1.
A press release from Cuomo's office:
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Department of State has awarded grants to 13 upstate communities hit hard by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.
"These grants will go directly to communities that were hit hard by the devastating floods last summer," Governor Cuomo said. "This funding will help towns and villages rebuild and find ways to make sure they are better prepared for future flooding."
César Perales, New York Secretary of State, said, "These grants will go toward helping 13 communities that applied to the state for funding to support specific rebuilding projects. The grants will provide much needed assistance that supplements the work of volunteer community leaders, planning professionals and others that are helping these towns and villages recover."
The money from this grant is from applications submitted on January 12, 2012. First round grant awards total $649,421 and the grant recipients are listed below. The second application deadline is March 1, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. Grants of up to $50,000 are available based on a competitive process. Applications must be submitted by affected municipalities or by counties or not-for-profits on their behalf.
Community Recovery Grant Award Recipients
Village of Fleischmanns: The Village, in partnership with the not-for-profit MARK Project, will develop a strategy that focuses on projects and actions to rebuild and revitalize downtown businesses, homes, and infrastructure to ensure the Village's long-term growth and sustainability. Grant award: $49,588.00
Village of Margaretville: The Village's strategy will provide an analysis of flood vulnerability associated with the East Branch River and identify and assess the feasibility of potential projects and actions to mitigate and reduce the risk of future flood damage. This strategy will be coordinated with the Town of Middletown's grant that will focus on downtown revitalization. Grant award: $50,000
Village of Owego: The Village's strategy will produce a Village-wide blueprint for rebuilding and revitalization, as over 80 percent of the Village, including 550 homes, was affected by flooding. The strategy will identify projects and actions to restore the Village's housing, economic, infrastructure, and environmental assets while identifying flood mitigation measures to make the Village less vulnerable to future storms. Grant award: $50,000
Village of Sidney: The Village's strategy will focus on stabilizing and improving the Village's housing and business districts as over 400 homes and half of the Village's businesses sustained damage. Many of the residential properties have not recovered, which has reduced the Village's tax base. The strategy will identify immediate and long term projects and actions for recovery. Grant award: $50,000
Town of Blenheim: The Town will establish a comprehensive strategy for the North Blenheim hamlet to address immediate as well as long-term revitalization needs relative to housing, business, community facilities, infrastructure, and environmental assets. The Town's strategy will identify projects and actions to restore the hamlet in harmony with its rich natural resources and historic heritage. Grant award: $50,000
Town of Jay: The Town, in partnership with Essex County and the Town of Keene, will complete a strategy that addresses housing, infrastructure, and businesses recovery needs to reduce the risk of flooding while protecting the Town's rich natural environment and the hamlets of Jay and Upper Jay. The recovery strategy will identify specific projects and action items and be coordinated with the Ausable Watershed Management planning process. Grant award: $50,000
Town of Keene: The Town of Keene, in partnership with Essex County and the Town of Jay, will complete a strategy to restore river and stream assets by assessing the work done in the storm's immediate aftermath. This strategy will identify projects and actions to reduce the Town's vulnerability to future storms, including the hamlets of Keene and Keene Valley. The recovery strategy will be coordinated with the Ausable Watershed Management planning process. Grant award: $50,000
Town of Middletown: Middletown, in partnership with the Villages of Fleischmanns and Margaretville, will develop a strategy that focuses on the recovery of the Main Street commercial and residential districts. The strategy will assess options and costs for relocating businesses and homes outside of flood-prone areas. Grant award: $50,000
Town of Nichols: The Town, in partnership with Tioga County, will complete a strategy that will assess relocating residential development outside of the floodplain, but within the Town, to maintain the Town's tax base. This strategy will also assess opportunities to improve roads and bridges, particularly along the Susquehanna River and Wappasening Creek, so they are less vulnerable to future storm damage. Grant award: $50,000
Town of Prattsville: The Town, in partnership with Greene County, will complete a strategy that builds on the initial planning work started with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Town's strategy will include a detailed feasibility analysis for priority housing, economic development, and community facility projects identified in the initial plan. For projects that are considered feasible, funding sources will be identified and secured to commence rebuilding and recovery. Grant award: $50,000
Town of Rotterdam: The Town's strategy will focus on the Rotterdam Junction hamlet and will identify projects and actions to mitigate flooding and restore housing. The strategy will assess the condition of the abandoned Old Erie Canal system and associated drainage patterns. This assessment will determine if improvements can be made to improve drainage during storm events so the hamlet's residences and business are protected from future storm events. Grant award: $50,000
Town of Tioga: The Town, in partnership with Tioga County, will complete a strategy that identifies projects and actions to mitigate flood damage by relocating residences outside of the floodplain but within Town boundaries to maintain the Town's tax base. The strategy will also include improvement projects to roads and bridges along the Susquehanna River, and in the hamlet of Tioga Center along Pipe Creek, to reduce vulnerability to future storms. Grant award: $50,000
Town of Union: The Town of Union, in partnership with the Village's Endicott and Johnson City, will develop a strategy for rebuilding in a manner that reduces vulnerability to future storm events. The strategy will identify projects and actions for the recovery of housing, infrastructure, economic, and environmental assets. Grant award: $49,833
The deadline for applications for the second round of grants is March 1, 2012 by 4:00 pm. To apply, communities should visit, http://www.dos.ny.gov/communityprojects/rfa-11-cstl-10/index.html.
