Long Beach Community Meeting with FEMA Scheduled for Wednesday, May 1, 6pm at City Hall

On Wednesday, May 1^st at 6 p.m. there will be an open community forum hosted by the City of Long Beach along with FEMA and New York State.

The forum will consist of representatives from FEMA, City and New York State to discuss programs and assistance in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.  FEMA will discuss programs and assistance such as the Increase Cost of Compliance Program (ICC), Hazard Mitigation Program (HMGP) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).  New York State representatives from the Department of Financial Services the NY Sandy Help Program will also be present to discuss programs and answer frequently asked questions.  City of Long Beach representatives will be available to answer questions regarding the permit process as well as any other Building Department matters.

Information on Programs to be Discussed

Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC)

ICC coverage under FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program is one of several resources for flood insurance policyholders. Under ICC, FEMA offers $30,000 for homeowners to help cover the costs of mitigation measures that will reduce flood risk, including raising the height of houses that the agency mandates for new buildings or rebuilding in designated flood zones such as Long Beach.

Hazard Mitigation

The City has already expressed to the state’s Office of Emergency Management a strong interest in FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Program. If awarded the program, the City will be able to financially assist residents through the spring to help mitigation properties from future flood damage.

NY Sandy Help

Thousands of homeowners across New York have been directly impacted by Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene, or Tropical Storm Lee. The devastation wrought by these storms was unlike anything New York has seen in recent history. While FEMA, the State of New York and other disaster relief agencies stepped in immediately following the storm to provide public and private recovery assistance to homeowners in need of help, the State worked to secure Congressional approval of additional federal aid to meet the substantial need. The program outlined here is subject to federal approval. The State of New York, local governments and its partners are now accepting registrations for housing and small business assistance for residents located in disaster-declared counties. These registrations will be used to determine potential program eligibility for each registrant.

If you cannot make the meeting or would like more information on some of the topics to be discussed, please check out the following helpful links:

Sandy Disaster Recovery Resources

http://www.dhses.ny.gov/oem/event/sandy/documents/NY_Resource_List_v4.4.pdf

http://www.dhses.ny.gov/oem/event/sandy/sandy-info.cfm

Important Webinar on the Biggert-Waters Act of 2012

http://www.emforum.org/pub/eiip/lm130410.wmv

Useful Sandy Recovery Documents 4-22-2013  PDF
NY Resource List v4.4  PDF