Grants to Greece and Parma focused on recovery and strengthening infrastructure against future floods
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that the towns of Greece and Parma received more than $942,000 to restore and rebuild following last year’s Lake Ontario flooding. The funding is being used to reimburse for emergency costs as well as rebuild and fortify the infrastructure to protect communities from future damage. New York has committed $55 million to recovery efforts to support homeowners, small businesses, and community infrastructure.
“Last year these Monroe County communities experienced severe flooding along the shores of Lake Ontario, and we continue to stand with members of our New York family who are still recovering,” Governor Cuomo said. “This funding will continue to give real relief to these communities and help Greece and Parma build back stronger and smarter than ever before.”
The Town of Greece has been awarded $576,164 to cover reimbursements for emergency expenses related to flood damage, inspection services for potentially at-risk areas and the implementation of traffic control measures. These funds benefit the town’s approximately 97,000 residents who were affected by the flooding that occurred along the town’s Lake Ontario coastline from Braddock Bay in the west to Round Pond in the east.
The Town of Parma has been awarded $366,326 in grant funds to cover the cost of emergency expenses, inspection services for potentially at-risk areas, traffic control measures, the purchase of equipment to pump overburdened storm drains, the cleaning of storm water drainage lines and culverts, and the purchase of sand bags delivered to residents. These funds will benefit the town of approximately 16,000 residents whose major flood damage centered around the town’s Bogus Point Park where a break wall eroded.
Following the flooding of both Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence seaway which damaged homes, businesses, and local infrastructure, Governor Cuomo and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services coordinated with county and local partners to monitor water levels and deliver resources, including millions of sandbags and the construction of thousands of feet of temporary dams. An initial $45 million commitment to provide aid to residents, small businesses, and municipalities affected by the flood was supplemented with two $5 million grants from the State and Municipal Facilities Program to bolster previous relief and provide necessary financial assistance to recovery efforts.
“The flooding of Lake Ontario in 2017 took a significant toll on public infrastructure and therefore impacted every local taxpayer, not just those who live near the Lake,” said Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo. Our county teams worked hard to ensure that no public services were disrupted by the flooding, but even now we are still repairing impacted infrastructure while reinvesting in improvement projects to prevent future damage. I thank Governor Cuomo and the Office of Community Renewal for helping us better protect county infrastructure and local taxpayers.”
Town of Greece Supervisor William Reilich said, “This funding is a welcome financial reimbursement which will go a long way in compensating the Town of Greece from the tremendous amount of funding expended last summer. I committed to our residents that we would be there to help them protect their homes and livelihoods. We have put in place additional preventative measures again this year and this funding will help us greatly in our efforts to assist our residents.”
“This funding for the Town of Parma is critical for our road to recovery. I thank Governor Cuomo for standing with the Town of Parma and helping us recover as quickly as possible,” said Jack Barton, Parma Town Supervisor.
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