Legislator David Denenberg hosts Hurricane Sandy forum

(Page 2 of 2)

Eight FEMA employees were on hand, including David O’Connor of Intergovernmental Affairs; Bruce Knabenshue of Public Assistance; Jason Kennedy, Jennifer East and Sarah Tippens of Flood Mitigation; Danisha Foster and Mardel West of Community Affairs; and Toney Rains of Individual Assistance. Ray Homburger represented National Grid. Commissioner John Rottkamp of the Town of Hempstead’s Building Department and Town Floodplain Manager Rebecca Furst were also there to answer questions.

Officials told residents that they had two options when it came to receiving FEMA funds: through Increased Cost Compliance Coverage, which she said would apply if the Town of Hempstead were to require residents to raise their homes in order to comply with town code; and Flood Mitigation Assistance. Tauber said the latter is a “more difficult and drawn-out process,” as it requires several levels of government to handle grant requests and distribution.

FEMA representatives also said that FEMA provides supplemental insurance. They noted that if residents applied for FEMA funding and they have flood insurance, they would be denied coverage until they received a quote from their personal insurance provider.

Denenberg hosted additional hurricane recovery and response meetings in recent weeks, one of which was in the Bellmore-Merrick area. A disaster response forum, which he said will allow residents to discuss the storm restoration efforts, identify the problems, propose solutions and work together to ensure effective storm preparations in the future, was to be held at Grand Avenue Middle School in Bellmore on Tuesday, Nov. 27, after press time. A similar discussion will take place on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. at Freeport High School.

Page 2 / 2