With monster storms in mind, L.I. rebuilds

Hugh Mason, a Bellmore sheet metal worker, has learned to be patient.

In Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath, he and his family endured more than most. “I had 39 inches of water in my kitchen, all over my countertops,” Hugh recalled.

Then Mason needed 2½ years to obtain the necessary clearances –– and funding –– to raise his house, which was destroyed in the storm. Meantime, the Mason family endured three winters in a half-gutted home. Reconstruction began last month, and the family has moved temporarily to a nearby apartment.

Mason’s experiences in rebuilding his home and his life helped to inform his time on the NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program’s Bellmore-Merrick Planning Committee, one of 66 such volunteer committees that met between 2013 and 2014 to develop plans to reinforce public infrastructure in order to better withstand future monster storms such as Sandy.

The state has allocated $200 million to upgrade Nassau County’s infrastructure, with roughly $80 million in projects announced to date (see section after main story) and $120 million in projects to be announced soon, according to a state official.

Projects are expected to get under way in the near future, and Mason said he believes, incorporating resiliency into an outdated infrastructure is a complicated process that will require time.

The state must finish all projects by 2019. “I think that’s not horrible,” Mason said.

Empowering municipalities
In 2011 and 2012, Irene, Lee and Sandy, all monster storms, devastated communities across the state, from Long Island to Binghamton and Schenectady. In July 2013, Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched the NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program to “empower localities to develop and implement recovery plans.” The program’s funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cuomo was HUD secretary from 1997 to 2001.