In July, Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program — separate from the NY Rising program for homeowners — to assist communities damaged by Sandy and Tropical Storms Irene and Lee. One hundred two municipalities statewide are eligible for more than $750 million for reconstruction. Long Beach is eligible for the single-community maximum $25 million.

Rebuilding plans are developed by committees comprising local civic leaders, experts and officials. The 12-member Long Beach committee was chosen last summer, and includes representatives from the West End, the Canals, North Park and other neighborhoods.

At the February meeting, the details of each project — 10 “priority” initiatives and seven “feature” projects — were laid out on poster boards, with photos and graphics, and residents offered their written input. About 10 state representatives were on hand to answer questions.

“These are all things that need to happen to make us more resilient,” McNally said. “These are really the bare minimum we need to protect ourselves moving forward.”

The less-critical feature projects include more drainage upgrades and bulkheading on the north shore, along with the installation of Dutch dams around major utilities and floodgates in the Canals, a bay-front revitalization plan and a loan fund for homeowners who can’t afford to elevate their homes.

Clearly, residents’ biggest concern was bay-side flooding. According to many, installing bulkheads and improving drainage were most crucial. “We had flooding during Irene and during Sandy,” said North Park resident Daisy Wade, “and now you hold your breath that there’s not another storm. The most important part, I think, is the bulkheading. We’ve been requesting bulkheading for years.”

“There are a lot of things to protect,” Westholme resident Marcia Isman said. “But if they really carried out thorough measures to eliminate the flooding and have drainage to deal with lesser flooding, it would seem that some of the other things wouldn’t be as crucial.”