McNally said that the public’s commentary would be considered before Long Beach’s final plan is due at the end of this month. He added that there is no deadline for the state to respond, but if things go smoothly, he expects that some of the projects could be under way by the end of the year.

“HUD looks at community support as one of the characteristics of whether or not a project moves forward,” said James McAllister, the lead planner for the barrier island CRP projects, referring to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “They’re not going to spend money and support a project that the community does not favor.”

McNally said that although bulkheading and drainage are the first lines of defense against flooding and are obviously important projects, it is difficult to say that one project is more essential than another, and all of them are needed to make the city more resilient.

“When we say rebuilding stronger, smarter, safer,” City Manager Jack Schnirman said, “this is what it means.”

McNally said that the committee’s plan is to use the $25 million to begin a number of these projects, but none would be fully funded initially. Bulkheading, for instance, would be done in phases, he said, with the most crucial sections first, and then the committee would apply for grants to finish the work.

“It’s a matter of reality that our needs far exceed the $25 million that the city has been allotted,” McNally acknowledged. “The $25 million will get us started, and then hopefully we will find other pots of money that help fill in the back end and ensure that all of them get completed.”

The city has enlisted the help of consultants to try to obtain additional funding. McNally pointed to $13 million Cuomo awarded the city to fortify the sewage treatment plant so that work would not use any of the CRP award. The city must make the case, he said, that the projects are necessary improvements. Additionally, the state’s second Community Development Block Grant appropriation, awarded last November, has $441,000 earmarked for the CRP program, which has yet to be allocated.