Cuomo deploys additional National Guard troops to Long Island

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced earlier today that he has deployed an additional 1,000 New York National Guard troops to augment the state's Hurricane Irene response efforts, bringing the total number of New York National Guard members on state active duty to 1,900.

“It is important to take every precaution as we prepare for the impact of Hurricane Irene,” Cuomo said. “I have deployed additional members of the New York National Guard to make sure the evacuation process runs smoothly and to help with the emergency response efforts.”

The additional members of the National Guard will be deployed to downstate New York, including Long Island, New York City, and the Hudson Valley. The members of the National Guard will assist with traffic control on bridges and tunnels, sandbagging operations at the World Trade Center site, evacuation shelter operations in New York City, the construction of barriers for railway yards and train tunnels, and other hurricane emergency efforts.

The members of the National Guard called up today will come from the 1st Battalion 258th Field Artillery and 1st Battalion 69th Infantry, which are headquartered in New York City and have elements on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley, along with the 101st Signal Battalion, which is headquartered in Yonkers and has companies in Orangeburg and Peekskill.

Elements of the New York Naval Militia, which is comprised of Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard Reservists, will also be called up to assist. The 88th Brigade of the New York Guard, the state's volunteer defense force, will also assist in this effort. Governor Cuomo will also mobilize 300 members of the 204th Engineer Battalion, which is headquartered in Binghamton and has elements in Hudson Valley and Western New York. This unit will be located at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh.

Cuomo also announced today that he has deployed senior members of his administration across New York to facilitate a prompt and coordinated response to Hurricane Irene.

Agency commissioners and senior administration officials have been sent to areas from Long Island to New York City to Plattsburgh. They are at each location to coordinate with local officials, monitor the progress of the storm, and serve as the primary points of contact to provide real-time reports from the ground to the Governor and Director of State Operations.

“I have deployed senior members of my administration to be on the ground in areas across New York to make sure we can quickly respond to any problems,” Cuomo said. “Additional members of the administration may be deployed as the situation warrants.”