NY Rising to fund a master drainage plan for Oceanside

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray and Councilman Anthony Santino announced Feb. 10 that the New York Rising Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Fund has approved a request for $200,000 in financial assistance for areas of Oceanside that were flooded during Hurricane Sandy.

The money will be used to fund a study through the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program, which was created to provide rebuilding and revitalization assistance to communities that were damaged by Sandy and Tropical Storms Irene and Lee. Six communities within the Town of Hempstead — including Oceanside and Island Park — were recognized as the most severely affected in New York state. The town filed claims for all of the communities with that designation.

“Hempstead has been aggressive in pursuing aid to mitigate additional financial impact for residents who have been tragically victimized by Hurricane Sandy,” Murray said. “We wanted the cost of these projects to not fall directly on the taxpayers, and the program has made this possible.”

The funding will help town officials develop a Comprehensive Master Drainage Plan and Study for the areas of Oceanside that were flooded. The purpose of the project is to devise a strategy for drainage infrastructure upgrades that will ensure a flood-protected community.

The plan will map flood-reduction projects that, when implemented, will restore public infrastructure and reduce future storm damage to both public and private property.

“We are grateful that the [Community Reconstruction] program is helping the Oceanside community determine infrastructure needs to protect the areas from future flooding,” Santino stated.