24 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 16, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
Stringer claims climate change resiliency spending lagging after Sandy
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e city has not spent nearly as much
as it could in the years since Superstorm
Sandy to protect waterfront communities
and NYCHA residents, according to a new
report from Comptroller Scott Stringer.
Not only does the city have the funds to
reinforce the safety of these communities
from the likelihood of more Superstorm
Sandy like hurricanes, but only half of the
$15 billion federal grant to for preparation
has been spent since it was acquired
in 2012, Stringer claims.
Meanwhile, NYCHA has only spent 41
percent of FEMA funding awarded from
the feds following the October 2012 storm.
“It’s not a question of whether New
York will be hit by another superstorm
like Sandy, but when. Yet six years aft er
Sandy hit, we still haven’t fully recovered
and many of the City’s homes, businesses,
schools and hospitals remain dangerously
exposed to the next storm. We have
to do more, and we have to do it now,”
Stringer said. “Safeguarding our shorefront
is not a priority we can kick down
the road – it’s an emergency. Lives are at
stake, homes and businesses are on the
line, and futures hang in the balance. We
need to act with the urgency that our climate
crisis demands because time is not
on our side.”
But Jainey Bavishi, Director of the
Mayor’s Offi ce of Resiliency, responded
with the claim the city is safer from the
potential volatility of its waterways than
ever before.
“Th ere is no spending lag. Th e bulk of
federal recovery funds for New York City
were not made available until 2015, and
we are not scheduled to spend all FEMA
and HUD funds for years. We are on track
to meet all federal deadlines and we are
spending our federal recovery funds faster
than the national average,” Bavishi said.
“Th e risks posed to New Yorkers by climate
change are real, they are severe, and
we are acting with unparalleled urgency to
address them, especially in our most vulnerable
communities.”
In his report, Stringer not only called
for the city to speed up spending on the
“already-allocated” funds, but also called
on the federal government to remove red
tape around fi nancial support for disaster
relief.
Th e Mayor’s Offi ce of Resiliency echoed
this by stating there was in fact red
tape around federal funds that did not
allow the city to access relief until 2015.
Resiliency also cited U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development analysis
that showed average disaster relief spending
six years aft er an event is normally at
72 percent. Th e city has spect around 76
percent, according to Resiliency, putting
New York ahead of the national average.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo represents
an area of Queens where wrecked
homes and were slow to recoup amid the
ensuing disaster that was the Build It Back
program.
“Aft er seeing the devastation left behind
by Superstorm Sandy, with some residents
still not in their homes more than
six years later, it is baffl ing that the city
has only spent 54 percent of the $14.7 billion
in federal funding for repairs due to
the storm, according to NYC Comptroller
Scott Stringer’s recent report,” Addabbo
said. “I join Stringer in urging federal
agencies to hasten the process of getting
these funds where they are desperately
needed. Th at money is needed to help
repair the damage that still remains, and
just as important, to fortify communities
that are still in danger from future storms
and rising sea levels.”
Read more at QNS.com.
Queens Center event kicks off borough’s Pride celebration
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Councilman Daniel Dromm and
Flushing Town Hall hosted a special celebration
of LGBT pride at the Queens
Center Mall in Elmhurst on May 13.
Dromm recognized former state
Senator Th omas Duane, the fi rst openly
HIV positive and the fi rst openly gay
man elected to public offi ce in New York;
Lindsey Duel, director of Generation Q,
one of the few LGBT youth service organizations
in the city; and activist and
social worker Brian Romero, who have all
contributed greatly to the LGBTQ rights
movement over the years.
“It was a thrill to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion
alongside so many LGBTQ leaders at
Queens Center mall,” said Dromm, who
chairs the Council’s LGBT Caucus. “Th is
year’s honorees have all done so much to
drive our movement forward in their own
special and unique ways. It was a pleasure
to recognize their work publicly.”
Th e event is held annually at the
Queens Center mall as a kickoff to Pride
Month in June. Th e 27th Queens Pride
Parade and Festival, also known as the
Lavender Line, will step off Sunday, June
2, in Jackson Heights. Th at march is the
second-largest pride event in the city,
known for helping young people, in the
midst of a gender identity crisis, fi nd a
community where they can be comfortable
in their own skin.
“Artistic Expression is one of the best
ways for people to reveal their true
selves, and communicate our humanity
to each other,” Flushing Town Hall
Deputy Director Sami Abu Shumays said.
“At Flushing Town Hall, we’re honored to
be able to partner with Council member
Dromm to recognize the social and cultural
achievements of LGBT individuals
and others.”
Photo courtesy of City Councilman Daniel Dromm
Councilman Daniel Dromm (c.) kicks off pride season with an annual celebration at the Queens
Center mall in Elmhurst.
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