On Sept. 2, the Trump administration denied New York State’s appeal for a major disaster declaration following the February blizzard that caused more than $168 million in damages statewide.
Had a federal disaster been declared, Federal Emergency Management Agency money could have been granted to the state to help recoup storm costs. Given the current political climate, South Fork residents may well wonder how they might be treated by President Trump if a hurricane comes up the coast.
“This storm met every FEMA threshold for federal assistance, yet the Trump administration continues to play political games and betray every New Yorker who believes that the federal government is there to protect and support them,” wrote Gov. Kathy Hochul in a press release after the denial. “By refusing to intervene and grant our request, President Trump has told every New Yorker who weathered this major storm and the first responders, utility crews, and emergency management staff who worked tirelessly to keep our communities safe that you do not matter to him.”
East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said that since a federal disaster declaration was never issued, the town never submitted a request for funding, though at the county’s request it had submitted information to support the declaration.
Governor Hochul placed part of the blame on the Republican-led Congress.
“Let’s be clear, Republican members of Congress across New York are also enabling this neglect,” read her press release. “Their continued silence and refusal to break with the president is a direct betrayal of the communities they were elected to serve. It is past time these members of Congress demand that the president grant this disaster declaration and deliver every dollar of relief their constituents are owed.”
When asked if he agreed with President Trump’s denial of the state’s FEMA request, Representative Nick LaLota took issue with the state’s handling of undocumented immigrants, seeming to tie the funds to an adherence to the administration’s immigration policies.
“Long Islanders send more than enough money to Albany and Washington, and I’ll keep fighting to bring as much federal money home as possible,” he wrote. “It’s frustrating to watch Albany spend billions helping bail out New York City and billions more on hotels, health care, lawyers, and other services for migrants, yet apparently not have enough to help Suffolk County dig out from a historic snowstorm. While not every state and local expense, including snow removal, is inherently a federal responsibility, whatever standards FEMA adopts must be clear, consistent, and fairly applied. I’ll keep fighting to bring New Yorkers’ federal tax dollars home and make sure Suffolk County gets a fair shake under the rules.”
FEMA was created in 1979 and is supposed to be an independent agency, a point driven home last week by a federal judge.
United States District Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California ruled last week that the Trump administration and its Department of Homeland Security “continues to usurp FEMA’s authority” to make its own personnel decisions and that the D.H.S. unlawfully ordered FEMA to cut its staffing in half.
She gave the administration and the American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing the FEMA employees, until Oct. 9 to work it out.
Municipalities like East Hampton undertake some projects to specifically comply with FEMA regulations, hoping that in the event of a disaster like a hurricane construction to FEMA standards will make federal support for rebuilding more likely.
The dune at Ditch Plain in Montauk is one such project. Should it be damaged, the idea is that the town could recoup some of its investment by applying for federal disaster funds to help rebuild it.
So far, the dune has cost the town just over $2 million, though the project has “not been closed out” yet, according to Rebecca Hansen, the town administrator.
“The idea of building an engineered 16-foot dune was to comply with FEMA regulations,” Councilwoman Cate Rogers said in a recent phone call. “To get the federal money it has to be declared a disaster. In a disaster, we’d have other things to take care of and that money would be critical to us.”
“But given the track record of the current administration reneging on promises or failing to uphold their responsibility for tax dollars coming back to us — let’s recall these are our own dollars — of course I’m concerned,” she said.
“That’s why it’s important we have relations with state and county government partners because I don’t think the federal government could be relied upon,” she added. “I think they put politics over obligations to the American people.”
Regarding the dune, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said the availability of funding would depend on the size of the federal disaster declaration.
“We believe the town would have a very strong case to make,” she wrote. “We also have strong relationships with Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, Governor Hochul, and their teams.”
She added that she has not had any specific conversations with Mr. LaLota about these issues.
“In the event of a disaster declaration, the town would coordinate closely with New York State and D.H.S.E.S. [the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services], which serves as the state’s coordinating agency in the disaster assistance process, as well as with our federal representatives,” she wrote. “We are confident that, in an emergency, everyone involved would be focused on protecting residents and getting the community the assistance it needs.”
When asked if he was confident that the town would be able to successfully apply for FEMA reimbursement if the dune were damaged by a storm, Mr. LaLota cited the East Hampton Public Safety and Accountability Law, as he has in the past, but also seemed to say in a disaster, he would not hold back funding.
“The town supervisor’s decision to break with decades of common-sense cooperation between local and federal law enforcement puts American citizens at risk and has cost her my support for discretionary community project funding — not my support for other federal funding that benefits East Hampton taxpayers,” he wrote in a statement. “Local leaders are free to chart a different course, but I’m not obligated to use my discretion in Congress to reward a municipality that has chosen to limit its cooperation with federal law enforcement.”
