White Plains Reimbursed By State For Superstorm Sandy Costs

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- As residents keep an eye on Hurricane Joaquin even as it veers away from the region, White Plains is being reimbursed by the state $205,989 for Hurricane Sandy damage.

White Plains received almost $206,000 to help cover the final 10 percent of cost the city incurred during the clean-up from Superstorm Sandy.
Photo Credit: *ArtsWestchester*

K Reakes

10/02/2015 3:30 p.m.

White Plains received the funds as part of the state's Matching Funds Program from the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery.

State Assemblyman David Buchwald, along with state Sen. George Latimer and White Plains Mayor Tom Roach worked together to make sure the city received the funds.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) covered 90 percent of all Sandy-related expenses sustained by municipalities, while the individual municipalities were originally responsible for the remaining 10 percent. In June of 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state would cover the remaining 10 percent.

Without the funding, White Plains residents would have had to absorb a .74 percent increase in their property taxes to offset expenses.

“New York State has come through for the City of White Plains. Without this reimbursement, White Plains property taxpayers would have been hit with a sizeable bill for Superstorm Sandy expenses,” said Buchwald. “Sandy’s extensive damage and power outages hit many communities hard and municipal budgets were strained, so I am very pleased that the Governor Cuomo’s Office of Storm Recovery stepped up to relieve White Plains of its financial burden. I would like to thank Senator Latimer and Mayor Roach for their steadfast work to make sure that the City of White Plains was properly reimbursed.”

In total, the City of White Plains spent $2,059,894.85 in the aftermath of the storm. This amount includes $1,674,866 paid to city workers for more than 17,000 hours of waste removal, with nearly 7,000 of those hours counted as overtime. The City also spent more than $166,000 for law enforcement and the fire department to keep the public safe, respond to emergencies, and provide critical equipment and materials such as generators.

“I would like to thank our state delegation members, Assemblyman David Buchwald and Senator George Latimer, as well as the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery, for working with the City to ensure it received this funding,” said Roach.

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