New York Flood Damage Will Exceed Federal Threshold, Hochul Says

NEW YORK, NY — New York City and surrounding areas impacted by the remnants of Hurricane Ida will have no problem meeting thresholds needed to qualify for more help from the federal government, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The governor said Friday that she expects clean-up costs caused by the storm in New York City, the Hudson Valley and Long Island will almost certainly exceed $30 million, which will make the state eligible for more financial aid from Washington.

Exact totals are being calculated by federal and state teams enlisted to assess the damage, Hochul said.

"We need real numbers to submit to the federal government to meet the threshold of $30 million — that will not be a problem," Hochul said from a press conference in Yonkers. "We are well in excess of $30 million throughout this region."

The clean-up assistance will be in addition to up to $5 million in federal funding that has been made available to impacted counties through an Emergency Disaster Declaration approved by President Joe Biden on Friday.

Hochul urged homeowners and business owners to take stock of storm damage and keep records of any money spent on the clean-up or repairs. The state Department of Financial Services is available to help New Yorkers with insurance information and damage assessment.

Hochul and city officials have warned that the record-breaking rainfall that flooded the city's subways, buses and streets and killed at least 13 people will likely become a new normal as climate change escalates severe weather.

The new reality will mean shifting focus from immediate clean-up to long-term solutions in the coming days and weeks, the governor said.

"Climate change is not a hypothetical," she said. "...We talked about this happening some day in the future. My friends, the future is now. We’re not as prepared as we could be."

A focus of those long-term solutions will be infrastructure on the city's subway system, which grinder to a near-halt as flash floods hit the city.

"I don’t ever want again to see Niagara Falls rushing down the stairs in the New York City subways," Hochul said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio also vowed changes to the city's storm preparation on Friday, announcing a plan to warn New Yorkers earlier and more frequently about severe weather.

The city will specifically work more aggressively to warn residents of basement apartments through cellphone alerts and door-to-door visits, the mayor said, though that plan was light on details. A majority of the New Yorkers who died this week were trapped in below-ground homes.

More coverage of Hurricane Ida in New York City:

• 'Expect The Very, Very Worst': NYC Faces Future Ida-Scale Threats
• At Least 9 Dead After Hurricane Ida Remnants Flood NYC
• Central Park Again Records Wettest Hour In NYC History
• Woodside Toddler Among At Least 9 Dead After Historic Flooding
• 'We Need It Today:' Queens Leaders Demand Help After Major Storm
• Ida Brings 'Unbelievable' Flooding To Central Brooklyn, BP Says
• FDR Drive Flooding Tops Upper East Side's Rainstorm Woes
• Retaining Wall Collapses In Inwood: Upper Manhattan Storm Recap
• Forest Hills Woman Among At Least 9 Dead After Historic Flooding