FEMA money secured for NYC area impacted by September flooding of basements, subways
NEW YORK -- Federal assistance is coming to parts of New York to help deal with the impact from a storm back in September.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday the Biden administration approved a Major Disaster Declaration for the New York City area.
"I'm committed to securing every possible dollar of federal aid to help the people of New York," Hochul said in a statement. "The major storm in September caused significant damage, and we'll continue our efforts to help communities recover and rebuild."
Downpours flooded streets, subways and homes in late September.
New Yorkers were urged to stay home, but even home wasn't safe for many basement apartments in Brooklyn, where sewer systems backed up and poured out of people's toilets and tubs. By City Hall's count, three people had to be rescued from basements and 15 people were rescued from their apartments. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
Commuters struggled to get to and from work, with most subway lines disrupted and Metro-North fully suspended for hours out of Manhattan. Parts of the city were slammed with more than seven inches of rain in 24 hours, so water gushing into the system was inevitable, the MTA said.
During the worst of the flooding, almost half of the city's subway lines were either suspended or delayed. Metro-North service into and out of Grand Central was impacted because the system's electrified third rail network in the Bronx was submerged.
The storm impacted major roadways, too. At one point, parts of the FDR Drive, Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Belt Parkway were closed because of flash flooding.
The Major Disaster Declaration secures FEMA money for debris removal, infrastructure repairs and protective measures in Kings, Nassau and Westchester counties.
