The Village of New Hyde Park will be eligible for funds from Federal Emergency Management Agency that will likely cover most of the clean-up expenses the village incurred during the post-Christmas blizzard of 2010.
“We were told FEMA will cover the costs we show them for the 48-hour period on December 26 through 27. It’s a lot of paperwork and submitting of forms, but it’s worth it,” Deputy Village Treasurer Eileen Reguseo said at Tuesday night’s village board meeting.
The estimated cost to clean up in the aftermath of that two-foot snowfall was $16,900.
“FEMA will reimburse the village for costs related to the wear and tear of village trucks, money used to replenish supplies, and also labor costs during the two-day blizzard,” said Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro. “Fences at the LIRR station were also damaged during the blizzard, and FEMA agreed to help pay for those repairs as well.”
The Long Island Rail Road fences were damaged by a private firm that piled snow against them with their own snow plows.
“We still have to check over the fence area to assess the damage,” said senior building official Tom Gannon
“I don’t mind when it’s federal money paying for it,” Lofaro replied, smiling.
The village was informed by Nassau County that they may be eligible for federal aid, Reguseo said.
Reguseo and Gannon attended an “organizational” meeting with FEMA over two weeks ago, confirming the announcement.
Reguseo and Gannon will be meeting with FEMA officials on March 24 to determine what the next steps will be taken in the FEMA assessment.
At the meeting, Village Trustee Donald Barbieri announced plans for the Jericho Road project will be given to the department of transportation on March 27.
Plans for the Jericho Road project have been ongoing for the past 18 months as the village and the DOT go over the specifics. During the last year New Hyde Park held multiple meetings for public input on the project and now the village is looking to finalize plans.
Village officials have also been consulting with representatives of the New Hyde Park Fire Department about planned “bulbout” curbs and medians that could impede fire truck access to certain streets that intersect Jericho Turnpike.
“We’re looking to get the DOT to sign off on the plans,” Barbieri said. “I’m optimistic about this. We expect there may be a little tweaking to the plans, but we would like the DOT to hurry up and approve this already.”
