FEMA Cuts More Than $300 Million in Disaster Aid to New York
The New York Times
Much of the money was to go toward flood mitigation in vulnerable areas of New York City that were struck hard by Hurricane Sandy and the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is cutting $325 million in grants that was to go to New York State, much of it destined for essential flood mitigation efforts in New York City, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
The cuts are part of a broader assault by President Trump and Kristi Noem, his homeland security secretary, on the federal government’s disaster response responsibilities, with both arguing that states should shoulder the burden for this work.
But the loss of the FEMA funds will be particularly damaging to the New York City area, where the remnants of Hurricane Ida killed 14 New Yorkers in 2021, drowning 11 of them in basement apartments.
Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, questioned the wisdom of the cuts, saying the grants were “critical to help us rebuild” after a litany of major weather disasters that had hit the state in recent years.
“Cutting infrastructure funding for communities across New York is shortsighted and a massive risk to public safety,” Ms. Hochul said in a statement.
FEMA announced on Friday that it was canceling the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, calling it in a statement “wasteful and ineffective” and “more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.” BRIC has distributed $5 billion in grants nationally since it started in 2020, during Mr. Trump’s first term.
