Greene County Designated for FEMA Public Assistance for Sandy Response, Rebuilding Costs

14 New York counties now eligible for public infrastructure repair, emergency work and cleanup reimbursement

NEW YORK – The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today that Greene County is now eligible for disaster aid under the FEMA Public Assistance program.

The Public Assistance program reimburses state and local governments, tribal organizations and certain private nonprofit entities at least 75 percent of costs for disaster-related expenses associated with emergency protective measures, debris removal, and the repair and restoration of damaged infrastructure. The remaining 25 percent comes from non-federal funds.

In order to qualify, damage must be a direct result of Hurricane Sandy.

“I am pleased to announce that Greene County has been added to the disaster declaration,” said Michael F. Byrne, FEMA federal coordinating officer. “As the recovery continues, FEMA is working with our state and local partners to rebuild New York. We have been here since the beginning and will stay here until our work is done.”

With the addition of Greene County, there are now 14 New York counties designated for Public Assistance  under President Obama’s federal disaster declaration for New York, including: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester and Greene.

In the seven weeks since Hurricane Sandy made landfall, FEMA has awarded more than

$318 million to local governments and eligible nonprofit organizations.

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/SandyNY, www.twitter.com/FEMASandy, www.facebook.com/FEMASandy and www.fema.gov/blog.