Governor Kathy Hochul joined U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on March 22 to announce the approval of federal funds by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to advance significant repairs of a damaged coastal project on Fire Island following a series of devastating coastal storms.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers disbursed $3.5 million to its New York District Office to expedite project engineering and design. To advance repairs, the New York District is undertaking a detailed survey of existing topographical conditions, information that is essential to the engineering and design of the project. New York State previously allocated $3 million to Suffolk County for an interim project to immediately reduce risk to the most vulnerable Fire Island communities; the interim project is nearing completion.
“I will do everything I can to keep New Yorkers safe, especially the communities most vulnerable to extreme weather,“ Hochul said. “With increasingly frequent and extreme storms, New York is working hard to protect our communities, homes and infrastructure. I am grateful to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its expedited response to our request for emergency repairs.”
USACE New York District Commander Colonel Alex Young said the agency is “pleased to be taking the next step in the process by beginning the engineering and design phase concerning emergency coastal repairs on the eastern end of Fire Island.”
Schumer met with Young to make the case for the investment in helping the Fire Island community and coastline hit hard by recent storms. “Restoring the dune on Fire Island is important not only to protect its communities, but to ensure the integrity of the island, a barrier that protects Long Island’s densely populated South Shore,” Schumer said. “Now that federal funds are flowing, design work will begin in earnest to get emergency rehabilitation underway as soon as possible.”
Gillibrand called the restoration of the south shore of Long Island “one of my top priorities, and I will keep fighting to help secure the federal assistance communities need.”
Earlier this year, Hochul formally requested expedited approval of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) request to USACE for emergency rehabilitation assistance for the Corps’ Coastal Storm Risk Management Project along eastern Fire Island. This project was damaged during Hurricane Lee and Tropical Storm Ophelia last September, and, more recently, in December 2023. New York’s repeated requests initiated a process under a federal program PL 84-99, that lets USACE deploy significant repair funds to fix projects damaged by storms determined to constitute an extreme weather event.
“Long Island coastal communities will directly benefit from today’s determination by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as New York State continues its comprehensive efforts to protect communities against climate change-induced extreme weather events,” said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos.
In January, Hochul announced additional state funding to support critical resiliency projects to stabilize communities and restore impacted beaches along Long Island’s South Shore, including Fire Island and Gilgo State Park and the town of Babylon. New York State is also partnering with Suffolk County, and provided $3 million to support for an interim sand and large sand bag project on eastern Fire Island communities; this interim effort is nearing completion.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine added, “Only through the partnership between all levels of government can we address this critical issue. Suffolk County is thankful for this assistance and support in our efforts to safeguard our shorelines.”