$1.5B To Allow Mamaroneck Flood Mitigation Construction: Schumer

MAMARONECK, NY — A new $1.5 billion funding package will allow a long-stalled flood mitigation project in Mamaroneck to be fast-tracked in the wake of the recent disaster, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday.

Schumer said that he secured the $1.5 billion in disaster supplemental aid to fast-track Ida-impacted Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) construction projects, including the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Flood Risk Management Project. New York's senior senator explained this means the project could receive funding quickly, bypassing several of the bureaucratic hiccups that have stalled construction for years.

The project has been stalled for the past two years by the Trump administration based on faulty cost-benefit analysis, according to Schumer, despite strong support from the USACE, which would provide the "boots on the ground" necessary for construction.

“Following the horrible flooding in Mamaroneck last month, which caused millions of dollars in damage, terrorized the community, and claimed the life of one person, I’m proud to deliver funding for Ida-affected communities, and am also pleased about getting the feds to finally greenlight the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Flood Risk Management Project,” Schumer said announcing the new funding. “The past administration bottled up this vital flood mitigation project in [Office of Management and Budget] bureaucratic jail based on faulty logic, and I’ve worked day and night for the last month to bust that logjam.”

The completed project would reduce flood risk for the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Basins and protect residents and business owners by constructing retaining walls and a diversion culvert, according to a USACE study. The project would also enable the deepening and widening of river channels, elevate structures, and remove and replace two bridges that constrict flood flow. The plan is estimated to potentially reduce average annual damages by approximately 87 percent and help reduce the risk of loss of life, according to the survey.

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“Since Hurricane Ida devastated our village we have made great strides in getting the Army Corps of Engineers plan to control flooding on the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers back on track," Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy said of the news that funding for the project had been secured. "A few weeks ago the Office of Management and Budget told Senator Schumer that it will be supportive of our plan and the news today that the senator has secured $1.5 billion to jumpstart Army Corps construction projects in Ida-impacted communities, like ours, means that we are one step closer to shovels in the ground on this long overdue project."