City of Long Beach Awarded Nearly $10 Million to Repair Boardwalk, Facilities Damaged During Sandy

LONG BEACH, NY - The City of Long Beach was recently awarded a federal grant of almost $10 million to go towards repairing the Long Beach Beach Boardwalk and other facilities that were damaged during Superstorm Sandy, U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice announced on Tuesday.

“These investments remain critical as renovation efforts progress and helps ensure that local taxpayers aren’t left alone to foot the bill as we continue rebuilding our infrastructure,” Gillibrand said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) agreed to cover 90 percent of the cost of rebuilding the boardwalk, but initially declined additional costs totaling more than $9 million.

Long Beach officials successfully appealed that decision, and FEMA will now reimburse the city for an additional $8,291,085.23 spent repairing the boardwalk and $1,553,231.76 spent repairing damage to the Sanitation Garage, the Beach Maintenance and Highway Garage Building, and the Pay Loader Shop.

“The boardwalk in Long Beach is the cultural, recreational and economic heart of this city, and that’s why it has been so important for us to rebuild it and make it stronger,” Schumer said. “I am pleased that FEMA is reimbursing these funds so that the city of Long Beach and its taxpayers are not on the hook for these much-needed expenses.”