Local, county and federal assistance
Locally, a group of New Paltz residents are organizing a concert to help raise money and assistance for those hit hardest by the storm, including local farmers.
Flood Aid for New Paltz Farmers, Families and First Responders, will take place on Oct. 16 from noon to 6 p.m. The location will be announced at a later time.
The organizers, which includes Teresa Fall, Ben Resch and Judy Vanik Ness to name a few, ask that anyone interested in helping out or who have a band interested in playing or “just have questions and want more information,” should e-mail them to [email protected].
The New Paltz Emergency Operations Center invites community members that have items that were damaged during the storm and need to be discarded or recycled, to use the New Paltz Recycling Center free of charge through Saturday, Sept. 17. Residents are asking to bring proof of New Paltz residency and complete a damage assessment form. Forms are available at the recycling center, or they can be downloaded from www.townofnewpaltz.org. The link to the form is on the town’s home page and is called, Ulster County Damage Assessment Form.
Village of New Paltz residents may place storm-related brush, such as fallen tree limbs, at the edge of the road and the Department of Public Works will haul it away. The Town of New Paltz Highway Department will also establish a program to remove brush placed by the side of the road, however, the department’s current priority is to repair damaged roads and culverts.
If you would like to volunteer to assist neighbors in need, please contact Kathy Cartagena via [email protected].
During a post-Irene press briefing held last week, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein was joined by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, state Sen. William Larkin, top executives from Central Hudson, the county’s Highway Department and Art Snyder, the director of Ulster County emergency management. Both Hein and Congressman Hinchey said that they were doing “everything in our power to assist our farmers who have suffered such devastating losses.”
“I took a helicopter ride along the Wallkill River corridor and saw how badly the Ferrantes were hit and all of the farms up and down that corridor,” Hein added. “Agriculture is a $500 million business in Ulster County, and we are painfully aware of the crops that have been devastated, the corn crops, tomato crops, apple farmers losing their McIntosh crops.”
The County Executive went on to say that farmers should also file an application for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “This is also an agricultural disaster and the storm took a significant hit on our farms, which is an enormous part of our economy.”
Hinchey also noted that he’d be working at the federal level to bring relief to the area.
On a federal scale, President Barack Obama issued a major disaster declaration for the State of New York on Aug. 31, triggering the release of federal funds to help residents and communities in Ulster County, as well as other area counties, to recover from Irene.
The federal government has deemed Ulster County eligible for both public assistance, which will allow municipalities and certain non-profits to rebuild roads and infrastructure, and individual assistance, which will allow residents and businesses to file for federal help.
Residents or business owners whose property has been damaged by Hurricane Irene should: 1) take photographs of all damage, and 2) report the damage to their insurance company and file a claim.
Applications for assistance may be submitted beginning on Thursday, Sept. 1 by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or filing online at www.disasterassistance.gov. Hearing impaired individuals using TTY may call 1-800-462-7585 or via video relay at 1-800-621-3362. These phone lines will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Congressman Hinchey noted that the collaborative work between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sen. Chuck Schumer, along with himself and other members of the state and federal government were successful in impressing upon the president how “dire the situation is here in Ulster County as well as Greene County and others.”
