On Oct. 12, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the creation of a $7.4 million fund for emergency planning and operational readiness for disasters.
“This funding is critically important to communities in New York State as we continue to recover from the storm-related damages we have experienced over recent months,” Hochul said. “As we are forced to deal with the devastating effects of climate change more regularly, I am confident that our local emergency management agencies will put this money to good use in preparing for future disasters.”
$351,492 of the total is available to Westchester County, along with $118,787 for Rockland, $41,401 for Putnam, $141,102 for Orange, $113,604 for Dutchess and $71,622 for Ulster. New York City has also been allocated up to $2,989,486.
Financed through federal funding, the annual Emergency Management Performance Grant will be open to all county emergency management agencies in the state.
The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services will administer the funds of behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“In recent years, New York experienced a wide range of emergency scenarios spanning a pandemic and natural disasters to acts of terrorism, making it essential for emergency management personnel to have the resources they need to keep our communities safe,” said Terence J. O’Leary, executive deputy commissioner of the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. “These grants will provide critical funding to our local partners to strengthen their readiness posture.”
The funding can be used for costs related to management, administration, planning, staffing, equipment, training, construction and renovation of emergency operations centers and GIS and communication systems.
