LI to get federal funds for Dec. blizzard

President Barack Obama yesterday declared the brutal post-Christmas blizzard a major disaster, triggering the release of federal funds for communities in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the Dec. 26-27 storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said in a news release.

"This has been a brutal winter for Nassau and Suffolk Counties and municipal and county budgets have been stretched to the breaking point in dealing with the clean-up efforts," Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "These dollars will go a long way toward helping recover some of those costs and proving some much needed relief to local taxpayers."