Schumer seeks FEMA funding for storm-damaged beaches

Sen. Charles Schumer called upon the federal government Thursday to provide money for Long Island beach repairs after multiple storms in March carried away 220,000 cubic yards of sand.

"It's time for FEMA to step up to the plate," Schumer said during a news conference in Lido Beach West, which was heavily damaged in the storms.

Joined by Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, Schumer demanded that the Federal Emergency Management Agency direct the Army Corps of Engineers to assess beach erosion that has occurred since November.

Schumer and Murray toured dunes that have been turned by erosion into 15-foot-high cliffs. Before the storms, the dunes provided a sloped descent to the beach. Town of Hempstead beaches have lost between 50 and 75 feet of shoreline, Murray said.

Dunes are designed to protect commercial buildings and homes from the ocean. Eroded dunes pose a threat to inland property should more storms hit the beach, the officials said.

On Nov. 12, 2009, a nor'easter hit Long Island and caused widespread erosion to Lido Beach. The Army Corps of Engineers agreed that the beach's remaining protective dunes were not sufficient to protect private homes and buildings, Schumer said.

But FEMA didn't agree and the Town of Hempstead's request for federal money was denied. Now, after the two battering March storms, FEMA should reconsider its earlier decision, Schumer said.

"Local taxpayers should not have to pay to keep up these beaches," Schumer said. "They are a federal responsibility. When there's a federal disaster, the federal government comes in and protects natural areas."

Phyllis Deroian, a spokeswoman for FEMA, said that an inspection of Lido Beach during November revealed that dunes weren't so degraded that they couldn't protect the barrier island.

"Now, anything additional would have to come from future declarations," Deroian said, referring to a declaration of natural disaster, which the White House makes.

FEMA investigators are currently on Long Island assessing storm damage. Deroian said she didn't know when the White House would make a decision on New York's disaster declaration.