Trump: No blizzard disaster assistance for NYS

ALBANY — The Trump administration on Wednesday denied New York’s second attempt to secure disaster aid for damages caused by a February blizzard in the Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island.

The denial cost the state some $168 million or more, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration said. Among the details, it said the Long Island Power Authority reported over $20 million in damages due to wind-blown trees falling on power lines.

The governor called the denial an instance of "political games."

"This storm met every FEMA threshold for federal assistance, yet the Trump Administration continues to play political games and betray every New Yorker who believes that the federal government is there to protect and support them," Hochul said in a statement, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA, in a statement, didn't directly address the aid denial but accused Hochul of "manufacturing a funding crisis" and asserted that New York is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent homeland security aid.

The White House didn’t immediately comment.

In July, Politico reported that President Donald Trump overruled a FEMA decision to send financial aid to New York and three other Northeastern states — all led by Democrats — for costs associated with the record-breaking storm.

It is unusual for a president to deny a disaster-aid request once a federal agency has determined a state has met the requirements regarding the cost of damages.

Hochul sent a letter to Trump in July, appealing his decision. On Wednesday, Hochul said she’d been notified the appeal was denied.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, previously said New York’s aid request failed to meet federal requirements.

Garbarino’s office issued a statement in July, saying: "According to FEMA, more than 90% of Gov. Hochul’s request was for reimbursement of the State’s snow removal operations ... was for plowing, which is viewed to be a state and local government responsibility."

Newsday's Laura Figueroa Hernandez and Billy House contributed to this story.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy