Upstate lawmakers seek aid after Irene

Nearly two months since Tropical Storm Irene's floodwaters ripped through the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys, local lawmakers are pushing the state for a more aggressive package of financial incentives, and a special session to act on them.

"I'm working to make an inventory of legislation that's tied to that issue," said Assemb. Pete Lopez (R-Schoharie). And it has to happen now: "We have any number of communities that have been physically and economically devastated, and we're at the point now where businesses and homeowners are still deciding, do we stay or do we go, and if we stay, where do we reinvest?"

He said additional help, and certainty, would help that process before communities become "ghost towns."

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has advanced some programs to help farmers hit by the storm, but has said he wants the federal government to reimburse the state as much as possible for cleanup and recovery costs before he thinks about making a state appropriation.

Also, the governor, along with leaders of the Senate and Assembly, have indicated in recent weeks they have little appetite for a special session before the legislature is scheduled return in January.

According to Morris Peters, a spokesman for the Budget Division, the state share of storm costs is still expected to be around $100 million, which "can be met within our current budget construct" under present operating budgets or a $150 million fund appropriated for emergencies.

Lopez and others are calling for some kind of targeted economic development package, which he suggested could be included through the work of 10 regional economic development councils tasked by Cuomo with drafting five-year plans due in November; the plans will compete for a share of $200 million in funding.

Lopez said he spoke by phone earlier this month with Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy, who is overseeing the councils, about changing the criteria for funding projects to give a boost for flood-affected areas.

Austin Shafran, a spokesman for Empire State Development, which is supporting the councils' work, said "to maintain the integrity of the Regional Council process, an objective scoring criteria has been established that ensures a consistent and performance-based standard to judge the strategic plans."

Other legislators have advanced legislation dealing with the storms. Sen. Jim Seward, a Republican whose district includes hard-hit Greene County, asked the state to shoulder the share of government costs not reimbursed by FEMA, the federal disaster relief agency.

FEMA reimburses roughly 75 percent of the costs, but according to Peters, they are still being calculated.