On anniversary of Sandy, Gov. Cuomo dedicates funds to make NY stronger
By DAN O'REGAN
Nearly one year after Superstorm Sandy made landfall, part of $32 billion in federal money is being allocated to new projects recently approved by the federal government to strengthen and reinforce vulnerable structures and power systems on Long Island to make sure the structures less susceptible during the next big storm.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that $50 million will be used to create a power outage management system; $20 million will go towards the implementation of microgrids in one Nassau and one Suffolk community; $47 million will go towards hardening infrastructure of bridges and roads found to be susceptible during Superstorm Sandy; $455 million will go to modernizing the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant; and $442 million will go to modernizing the Bergen Point Sewage Treatment Plant.
"With this latest approval we're really going to a different phase now, which is we're improving the situation," Cuomo said. "A lot of the past year has been just stabilizing and getting people back into homes and repairing, trying to get back to where we were. This is the first time really that we're going to a place we've never been to before."
The creation of a power outage management system was a recommendation by the Moreland Commission on Utility Storm Preparation and Response after the poor performance of the Long Island Power Authority responding to the blackouts after Superstorm Sandy. The management system would be used by the Public Service Electric and Gas Company to better respond to blackouts in the event of another big storm.
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http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2013-10-25-85579.113122-On-anniversary-of-Sandy-Gov-Cuomo-dedicates-funds-to-make-NY-stronger.html