Officials Upset With FEMA’s Decision On Flood Assistance

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente was joined by Senator Joseph Griffo and other local officials on Friday to express their disappointment with FEMA’s decision to deny individual assistance to the victims of the Halloween flooding.

Picente has written to President Trump, asking him to consider ways to declare emergencies eligible for federal funding on a county-by-county basis.

The County Executive says the denial is unacceptable and if the destruction left in the wake of the most recent flooding is not enough to elicit help from the federal government, he's truly at a loss.

Picente and Griffo are also calling for Governor Andrew Cuomo to appeal the decision immediately.

FEMA has approved funding for municipalities that were affected by the flooding.

Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the following statement on FEMA's denial for flood assistance:

"It is unacceptable that the federal government has denied our request for individual assistance for the residents affected by the Halloween 2019 storm and I'm demanding the Federal Emergency Management Agency provide a detailed explanation on the denial.

 "Across Essex, Hamilton, Herkimer and Oneida counties, heavy rainfall, flash flooding and strong winds damaged nearly 300 homes, 18 of which were destroyed. The lives of hundreds of families were altered and the destruction was substantial - more than $33 million in damages to public infrastructure and facilities alone.

"FEMA needs to step up, do the right thing and help these people restore and rebuild their lives and homes. The agency's sole mission is to help communities dealing with disasters and a one-sentence denial is woefully inadequate and does nothing to offer hope for these families. We will be appealing this denial."