Three years after Hurricane Irene hit the Hudson Valley, a New York Congressman and other elected officials announced more funding for Orange County for recovery efforts.
Elected officials stood in Middletown Thursday to announce $11.5 million in additional Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief funding for Orange County. Democratic Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney says he pushed through a lot of bureaucratic red tape to secure federal investment, and worked with HUD to reallocate funds to fulfill unmet Hurricane Irene recovery needs.
“The critical thing is that we make the investments now that will save us money in the future on disaster recovery,” says Maloney. “It is a classic ‘stitch-in-time-saves-nine’ issue because if you do the work ahead of time, it‘s much more efficient than if you do it after the disaster strikes.”
Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano says it is a critical time for his city to repair past damage and prepare for future storms.
