A federal buyout program will take 40 Greene County properties and turn them into permanent "open space" - Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports
The owners of 40 parcels of land that incurred irreparable damages as a result of Tropical Storm Irene have applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a federal buyout
Assemblyman Pete Lopez explains the buyout plan falls under FEMA's Flood Mitigation Program
Under the buyout plan, property damage totaling at least 50 percent of the land?s value makes the parcel eligible to be bought out through FEMA
Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden says of the 40 property-owners who applied, 29 parcels lie within the New York City watershed.
Groden points out that real estate appraisals will be made on each of the properties to be bought out. The county will bear the cost for clean-up and be reimbursed upon completion of sale.
Groden says the county has spent in excess of 10 Million Dollars on storm damage
Assemblyman Lopez is turning his attention to long-term housing issues to help flood-devastated counties rebound
When Irene tore through New York in August 2011, it dropped 13-point-3 inches of rain on Greene County and the resulting disaster was described as "five-hundred-year-flood" conditions.