Assemblyman Chris Friend (R – Big Flats) is pleased by Governor Cuomo’s recent announcement that New York’s Department of State is issuing another round of grant money to support local communities devastated by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. The Tioga County towns of Nichols and Tioga, as well as the village of Owego, are three of the communities each receiving a $50,000 rebuilding grant.

“Tioga County was hit particularly hard by Lee last fall,” said Friend. “I’m pleased to see the Department of State take action to help our communities mitigate future flood damage and restore their social and economic vibrancy.”

The grants provided by the Department of State will assist in the creation and implementation of strategies for rebuilding and renewing the infrastructure of the areas. The grant money for Owego will establish a blueprint to create projects to restore the housing situation since over 80 percent of homeowners in the town were affected by flooding, as well as creating projects to restore the local economy. Another feature of the plans for Owego will be to make the village less vulnerable to future storms. Nichols and Tioga, in conjunction with Tioga County, will be completing a strategy to relocate residents outside of the flood plains while keeping them inside the towns themselves in order to maintain the tax base. Improvements to roads and bridges along the Susquehanna River, Wappasening Creek and Pipe Creek to reduce their vulnerability in storms also are a part of the plans. Assemblyman Friend is confident these strategies will be successfully implemented.

“With the support provided by the grant money, the plans for the rebuilding efforts in Owego, Nichols and Tioga should prove to be effective,” said Friend. “By giving the money to the village and towns directly based on their plans, the areas in our communities most in need will receive help more quickly.”

The grant money issued by the Department of State came from applications submitted on January 12, 2012. With a maximum award of $50,000, the applications were based on a competitive process and were submitted by affected municipalities or by counties or not-for-profits on their behalf. To be eligible for the next round of grants, applications have to be submitted by March 1, 2012 at 4 p.m. Communities should visit the following site to apply: http://www.dos.ny.gov/communityprojects/rfa-11-cstl-10/index.html.