Binghamton is Included in Flood Mitigation Grants

A flood prevention project in the City of Binghamton is among ten storm mitigation works targeted to share $128 million in federal funds being allocated by New York State.

Governor Andrew Cuomo says funds from the Hazardous Mitigation Grant Program will provide 75% reimbursement for the costs of the projects in Binghamton, Island Park in Nassau County, Sidney, Conklin and two projects in Endicott.

$40 million is going to Island Park, $22 million for earthen channels to hold back flood water in Sidney, $4 million for building flood-resistant buildings in the Exchange Street area in Binghamton, $1.8 million for the Carlin Creek South Watershed Improvement program in Conklin and, in Endicott, $2 million for the Huron Campus and $184,000 to transition an unused runway at Tri Cities Airport into a system to hold back flood water.

The grant program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is also slated to buy out 170 homes in Sidney and in the Mohawk Valley that were damaged during Tropical Storm Lee, Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy.

While three-quarters of the project costs are covered under the federal grant program, municipalities could apply to the state for grants to help complete the funding.