Schumer Urges FEMA To Fully Fund The Last 5 Major Penn Yan Flood Repair Projects, Including Owl's Nest Building Site; Building Collapsed Due To Heavy Flooding More Than A Year Ago -- FEMA Has Approved 12 Funding Requests For Other Repair Projects But Has Yet To Approve Final 5 Requests

Press Release

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fully fund repair work the Village of Penn Yan requested following devastating floods that destroyed local buildings, including the Owl's Nest. FEMA agreed to reimburse repair work with federal funds following the May 2014 floods and approved 12 of Penn Yan's funding requests. While other towns and villages in Yates County have been able to complete their repairs, the Village of Penn Yan is still waiting on their final five requests to be approved. The village already completed a comprehensive review of the damage many of their buildings, roads, and infrastructure sustained and is now waiting on FEMA officials to conduct an independent site evaluation next week to determine whether two of the five projects intended to repair washed out roads will be approved. The village is awaiting approval from the State Historic Preservation Office on one project, and is awaiting final FEMA administrative approval on that project and two other projects intended to repair the Owl Nest site, Clinton Street, and the Central Avenue Spur. In a letter to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Schumer urged FEMA to expedite approval of these final Penn Yan funding requests.

"For more than a year the Village of Penn Yan has waited to receive funding it needs to make critical repairs to buildings and roads in the aftermath of devastating floods. The poster child for this inaction has been the Owl's Nest building, which collapsed leaving behind a gaping hole in the middle of the Village. The site has sat unrepaired for so long, local residents have even now dubbed it "the Owl's Hole.' While Yates County has already completed all of their repair projects, Penn Yan has waited too long for the funding they need to rebuild," said Schumer. "I am calling on FEMA to cut through the red tape, expedite Penn Yan's requests and provide the funding this village needs to complete the reconstruction process."

Schumer explained that the Village of Penn Yan requested more than $410,000 to complete repairs on several buildings, roads, retaining walls, and sidewalks following heavy flooding in May 2014. The village submitted 18 applications for $2.5 million in FEMA aid. FEMA has already approved twelve of those applications, but the village awaits final approval on the five remaining projects. Schumer said these 5 applications represent damaged buildings and infrastructure that were among those most affected by the flooding and that serve as a daily reminder of the flood's damage. Schumer said one of the applications is to repair the Owl's Nest building site. The Owl's Nest building, which eventually collapsed weeks after the flood due to the severe damage it sustained, left behind a gaping hole at the site and an exposed culvert. The site has sat unrepaired for so long, local residents have now dubbed it "the Owl's Hole." Schumer said the village also submitted requests for sidewalk repairs that needed to be made as soon as possible to avoid inflicting further inconveniences onto pedestrians. Schumer said FEMA has scheduled a visit to Penn Yan to assess the damage and make a final assessment on the amount it would reimburse the village, and urged FEMA to promptly review and approve the applications after that site visit.

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