FEMA Says 'No' To Yonkers Request For $5.2M In Ida Relief

YONKERS, NY —A request by Yonkers for relief funds for emergency repairs to infrastructure damage caused by Hurricane Ida has been denied by FEMA.

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano this week announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the City of Yonkers $5.2 million required to stabilize three slopes along the Hudson River and MTA Metro-North Railroad.

The mayor say the decision will leave Yonkers taxpayers on the hook to fund the emergency repairs.

"Despite President Biden’s declaration of a major disaster caused by Hurricane Ida, FEMA denied Yonkers funding that would mitigate the damage of the storm," Spano said in a segment reacting to the news. "We are deeply concerned FEMA has decided to back away from its commitment to assist residents during and after major disasters, like the one we experienced. By ignoring the agency’s core obligation, Yonkers is left to handle the storm’s rippling effects, placing this community, the Hudson Valley and its future in peril."

In September 2021, Hurricane Ida caused runoff from Warburton Avenue, alongside the Hudson River and Metro-North Railroad, to pound water flow channeled through a culvert on New York State property, under the Old Croton Aqueduct, the mayor explained. The concentrated flow caused substantial damage to the slope supporting Warburton Avenue, the homes and a residential building, washing thousands of tons of soil down onto the Metro-North Hudson Line railroad track, causing a four-day closure of one of the busiest commuter rail lines in the country.

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"What FEMA fails to realize is that their lack of action exposes Metro North’s vulnerability to future storm damage along its tracks — not only affecting Yonkers, but the entire Hudson Valley region," Mayor Spano added, "The infrastructure repairs necessary to shore up the slopes along Warburton Avenue and the Metro North rail line are imperative in order to prevent our economy and livelihood from coming to screeching halt once again."

The City of Yonkers was notified of FEMA’s denial this week, after the city first applied for assistance and filed two appeals over the last three years, Yonkers officials said.

"After repeated amendments and appeals to our application based on the agency’s initial comments, FEMA has failed to uphold its mission and has failed the people of Yonkers," Spano said. "Instead, Yonkers taxpayers are left footing the bill of an empty promise ... The question now remains, what will FEMA do when, not if, this happens again? I am afraid loss of property may be the least of the devastation."