5 Emergency Generators Will Prepare City and Town against Future Storm Events and Ensure Continuity of Government Operations and Relief Efforts
Amsterdam, NY (July 18, 2016) – The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) today announced the groundbreaking for the installation of five emergency standby generators in communities hard-hit by flooding and storms in recent years. This $1.5 million project is part of the NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program’s efforts to create stronger and resilient infrastructure in the event of a future storm or emergency.
“In addition to flooding, Hurricane Irene resulted in widespread power outages throughout the area which hampered relief efforts. These new generators will ensure the City and Town of Amsterdam will be able to meet future emergency needs without delay,” said Executive Director of GOSR, Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “This is a direct result of the local participation process Governor Cuomo envisioned when we established the Community Reconstruction program to set resiliency priorities at the grass roots level. Local, civic-minded residents are the people who best know the needs of their community. I am grateful to the local committee for their hard work and dedication in making this project a reality.”
Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) engineers, architects and project managers are providing design and construction services for the Amsterdam project. It is part of approximately 60 projects valued at about $166 million that DASNY and GOSR are partnering on across New York State. Here, they partnered with the City and Town of Amsterdam, Greater Amsterdam School District, Dewberry Engineers and LaCorte, a certified woman-owned business enterprise. Other partners include Montgomery County Emergency Management and the Red Cross.
“DASNY is proud to work with the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery in strengthening communities across the state against increasingly powerful storms,” said Gerrard P. Bushell, DASNY President & CEO. “The installation of these generators in Amsterdam is an important step in answering Governor Cuomo’s call for a more resilient and sustainable New York.”
During Hurricane Irene, power outages across the City and Town of Amsterdam, particularly in the South Side and West Side, resulted in the closure of critical government operations for several days after the storm. As part of the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Plan, GOSR in partnership with the City and Town of Amsterdam and a group of community-minded volunteers worked to create a plan to ensure government operations run efficiently and uninterrupted during a future emergency. Implementation of this project will provide emergency backup power for municipal buildings and school emergency shelters in the City and Town of Amsterdam.
A total of $1.5 million was allocated to install the five standby emergency generators. The generators will be located at City Hall, Town Hall, the City Department of Public Works building, Amsterdam High School and Barkley Elementary School.
Construction is expected to be completed by this December.
NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program
Announced by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in April 2013, the NYRCR Program seeks to empower storm-impacted communities throughout the State, helping them to build back better and stronger than before. Altogether, more than 650 New Yorkers served on 66 NYRCR Committees, which have collectively proposed approximately 700 locally-oriented projects. Throughout the eight-month planning process, the program has held more than 650 Planning Committee meetings and more than 250 large scale Public Engagement Events. Funding for both planning and project implementation comes from HUD’s CDBG-DR Program.
Established in June 2013, GOSR coordinates Statewide recovery efforts for Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Through its NYRCR Program− as well as its NY Rising Housing Recovery, Small Business and Infrastructure programs− GOSR invests $4.4 billion made available through HUD’s CDBG-DR Program to better prepare New York for future extreme weather events. More information about GOSR and its programs is available online at http://stormrecovery.ny.gov/.