President Barack Obama has authorized a disaster declaration that will help New York State pay for cleaning up Suffolk County after the blizzard that dumped nearly three feet of snow in February.
The declaration makes Suffolk eligible for assistance from Federal Emergency Management Agency. The county and the state will also be eligible for federal assistance with the cost of snow removal on eastern Long Island.
“Suffolk County bore the worst of the storm’s impact on New York,” said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who co-wrote a request to the president with U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer. “Residents throughout Suffolk County and New York should not be left shouldering all of these costs alone.”
The Feb. 8 snowstorm forced scores of drivers to abandon their vehicles on roadways including the Long Island Expressway, which was closed for days while hundreds of snowplows were brought in from upstate to clear the way.
Countless other roads were also forced closed by the powerful nor’easter, dubbed Winter Storm Nemo, which brought the highest accumulations in the Town of Brookhaven, where residents were most critical of the municipalities response.
