Politics & Government
New Legislation Aims to Strengthen Suffolk's Infrastructure Post-Sandy
Suffolk DPO Wayne Horsley's sponsoring legislation expected to pass Tuesday that would create a new Capital Project Coordinating Working Group to 'better communicate and coordinate' the capital projects of the County in the wake of the superstorm.
This article was posted by Kaitlyn Piccoli. It was written by Barbara Capella Loehr.
It’s been almost six months since Hurricane Sandy ravaged West Islip and the rest of Long Island.
Sandy flooded homes, knocked down numerous trees and took out most of the electric and gas grid that resulted in a multitude of hardships - including the loss and damage of homes and businesses, long gasoline lines and power and heat outages - that lasted days, weeks and months after the superstorm.
New Legislation
In the wake of Sandy, Suffolk County Legislature Deputy Presiding Officer Wayne Horsley has proposed legislation aimed at strengthening the County’s infrastructure network against future adverse weather events.
He announced the legislation on Monday at a press conference at Camp Bulldog in Lindenhurst he started shaping in December, and he was expecting it to pass on Tuesday during the Legislature’s next session.
The resolution Horsley’s sponsoring and going before the entire Legislature would create a new Capital Project Coordinating Working Group to “better communicate and coordinate” the capital projects of the County and other public and private entities.
The Group
The Group would be comprised of 16 members from all of the major utilities - both public and private - that would meet quarterly.
The goal is to “maximize efficiencies” while saving money, said Horsley, who’s also the chairman of the Economic Development and Energy Committee.
To do so, he said, the Group would have eyes on every capital project - such as excavation of roads, curbs and sidewalks - in Suffolk so it could cut any redundancies, offer suggestions to save money and ensure what should go in does and what shouldn’t doesn’t.
Specifically Group members include:
- The commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Public Works, or his/her designee, serving as the chairperson of the committee.
- Two representatives from the Suffolk County Water Authority with policy-making knowledge and/or technical expertise.
- One representative from the New York State Department of Transportation with policy-making knowledge and/or technical expertise.
- One representative from the Suffolk County Village Officials’ Association.
- One representative from the Suffolk County Supervisors’ Association.
- Two representatives from LIPA with policy-making knowledge and/or technical expertise.
- Two representatives from National Grid’s gas business with policy-making knowledge and/or technical expertise.
- Two representatives from Cablevision with policy-making knowledge and/or technical expertise.
- Two representatives from Verizon with policy-making knowledge and/or technical expertise.
- One representative from the Long Island Gas Retailers’ Association.
- One representative from the Long Island Contractors’ Association, Incorporated.
Horsley also felt the implementation of the new Group would streamline Suffolk’s capital projects and ensure all pertinent parties are talking to each other before, during and after a crisis or storm like Sandy to avoid the miscommunication and confusion that occurred in the weeks after Sandy when gas lines were long and residents were in the dark and without heat, in many cases, for weeks.
“Superstorm Sandy has inflicted unprecedented devastation upon the residents of Suffolk County. This Group will enable these vital service providers to join forces in preparation for future weather events,” Horsley stated, noting this new Group will be in place ahead of the next storm season, due to start June 1.
Local Support
Officials from the aforementioned entities to be represented in the Group , plus officials from IBEW Local 1049, joined Horsley along with several other local Suffolk legislators, as well as Lindenhurst Mayor Tom Brennan, Babylon Village Mayor Ralph Scordino and Amityville Deputy Mayor Jessica Bernius - a Sandy victim herself.
All underscored their support for this legislation, each having seen the crippling effects to the infrastructure Sandy wrought.
“This legislation needs to be done. It’d be an asset to every community, and we can’t let what happened after Sandy happen again,” Brennan said, who noted for the VOL’s part the Village already started asking several years ago any new businesses opening to put their electrical wires and connections underground.
“It’s important for the power players in all of this to improve infrastructure, as it’ll help our communities and our own homes,” said Scordino, who’s also the SCVOA president.
“The most important thing is communication in situations like this, and this would provide that before another storm occurs. It’s vital,” Bernius said.
“We look forward to working with this new committee that can provide a vehicle for more integrated planning,” said LIPA Vice President Michael Deering.
“Through this working group we’ll be able to identify opportunities where we can better coordinate capital projects, safeguard our infrastructure and improve reliability and resiliency of systems throughout Long Island,” he added.
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