Raffle of Buffalo Bills Josh Allen jersey taking place to help victims; Will FEMA change flood plain designations?
By JOHN ANDERSON
There is some hope for families affected by the storm who do not qualify on paper for the $50,000 emergency funds from the storm on Friday that hit Steuben and parts of Allegany counties.
After a visit from Gov. Kathy Hochul to South Canisteo where some of the major damage took place, Kate Bowie, allowed the elected officials to hold a press conference in front of her home which was split in half.
After checking the state website for the $50,000 in aid, Bowie posted a photo of the governor in front of her home with the text of “Dear @govkathyhochul, Two days ago, you stood in front of MY house, talked about MY tragedy and how “heartsick” it made you. You said you were “committed to helping the people of this community.” And yet, today I find out that none of this is actually true because we don’t qualify for your funding. You used us for a photo op, for your own gain. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
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The Sun posted a story on this with a comment from Hochul’s office. Since then, Sen. Tom O’Mara, who spoke at the press conference, told the Sun he was “very disappointed with the income threshold Governor Hochul has set for her state aid relief program.”
On Wednesday night, Gov. Hochul’s office said no claims have been denied because the application process has not opened.
A new statement did not say if the income issue would be changed. However the issue thanks to Bowie’s post reaching over 2,200 shares has made the Governor’s office take notice.
The new statement provided to the Sun said:
“Governor Hochul has deployed multiple state agencies to help communities recover after this weekend’s horrific storm. In addition to up to $50,000 in grants for eligible homeowners, emergency resources including generators, pumps, debris removal equipment and bottled water have also been distributed throughout the region. Additionally, Damage Assessment Response teams are assessing structures in hard-hit areas and specialists from the Department of Financial Services are on the ground assisting affected homeowners with insurance claims. To be clear – No one has been rejected from this program — in fact, applications have not yet opened. We will continue working together with community groups and local elected officials to secure the maximum amount of aid for impacted individuals.”
Kate Bowie has been a special education teacher in Canisteo-Greenwood for 16 years and Jen Bowie is a physical education instructor at Hornell and coaches the high school softball team. They are suddenly relying more on a GoFundMe page than any other help.
“We make too much money because the median income for this area is $60,000? She literally said “we’re going to give $50,000 cash, per family.’ She didn’t say anything about stipulations,” Kate Bowie told the Sun. “We lost everything. I have to pay a mortgage on a house I can not live in. It doesn’t matter what I make, we can’t afford to live anywhere else.”
Sen. Tom O’Mara, center, talking about the damage in Steuben County. He was joined by Congressman Nick Langworthy, right.
O’Mara said FEMA has to come through for the residents, and he said making the $50,000 easy for everyone to get has to be a top priority.
“We are pleased the Governor came to the area so soon after the event, offering state aid. However, we are very disappointed with the income threshold Governor Hochul has set for her state aid relief program,” O’Mara told the Sun. “She clearly did not mention that significant limitation when we were meeting with impacted residents or the media last weekend.”
O’Mara said the fight to make change has to continue.
“We will continue to advocate for a better, more encompassing aid program from the state. Unless FEMA comes through with individual assistance from the federal government, this type of state financial assistance is entirely at the discretion of Governor Hochul and must be a top priority,” O’Mara said. “We will keep fighting for these changes on behalf of those we represent.”
This story (click HERE) has a list of GoFundMe accounts to help residents.
There is also a post by Amber Crisman on Facebook stating, “In order to help raise money for the families in Canisteo that lost their homes on August 9 due to the storm and flash flooding, I will be raffling off an autographed Josh Allen jersey as well as an autographed Buffalo Sabres jersey.
The cost is $20 and the winners will be chosen on Tuesday, August 20.
Another issue residents are having is with the flood zone
Janet Thigpen, Certified Floodplain Manager at Southern Tier Central Regional Planning Board has been a champion along with members of the planning board to help residents.
Thigpen and the board have written multiple letters to FEMA specifically about flooding in Steuben County.
Nothing has happened by FEMA.
However, this publicity could get FEMA to consider re-evaluating the floodplains in Steuben Conuty.
The STC is based in Corning. A link to their website is HERE.
