RyeCity REVIEW THE
October 15, 2021 | Vol. 9, Number 39 | www.ryecityreview.com
Schumer secures $1.5B for Ida-impacted project
Tied together Players from Harrison and Rye battle for a ball on Oct. 8, 2021. The Huskies and Garnets battled to a 0-0 draw in a rivalry game. For story, see page 16. Photo/Mike Smith
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots now available There has been a great deal of talk regarding booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccine, and the county is getting ready for this enormous task. Beginning Oct. 6, the Westchester County Department of Health will be holding Pfizer vaccine booster clinics, by appointment only, every Wednesday and
Thursday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., at 134 Court St., in White Plains. To be eligible to receive a Pfizer booster dose at one of our clinics, you must have completed your original Pfizer vaccine series at least six months ago and you must fall into one of the following categories: • 65 years and older.
• 18-plus with underlying medical conditions. • 18-plus who lives or works in a high-risk setting. Please be advised that at the current time, only the Pfizer booster has been approved by the FDA for most populations. The Westchester Health Department is waiting for approval of
THE MOST POWERFUL 500-WATT RADIO STATION IN AMERICA
the Moderna booster before it will schedule appointments for those who received the Moderna shots initially. You cannot “mix and match” the vaccines and boosters, so Moderna recipients must wait until the appropriate booster is available. I will keep you updated about this ongoing situation. (Submitted)
After visiting Mamaroneck to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Ida and making a direct personal appeal to Office of Management and Budget, OMB, Acting Director Shalanda Young last month to urge the agency to greenlight the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Flood Risk Management Project, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Oct. 6, that he has secured $1.5 billion in disaster supplemental aid to fast track Ida-impacted Army Corps of Engineers, ACE, construction projects. Schumer explained this means the project could receive funding ASAP, bypassing several of the bureaucratic hiccups that have stalled construction for years. The project has been stalled for the past two years by the Trump administration based on faulty cost-benefit analysis, according to Schumer, despite strong support from the ACE, which would provide the boots on the ground necessary for construction. “Following the horrible flooding in Mamaroneck last month, which caused millions of dollars in damage, terrorized the community, and claimed the life of one person, I’m proud to deliver funding for Ida-affected communities, and am also pleased about getting the feds to finally greenlight the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake River Flood Risk Management Project,” said Schumer. “ The federal government is one step closer to moving forward with the flood-protection Project for Mamaroneck and nearby communities and finally protecting a community that has suffered for decades because of severe flooding.” “Since Hurricane Ida devastated our village we have made great strides in getting the Army Corps of Engineers plan to control flooding on the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers back on track. A few weeks ago the
Office of Management and Budget told Senator Schumer that it will be supportive of our plan and the news … that the senator has secured $1.5 billion to jumpstart Army Corps construction projects in Ida-impacted communities, like ours, means that we are one step closer to shovels in the ground on this long overdue project,” said village of Mamaroneck Mayor Tom Murphy. Schumer visited Mamaroneck the day after Hurricane Ida hit the region, where disadvantaged residents living in the USACE project zone reported 14-feet of water flooding the area forcing them to evacuate their homes and seek shelter in the dead of night. There were more than 150 water rescues, 535 flooded homes, 1,000 people displaced, and 310 abandoned cars. The village has reported more than $18 million in damages and more than $75 million in residential and commercial damage. Five Westchester residents also tragically lost their lives in the flooding, including one in Mamaroneck bringing the total number of people who have died in Mamaroneck as a result of the persistent flooding to three in the past 25 years. The flood mitigation project in Mamaroneck was first imagined in response to a 2007 Nor’easter storm, which produced record flooding in the village of Mamaroneck, equivalent to a 1% flood event. Schumer travelled to the area the day after the storm to personally survey the extent of the significant damage. The 2007 event caused more than $50 million in damages and impacted more than 50% of total structures within the study area. The storm resulted in floodwaters peaking on the Mamaroneck River in approximately four hours, and in approximately six hours on the Sheldrake River. IDA continued on page 8