Climate change and the threat of more superstorms have put New Haven in position to pull down millions of federal dollars to help it recover from the ongoing impact of Hurricane Sandy and to prepare for future natural disasters. The Board of Alders took a step toward that goal Monday night.
The state of Connecticut is a finalist in the National Disaster Resilience Competition, a program established by the federal government to use community block development grants designated for disaster relief specifically to help communities impacted by natural disasters recover and prepare for future disasters. The two-phased program will provide $1 billion in federal funding to applicants that make the cut.
Annex Alder Alphonse Paolillo said that the competition “encouraged communities to consider not just how they could recover from a past disaster, but how they could avoid future disaster losses.The state developed a process for the application and a review of the unmet needs for communities across Connecticut including New Haven,” which was hit hard by Sandy.
During its regular meeting Monday, the Board of Alders voted unanimously to allow Mayor Toni Harp to sign an agreement with the state to help advance the state’s application for the grant funds. The item wasn’t going to be on the agenda, but the deadline for the state’s application is Oct. 27. The resolution was given a first reading during a public briefing for alders last week. The briefing was held instead of a Finance Committee meeting last week to put the resolution in position for a vote Monday.
Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison said the pilot projects represent “visions of how a resilient corridor and transit oriented development can look along the historic, topographically diverse Connecticut coastline.
“The project proposed in New Haven solves for the upland and coastal flooding conditions simultaneously while protecting the Long Wharf neighborhood and train station,” she said. “If these are done they will enable future economic development opportunities in this downtown area.”
The total estimated cost for the project applications is $62.3 million. Some of the proposed projects include stormwater junction bypasses; a dry canal to redirect storm water; a wet/dry stormwater retention, secondary inland brim; protection of the railyard; an extensive bioswale network, and constructing an expansion of multimodal roadway.
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