Trump cuts threaten to make Queens’ flooding issues worse, pols say
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The Trump administration revoked several million dollars in disaster and flood prevention money, an action that could have effects for programs in Queens. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
Another round of federal cuts from the Trump administration are threatening projects meant to mitigate one of Queens’ most notable issues – flooding.
This week, the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security revoked around $325 million in federal funding from the city, more than a third of which was allocated to programs to address consistent flooding issues in Queens.
The cuts revoked funding from FEMA flood and disaster prevention programs in Corona, Kissena Park and East Elmhurst – areas which are known for having flooding issues – as well as city and statewide programs that could affect other local efforts.
“In the last few years, New Yorkers have faced hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, wildfires and even an earthquake –– and FEMA assistance has been critical to help us rebuild,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “Cutting funding for communities across New York is short sighted and a massive risk to public safety. Without support for resilience projects now, our communities will be far more vulnerable when disaster strikes next.”
The cuts that affect Queens pertain to cloudburst hub projects in the Kissena Corridor, Corona East and East Elmhurst.
Cloudburst management is a way of absorbing, storing and transferring stormwater to minimize flooding from heavy rain, which has become increasingly more common in New York City.
The management includes sustainable, rain proof infrastructure, drainage pipes and rain gardens that aim to ease the stress put on Queens’ outdated sewer systems during storms.
In 2024, Katherine Brezler, the special advisor for strategic initiatives at Queens Borough President Donovan Richards’ office, told the Eagle that Queens’ system just isn’t built to keep up with the increase in rain the city has seen in recent years.
Brezler said that the city’s sewer system was built to withstand around one and a half to one and three quarter inches of rainwater per hour – but recent storms have brought far more than that.
“Our position is that the standard that sewers are built to is not meeting the moment of the next 100 years, and the standard should be changed to five inches,” Brezler said.
Brezler added that much of the issue is that the sewer systems and catch basins were built and designed to withstand a once-in-a-100-year storm, which no longer comes just every 100 years.
The Kissena Corridor cloudburst management program cost $46 million.
“This decision to cut $300 million, including $46 million specifically earmarked for the Kissena Corridor Cloudburst Hub, will have devastating impacts in my district,” said local Councilmember Sandra Ung. “This is not just a budget line on a spreadsheet, it is a life-or-death issue for our community, which knows the devastating consequences of inadequate infrastructure all too well.”
A family that lived near Kissena Park died during Hurricane Ida due to flooding, the exact type of incident flood mitigation programs like the cloudburst hub are meant to help prevent.
“Slashing this funding now, when the need for resilient infrastructure has never been more urgent, puts lives at risk and sets back critical progress that would have made Flushing safer and stronger,” said Ung. “It is not feasible to expect city and state government to find a way to fill these budget gaps in their already-strained budgets.”
The cuts also include $468,000 for a city Department of Building project, as well as the federal Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which supports local governments and municipalities to mitigate flooding and storm damage.
A group of Queens elected officials, which includes Ung, Representatives Grace Meng, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, State Senators John Liu and Jessica Ramos, Assemblymembers Catalina Cruz, Larinda Hooks, Jessica González-Rojas and Nily Rozic, and Councilmember Francisco Moya are calling on the federal government to reverse course.
“The administration's decision to slash more than $300 million in federal funding for infrastructure projects across New York State is unacceptable and it will have devastating impacts in Queens,” the officials said. “This includes vital funding to combat flooding, such as cutting $46 million through the Kissena Corridor Cloudburst Hub and $47 million for the Corona East Cloudburst Hub. We all remember how Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on our borough. Lives were lost, and homes and businesses sustained extensive damage.”
The officials argued that revoking the money will make Queens less protected in the case of another Hurricane Ida or Hurricane Sandy.
“We fought hard for these needed funds and without the money, more lives and property will be put at risk,” they said. “We should be better prepared against the threat of future flooding and mitigate the effects of severe storms and heavy rainfall which we continue to experience year after year. But slashing this funding will leave us less prepared and susceptible to more devastation. We urge the administration to immediately abandon this reckless decision.”
However, Queens’ two Republican electeds – Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola and Councilmember Vickie Paladino – are less worried about the cuts, and chalked it up to the administration's efforts in slashing “waste” in the federal government.
Both councilmembers represent coastal communities in Queens, and Ariola’s district which includes Howard Beach and the Rockaways, is among the most flood-prone neighborhoods in the city.
Reinforced dunes and other storm surge mitigation projects along Rockaway Beach have alone been facilitated by billions of dollars in federal funding post-Sandy.
“The administration has stated that money currently assigned to the BRIC program will be re-apportioned by Congress to best support states and communities,” Ariola said in a statement to the Eagle. “After identifying and eliminating any waste, fraud, or abuse in the current disbursement method, I believe that taxpayer dollars will be able to more directly serve their intended purpose, and I look forward to seeing what that means for our area.”
Paladino, who represents Queens’ northern shore and the area just north of the Kissena Corridor, blamed city officials for having the funds revoked.
“Fact is this city has been living on federal largesse for a very long time now,” Paladino said. “I’ve been saying it publicly for years — we run our city to near-bankruptcy, spend uncontrollably, and then depend on federal dollars to fill in the gaps. Year after year. It was bound to catch up with us, and now it has.”
Paladino said the city’s budget should make up for the money pulled by the Trump administration.
“The Trump administration is looking to cut waste, and frankly this city has shown absolutely zero fiscal discipline so we’re a prime target for cuts,” she added. “But guess what, we’re a huge city with a huge budget. We can do this ourselves if we actually got control over our spending. Are we going to do that or just complain?”
