YAPHANK, N.Y. – Debris collection crews on Fire Island will start their second and final pass through all communities on Tuesday, March 26. Property owners are strongly urged to move all debris to the edge of their property BY MONDAY NIGHT, where it's easily accessible in order to speed up removal. There will be no additional collections once debris crews have moved through your neighborhood.
“We’ve committed to the communities to have the debris up and out of their neighborhoods by April 1 and we’re committed to that deadline, stated Lt. Col. John Knight, New York Recovery Field Office commander. “The quicker we can get everything out, the sooner the communities can start to return to normal.”
On March 12, the contractor began 24-hour barge operations to move debris from staging areas to the mainland. On March 20, the contractor began 24-hour debris clearing from neighborhoods.
Nearly 1,600 Fire Island homes damaged by the storm are currently eligible for debris removal assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency tasked the Corps Nov. 24 to assist with removing debris on Fire Island as part of the federal Hurricane Sandy response and recovery efforts for New York. An estimated 62,000 cubic yards of debris is eligible for removal – enough to cover a football field up to three stories high.
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Note to editors:
Media interested in visiting the debris removal operation should contact George Stringham with the Corps’ Fire Island emergency field office at (651) 262-6804.
Photos of the debris removal operation are available for download here: http://bit.ly/FICleanup
Work locations can be followed on Twitter: @USACE_NY and #FireIsland and our Hurricane Sandy website: www.nan.usace.army.mil/Sandy.
We’ll answer questions about the project posted to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/USACE.NewYorkDistrict and by email to: fireisland@usace.army.mil.
Release no. 13-010