The point of concern is that Mayor Ed Fare and the trustees voted to approve FEMA’s flood zone maps presented to the community on Jan. 2, and they do not know if they are accurate. There were seven months for the maps to be verified before they had to be approved, and the village did nothing. As was the case four years ago, when Fare and John Tufarelli were trustees, the village had signed off on and endorsed flood maps that had not been independently evaluated by licensed, qualified engineers. We all are aware of the consequences of the village’s conduct four years ago. Any owner of property in the flood zone can calculate the damage for that village action by adding up mandatory flood insurance premiums, engineering costs for Letters of Map Amendment and the loss of property value, and the almost non-existent sales of such properties.
At the July 15 public hearing, it was brought to the attention of the mayor and trustees that we attended a very large meeting where FEMA officials made two points particularly clear. They said:
1) Communities did not need to accept proposed flood maps in order for residents to receive aid under the National Flood Insurance Program.
2) That in subsequent catastrophes, FEMA would not provide assistance to those without flood insurance even if you are in the X zone. We did not notice Mayor Fare or any of the trustees at that meeting.
With regard to the scientific evidence provided to those present at the public hearing by the FEMA representative who came in from New Jersey, that information is merely voodoo science, without any meaningful corroboration and empirical facts. It presents probability levels that compare to the likelihood that a meteor will hit Valley Stream. The views of FEMA have been greeted in New Jersey by the largest Stop FEMA organization in the country. Every Valley Stream resident should go to the website StopFEMAnow.com. We have met with the leader of Stop FEMA Now and fellow FEMA flood insurance victims in Long Island.