Queens residents were out in force Saturday to protest new flood insurance rate hikes set to kick in next week.
Residents packed the Broad Channel American Legion to voice their outrage against the Biggert-Waters Act, which will eventually do away with subsidized flood insurance in flood-prone areas.
The act aims to base rates on risk, and that means coastal communities could see their rates multiply.
New York is one of eight states that could see higher rates if the act is not amended by October 1.
Palmer Doyle, one of the rally’s organizers, thinks that the act will bring more devastation to communities still struggling to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy.
“The message that we’re really looking to get across to politicians is that this is not just a neighborhood issue. This is a national issue,” Doyle said. “It’s going to affect all 50 states. Small businesses, communities are going to be wiped out because people are not going to be able to afford these higher premiums that are coming with the passing of the Biggert-Waters Act.”
Craig Fugate, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told Congress last week that he understands the financial pressures that the act will create for some homeowners, but he said FEMA’s hands are tied.
“I have found very little leeway, as much as I have tried, in how we can address affordability under the current provisions of the law as enacted,” Fugate said.
More than a dozen other states also held rallies against the Biggert-Waters Act Saturday.
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via Great Local News: New York http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info
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