Long Beach gets $4.4M reimbursement for boardwalk repair costs

Long Beach city officials received a $4.4 million state reimbursement as the final payment to cover rebuilding the iconic boardwalk that was destroyed by superstorm Sandy.

The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services awarded the payment to cover the state’s 10 percent share of the city’s $44 million boardwalk rebuilding project.

The 2.2 mile-boardwalk was destroyed by waves from the Atlantic Ocean crashing into its wooden planks and flooding most of the city during the 2012 storm.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency originally agreed to cover $30 million as a direct reimbursement to rebuild the boardwalk, but the city appealed for additional funding to use stronger wood, concrete foundations and a Fiberglas retaining wall facing the ocean.

The boardwalk was rebuilt in 2013 with 90 percent of the costs reimbursed by FEMA.

City Council members passed a one-year tax bond in May to borrow for the remaining expenses. A separate bond to cover the gap in reimbursements had run out after it was renewed three times before the city was reimbursed.

City officials said they have recovered all costs related to the boardwalk and can now pay back the bond without additional interest charges or debt to the city. Officials said residents will not see any tax charges related to the boardwalk reconstruction.