Southern Tier flood loans available after FEMA denies second request for direct assistance

Neal Simon, The Leader
·4 min read

The U.S. Small Business Administration will make low-interest loans available to Southern Tier homeowners and businesses fighting to recover from Tropical Storm Fred flood damage after the Federal Emergency Management Agency turned down a second request for individual assistance to Steuben County.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the SBA loans are available to residents and businesses in Steuben County and the contiguous counties of Allegany, Chemung, Livingston, Ontario, Schuyler and Yates.

A loan outreach center opened this week in Woodhull, where customer service representatives are helping applicants navigate the lending process.

FEMA turns down request for Individual Assistance

The August 2021 storm resulted in severe flash flooding in much of southern Steuben and Allegany counties, with Woodhull and Jasper sustaining some of the heaviest blows. Damage in the area was estimated to eclipse $35 million and the Biden Administration approved an eight-county disaster declaration last year.

New York state applied to the FEMA Individual Assistance program, seeking to secure direct support for Steuben County homeowners impacted by the floodwaters.

FEMA denied the initial request in September 2021, and last week, the agency rejected the state’s appeal.

In its denial, FEMA said, “We affirm our original findings that the impact to the individuals and households from this event was not of such severity and magnitude to warrant the designation of the Individual Assistance program under FEMA-4625-DR."

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According to the governor’s office, an assessment by the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and Steuben County confirmed major damage to 38 homes and 14 businesses totaling $1,073,000 and $1,050,000, respectively, and minor damage to 84 homes and 12 businesses/non-profits totaling $700,000 and $185,000, respectively.

In a Jan. 21 statement, Hochul called FEMA’s refusal to grant Steuben County Individual Assistance “beyond disappointing” but she said the SBA low-interest loans “will be key in helping residents and business get back on their feet as quickly as possible.”

SBA loans available for homeowners, businesses and non-profits

These groups may be eligible for help from SBA disaster loans for the following:

  • Homeowners: up to $200,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate.

  • Homeowners and renters: up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

  • Business owners: up to $2 million for the replacement of real estate, inventories, machinery, equipment, and other physical losses.

  • Businesses and non-profits: Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to provide necessary working capital until normal operations resume after a disaster.

Interest rates can be as low as 1.563 percent for homeowners and renters, 2.00 percent for non-profit organizations, and 2.855 percent for businesses with terms of up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition.

Federal officials announced last October that up to $2 million in SBA loans were available to help Private Non-Profit organizations recover from the storm damage. The PNP loans include food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers, schools and colleges.

SBA Loan Outreach Center opens in Woodhull

An SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center open Jan. 25 in the Woodhull Town Hall at 1585 Academy St.

Customer support representatives will be available to assist applicants with completing the application as well as to answer general questions about the SBA disaster loan program.

The Loan Outreach Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays. The office is closed on Sundays

The center will close permanently at 3 p.m. on Feb. 10.

Applicants may also call SBA's Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Paper loan applications may be downloaded at http://www.sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76155.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is March 21, 2022. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Oct. 20, 2022.

S. Tier lawmakers call for direct state assistance

Last week, a group of Republican state lawmakers from the Southern Tier, including Sen. Tom O’Mara, Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, called on the governor to immediately provide direct state assistance to Steuben County flooding victims.

Specifically, the legislators asked Hochul to authorize the state to fully assume the 12.5-percent local share of disaster-related costs and to provide direct state grants of $10,000-$25,000 to help cover the costs of repairing and rebuilding for homeowners, and grants of $25,000-$50,000 for recovering businesses.

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This article originally appeared on The Leader: SBA loans available for Tropical Storm Fred recovery efforts in Tier