The sun blared down and cicadas sang their song as state, county, and local officials toured downtown Rome and the tornado’s damage that still remained Tuesday.
Like a wound starting to scar, much of Rome is in the process of healing but the damage was still evident. Debris littered the sides of the road, ready for pickup, and houses too heavily damaged to live in sat like rotten teeth in a smile.
Starting from Ridge Street, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie spoke with Assembly member Marianne Buttenschon, Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr., and Rome Mayor Jeffrey Lanigan.
“Those three houses on the corners there?” Lanigan said, pointing to three residential homes on the corner of Henry and South Madison Street. “All need to come down. And it’s going to fall on the city.”
After the tour, officials convened in front of the damaged remains of the building next to Kirk Automotive. The storm had claimed half the brick building and debris was piled up as the owner attempted to clean it up.
And while the mood was somber as the damage was surveyed, each official seemed more eager and ready than ever to turn it around.
Buttenschon said Heastie had a trip planned into Rome well before the tornado and had affirmed to her that he was still coming.
“I told him I appreciated that because as we look at what happened to our community, I can count on my leader for support,” she said. And that kind of support is what the community is looking for.
While on tour, a number of people stopped to talk with the elected leaders, each who recognized them and who was looking for guidance.
Rome gets $2 million contribution from state's contingency fund
Heastie himself said he had seen the damage on television and it had been recounted to him before but commented on how it “...just didn’t have the same impact as seeing it for yourself.”
And Heastie assured those in attendance that their representatives were listening.
“I have been in communication with Gov. Kathy Hochul and I know she’ll be making an announcement [soon] about what she wants to do with the city and the county. And I’ll be following up with here after this,” he said. “From the Assembly, we want to make sure we do our part.”
To that end, $2 million is being contributed to the city of Rome from the New York State Assembly. This money is from the contingency fund.
Heastie said the Assembly will be a part of the recovery and rebuilding efforts of Rome and Oneida County.
Lanigan said this $2 million commitment will really help the city and is a step in the right direction.
“We look forward to this partnership and we look forward to the governor’s announcement as we deal with this ever-evolving situation in Rome," the mayor said.
Calculating damages for FEMA
On the FEMA side of things, Picente said the county is calculating costs and damages.
“We are compiling all of our numbers, such as the city’s property damages, not-for-profits, damage to County properties, other expenses, and compiling those for a FEMA application,” Picente said. “And we’re hoping to finish compiling those by the end of this week and in the hands of the governor and FEMA.”
Picente acknowledged that other municipalities in Central New York have spent years trying to recover and rebuild neighborhoods — all while waiting for help from FEMA.
“I’ve heard horror stories of other communities waiting years for FEMA to respond. But we’ve been in touch with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and he’s expressed to us that he’s going to make sure FEMA moves quickly,” Picente said.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Officials view storm damage in tour of downtown Rome; Assembly contributes $2M for cleanup
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