Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke today welcomed Vice President Joe Biden to New York State, where he held a meeting with Governor Andrew Cuomo to discuss protecting coastal areas from severe storms such as Hurricane Sandy, particularly improvements to our electrical grid.

Hurricane Sandy devastated many parts of New York State, particularly the neighborhoods of Gerritsen Beach and Sheepshead Bay, where thousands of homes were flooded, families were displaced, and efforts to rebuild continue more than a year after the storm. Governor Cuomo specifically mentioned proposals to remove power stations for areas susceptible to flooding and the development of micro-grids to prevent the power outages in which thousands of people in Brooklyn – including the residents of high-rise apartment buildings who need elevators to reach their apartments – without electricity.

“I commend President Obama and Vice President Biden for their commitment to a program of rebuilding that improves our ability to withstand storms such as Hurricane Sandy. When I visited Gerritsen Beach and Sheepshead Bay, I talked with families who homes had become uninhabitable and small business owners who had lost the entire inventory of their stores. I saw the flood waters that were still collected in pools on Gotham Avenue and Shore Parkway. We cannot allow this devastation to occur ever again,” said Congresswoman Clarke.

After Hurricane Sandy, Congresswoman Clarke demanded that Congress enact a relief program to assist the victim’s of the storm, and since then has worked with federal, state, and local officials to allow families in Brooklyn to access assistance as quickly as possible.

Congresswoman Clarke, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity in the House of Representatives, added that she will continue her work to protect the electrical grid on which we depend.

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.