Cuomo seeks changes to Lake Ontario flooding aid

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo is seeking last-minute changes to a $90 million flood-relief package for homeowners, businesses and municipalities on Lake Ontario, which lawmakers approved earlier this week.

Senate Independent Democratic Leader Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, said Cuomo is seeking a three-way agreement with Senate and Assembly leaders on the flooding funding, which would provide grants to help repair damage and mitigate future flooding along the Lake Ontario shoreline.

Cuomo raised the issue in a meeting with legislative leaders Wednesday, the final scheduled day for the Legislature's 2017 session.

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"The governor now wants a three-way agreement with money attached and guidelines on how to help distressed New Yorkers who are facing flood damage," Klein told reporters. "I think we will get that done before the end of session."

The Senate and Assembly approved the $90 million program on Monday.

The bill passed unanimously after Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit,  and Sen. Pamela Helming, R-Canandaigua, Ontario County, reached a two-way agreement on the funding levels.

If signed by Cuomo, the bill would make $15 million in grants available for homeowners, $25 million for businesses, $25 million for local municipalities, $15 million for flood mitigation and $10 million for additional disaster relief. Grants would be capped at $60,000 for individual homeowners, $100,000 for small businesses and farms and $1 million for municipalities.

It's unclear what changes Cuomo is seeking to the bill. The negotiations are happening behind closed doors.

The funding under the measure would be supplied by Empire State Development, the state's economic-development branch.

Cuomo has long been protective of economic-development funding, which his administration has a large amount of control over.

The governor's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Morelle said he's not interested in any changes that would pare down the grant program.

"We passed the bill unanimously in both houses," he said Wednesday. "If the governor is talking about enhancing the program that we've passed, obviously I would welcome that conversation. But I'm not interested in diluting it, and I don't know what Senator Klein is talking about."

Lawmakers are scheduled to leave the Capitol for the year on Wednesday.

The session could easily be extended, however, since lawmakers have been unable to reach agreement on several major outstanding issues, including mayoral control of the New York City school system.