East End to Get $15M in COVID-19 Relief

The East End is slated to receive about $15 million from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package known as the American Rescue Plan that President Joe Biden signed into law on Thursday.

The biggest recipient is the Town of Southampton, which is getting $6.4 million, followed by the Town of Riverhead with $3.6 million, East Hampton and Southold towns, which each are earmarked for $2.4 million, and the Town of Shelter Island’s $265,124.

“This number may shift a bit as Treasury disperses funds to villages and limits double counting for those residents who live in both a village and a town,” said Katie Vincentz, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), who represents the Hamptons and North Fork.

Suffolk County is expected to get $286 million and New York State is estimated to receive more than $12 billion. The measure provides $400 billion for $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, an expansion of the child tax credit and increased funding for vaccine distribution.

“The American Rescue Plan will provide vital relief to the East End and to local governments across the state,” said New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor). “As the chair of the Assembly Local Governments Committee, I have been calling on the federal government throughout the COVID-19 crisis to provide desperately needed relief to our municipalities.”

Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said the town will use the funds for costs associated with responding to the COVID-19, recovering losses caused by COVID-19 and making necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure. The relief fund may not be used by states to cover costs of pension funds nor could it be used to offset a reduction in taxes.

“I thank our partners in the New York Congressional Delegation for their swift and meaningful action to assist our state, and look forward to continuing to work together as we begin to recover from the pandemic,” said Thiele.

-With Reuters