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Cuomo directs state agencies to help Lake Ontario shoreline communities

Veronica Volk
/
WXXI News/Great Lakes Today

Governor Cuomo has directed state agencies to assist communities that are dealing with possible flooding issues.

In Irondequoit, Town Supervisor Dave Seeley says the state has provided a sandbag filling machine as requested by the town.

"They're assessing, they're constantly asking what our needs are and right now it's just sandbagging, because that's what residents are asking us for," he said.

Seeley says he's told the state that if the situation gets to a critical point, the town may make a more substantial request in the form of more resources, or even the National Guard. 

But he says they aren't at that point, yet.

Greece Town Supervisor Bill Reilich says the state will send his community whatever number of sandbags it needs to help protect property owners on the lake.

Flooding impacting at a marina on Irondequoit Bay last week

"We have 551 homes on Lake Ontario, of which probably at least 250 of them are lower level, lake level, and they are all relatively close to one another," he said.

But Reilich says a steady wind from the northeast is compounding the problem right now and is as concerning as the lake levels.

The mayor of Sodus Point, Christian Tertinek, says rising lake levels are impacting homes and businesses there.

"We have one house there that's within 10 feet of falling into the lake already.  As a matter of fact, nobody can live in it anymore," he said.

Tertinek adds a marina on Sodus Point has been impacted, with its workshop underwater, along with submerged docks and launch ramps.

He says other business are open as usual, for now.

All three town and village leaders are critical of Plan 2014 from the International Joint Commission, which they say is contributing to the problem.

The IJC has said the plan has made little difference on lake levels.