Brooklyn federal court recognized by FEMA

January 24, 2014 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the Eastern District of New York opened its doors to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with court personnel being utilized to assist FEMA first responders and the judicial process, both in the early days and the weeks and months that followed the October 2012 storm.

Hon. Carol Amon, chief judge of the Eastern District, authorized the use of space in the Brooklyn courthouse, allowing FEMA to immediately transition its key leadership and the operational components of its relief efforts to the Brooklyn location.

With the help of the Eastern District court personnel and staff, FEMA was able to deliver 24 million gallons of fuel to affected areas, pump 475 million gallons of water from New York City transit tunnels, provide $595 million to 67,000 families whose homes were damaged or destroyed, and reimburse $1.25 billion to rebuild public infrastructure.

On Friday, Amon and the Brooklyn federal courthouse staff were presented with a certificate of appreciation from Willie Nunn, FEMA’s federal coordinating officer. In accepting the award, Amon noted that her acceptance of this appreciation was on behalf of the entire court family, the United States Marshals Service and the court security officers.

–Charisma L. Miller, Esq., contributed to this article.