Gov tours islands, vows N.Y. aid
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo said the damage inflicted on the U.S. Virgin Islands by Hurricane Irma was “much worse” than that suffered by the mainland United States.
Cuomo on Friday toured storm ravaged St. Thomas and St. John with a delegation of state officials and said the impact of Irma was far worse than what has been portrayed in the media.
The governor announced that 100 National Guard troops and 30 State Police members will be dispatched to St. Thomas to help with security on the island.
“We've seen buildings where two of the four walls were literally blown out, where the 160-mile-perhour wind came right through the building and just emptied everything out of it,” Cuomo said at a press conference in St. Thomas.
“Rooftops that are gone,” Cuomo added. “Entire power system, aboveground power system knocked down, poles broken like twigs all over the island. It really is pervasive. It really is devastating.”
The governor warned that the islands face “a long road to rebuild” but stressed that New York would stand with them.
Cuomo toured the island at the request of U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp, a Brooklyn native.
Mapp thanked Cuomo for the assistance and for sharing his experiences from the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort.
“You can be rest assured that I will be a good student and learn and take in as much advice and technical support that I can get,” Mapp said.
The governor’s office said taxpayers didn’t foot the bill for the day-long trip.
“Transportation for this humanitarian mission was donated to the state delegation by John Catsimatidis at no cost to taxpayers,” spokesman Rich Azzopardi said, adding the state ethics commission signed off on the supermarket magnate’s gift “based on the emergency situation.”
Republicans slammed Cuomo’s trip as a headline-grabbing stunt.
“He’s on an unnecessary trip to the Virgin Islands when he needs to come home and do the job New Yorkers are paying him to do,” said state GOP Chairman Ed Cox.
Azzopardi fired back, noting “Governor Mapp is Brooklyn-born, a former member of the NYPD and he and his constituents are in dire need of help. New Yorkers help their neighbors in their time of need.”
He also decried Cox’s attack as “slimy” and “mean spirited.”