Governor Hochul Appeals Denial of New York’s Request for Disaster Relief Following Devastating February Blizzard

Governor Kathy Hochul has formally appealed the denial of New York's request for a Major Disaster Declaration for the February 22-23, 2026 blizzard and severe winter storm by sending a letter to President Trump urging him to reverse his administration's decision. The Governor contends that FEMA's decision was unsupported, inconsistent with its own standards, and failed to account for the true scope of the damage. New York State and local governments identified more than $168 million in damages caused by the storm, which would be more than four times the threshold amount established by FEMA. Governor Hochul is appealing the decision, requesting that the President reconsider the denial and approve federal funding to support recovery and future disaster preparedness.

"Despite the February blizzard causing unprecedented damage across our state, far exceeding FEMA's own criteria for federal assistance, New York was denied the support our communities need to rebuild," Governor Hochul said. "I am calling on President Trump to reverse this decision and ensure local governments have the funding necessary to recover and better prepare for future disasters. We owe that to the New Yorkers who weathered this historic storm and to the first responders, utility crews and emergency management staff who worked tirelessly to keep our communities safe."

The full text of the letter is included below:

Dear Mr. President:

On July 2, 2026, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied the State of New York's request for a major disaster declaration for the February 22 to February 23, 2026, severe winter storm and snowstorm without useful explanation. Pursuant to Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5207 ("Stafford Act"), as implemented by 44 C.F.R. §§ 206.36 and 206.46, I ask for reconsideration of the denial and renew New York State's request for a major disaster declaration for Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation.

FEMA's denial letter stated, "Based on our review of all of the information available, it has been determined that supplemental federal assistance under the Stafford Act is not warranted." The letter did not elaborate on what information was reviewed or why it was insufficient. It remains unclear why the facts provided in the request, which met the statutory and regulatory requirements for a Major Disaster Declaration, were not sufficient to support the need for supplemental federal assistance. The decision to deny the requested assistance as not warranted appears to be arbitrary.

New York State's request was carefully tailored to address the primary factor FEMA considers in making a recommendation to the President whether assistance is warranted.¹ Historically, FEMA has used the statewide and county per capita indicators as the primary, and often dispositive, factor when assessing major disaster declaration requests. Exceeding that threshold by twofold is compelling evidence of the fiscal strain imposed on the State and local governments by this storm. At the time of the request, the FEMA-State joint preliminary damage assessment teams (PDA teams) had validated $54.6 million in damages - which exceeds the State's damage threshold for 2026 ($39.2 million) by approximately $15.4 million. Two days after submission of the request, FEMA completed its assessment having validated $79.03 million in damages - more than double the Statewide damage threshold.² Consistent with FEMA practice, the PDA teams stop validating once the State and local indicators are met. Therefore, the amounts validated by FEMA represent only a portion of the total amount of damage caused by this disaster. When FEMA stopped the validation process, it had validated 143 damage surveys, but another 210 damage surveys were pending validation review.³ Further, the PDA process does not capture damages from all applicants that would be eligible for reimbursement under the major disaster declaration. The State and local governments identified more than $168 million in damages caused by the storm. If all costs had been validated, it is likely New York State would have tripled, if not quadrupled, the threshold amount established by FEMA.

The Stafford Act and its implementing regulations and policies expressly authorize federal disaster assistance for damages resulting from a snowstorm. Notwithstanding, FEMA has widely communicated its position, in Agency memos and press statements,⁴ that declarations will not be issued for snowstorms as FEMA views these snow emergencies as routine and able to be managed by the State and its local governments. Despite their frequency, neither wildfires nor hurricanes are regarded as routine emergencies elsewhere in the nation, so it is unclear why FEMA has chosen this position for a hazard that predominantly impacts northeastern states. FEMA is inconsistently applying the law and policy based on the type of emergency that disproportionately affects certain parts of the country. Specifically, 44 C.F.R. § 206.227 provides "... major disaster declarations based on snow or blizzard conditions will be made only for cases of record or near record snowstorms, as established by official government records." New York State's initial request also meets this regulatory requirement wherein Bronx, Suffolk, Nassau and Richmond Counties met their snow of record indicator and Queens, Kings and Westchester Counties qualified under the contiguous county criteria, documented by the National Weather Service.⁵

This request was not made lightly. New York State routinely manages significant snowstorms at the State and local level using available resources that have been identified and budgeted for annually in advance of the winter season. Since 2011, it has snowed in New York State on 2,199 days, which represents snow affecting the State roughly 40 percent of the time. However, this blizzard was not a routine snowstorm or snowfall event, but rather a complex major winter storm. The storm produced strong sustained winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour with gusts as high as 84 miles per hour, which significantly contributed to the damages incurred by local governments during this event.

The impacts of this blizzard extended well beyond snowfall. Hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy snow caused widespread power outages and significant infrastructure damage across the affected region. FEMA validated more than $20 million in damages incurred by the Long Island Power Authority due to trees falling on power lines. More than 40,000 households lost power. Tragically, five New Yorkers lost their lives as a result of the storm. The blizzard also caused widespread disruptions to transportation and commerce, including the closure of 175 school districts, including the New York City public school system, business closures, disruptions to mass transit service, and hundreds of canceled flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and other regional airports. These widespread impacts imposed extraordinary burdens on local governments that exceeded their fiscal capacity to respond and recover without federal assistance.

Additionally, the timing of this event compounded its impacts. The affected region had experienced another significant snowstorm less than one month earlier, requiring local governments to expend substantial resources before this blizzard struck. The cumulative effect of these back-to-back storms further strained municipal budgets and emergency response capabilities.

New York State has consistently demonstrated its ability to respond to and recover from winter weather events without federal assistance whenever possible. In the past fifteen years, New York has declared 32 winter storm emergencies but has requested a Major Disaster Declaration for snowstorms only four times. This limited history demonstrates that the State seeks federal assistance only when an event is truly extraordinary and exceeds the capabilities of State and local governments.

For the reasons stated above, I respectfully request that you reconsider FEMA's denial and approve New York State's request for a Major Disaster Declaration for the February 22-23, 2026 severe winter storm and snowstorm. Federal assistance is essential to ensure affected communities can recover from this disaster and strengthen their resilience against future severe weather events.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York