Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella joins “In Focus” to mark nearly 10 years since Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New York City, where 44 residents lost their lives.

More than half of those individuals were on Staten Island.

Superstorm Sandy left a path of devastation that changed Staten Island forever. Fossella discussed if the city is any more prepared than we were a decade ago and some lessons learned from the storm.

Staten Island has been devastated by flooding time and time again. Most recently, during Hurricane Ida, when unprecedented rains flooded basements and overflowed the expressway. Fossella talked about what the city and his office are doing to protect the residents of Staten Island.

The federal government also has plans for massive storm surge barriers for Staten Island that would use gates and shoreline measures to mitigate flood damage. Fossella shared his thoughts on the plan and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent legislation that extends the deadline for tax exemption on Hurricane Sandy renovations until 2024.

The tax exemption applications are available at www.ny.gov.