submitted by Doug Kuntz

newsday.com - May 10, 2013

An estimated 3 million gallons of "partially treated wastewater" from the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant discharged into Reynolds Channel during a brief power outage late Thursday, Nassau County reported on its website.

The spill occurred about 11 p.m. and lasted about an hour, according to a spill report posted Friday on the website.  The state Department of Environmental Conservation was informed shortly after midnight, the report said. "That's a significant spill," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, adding that the spill comes at the start of flounder season. "We heard there were boats fishing right there and they didn't know it spilled."

Nassau officials could not be reached for comment last night.

The plant on Nassau's South Shore dumped about 100 million gallons of untreated sewage into Hewlett Bay when it was knocked out of service for 44 hours during superstorm Sandy. In the 44 days it took to restore operations fully at the plant, another 2.2 billion gallons of partially treated sewage flowed through the plant.

Goldi Guerra, a member of Occupy Sandy, spoke during a storm-recovery meeting with community members in April at a church on Staten Island.  Yana Paskova for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Sarah Maslin Nir - April 30, 2013

Not long ago, the Occupy Wall Street movement seemed poised to largely fade from the national conversation with few concrete accomplishments beyond introducing its hallmark phrase, “We are the 99 percent.”

Then Hurricane Sandy struck. In its aftermath, Occupy Wall Street protesters rushed to apply their rabble-rousing hustle to cleaning out houses, clearing debris and raising more than $1.5 million for relief efforts.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

submitted by Dan Compitello

neiwpcc.org

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: RESEARCH PLAN TO ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF POTENTIAL COASTAL GREEN SHORELINE INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGIES IN NEW YORK CITY

In recognition of the increasing risk from sea-level rise and coastal storms like Hurricane Sandy, the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program, and the New York City Department of City Planning, is soliciting proposals for development of a plan to identify the necessary scientific and technical research to advance the understanding of potential coastal green infrastructure strategies in New York City under current and projected sea-level rise scenarios. Coastal “green” infrastructure strategies are those that may reduce erosion and mitigate storm surge, wave action and still-water flooding associated with coastal flood events, while maintaining or enhancing ecological services. These strategies often restore, create or emulate natural coastal features such as living shorelines, reefs, islands or wetland complexes that buffer coastal storm impacts while creating, improving or enhancing habitats that support ecosystem health.

Proposals are due June 28, 2013

A view of Breezy Point, Queens, from November. Hurricane Sandy brought sewage-filled floodwaters to the neighborhood.  Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Michael Schwirtz - April 30, 2013

Over 10 billion gallons of raw and partly treated sewage gushed into waterways and bubbled up onto streets and into homes as a result of Hurricane Sandy — enough to cover Central Park in a 41-foot-high pile of sludge, a nonprofit research group said in a report released on Tuesday.

The group, Climate Central, said about 94 percent of the sewage flowed into rivers, canals and bays in New York and New Jersey, the states hit hardest by the storm that came ashore six months ago. In New York City alone, 1.6 billion gallons spilled into area waterways.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

A house in the process of being elevated within the Canals neighborhood in Long Beach, NY.
Photo by Susan Steinhauser

List of available recourse and resources for people facing the issues of rebuilding under the new FEMA / NFIP requirements:

Long Beach Patch – Jan. 22, 2013 - Residents Can’t Live with FEMA Rules
http://longbeach.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/residents-cant-live-with-fema-rules  

FEMA - Elevating Your Home Above Future Flooding
http://www.fema.gov/news-release/2013/01/29/elevating-your-home-above-future-flooding  

submitted by Peter B. Gudaitis

Press Release - Albany, NY (April 26, 2013)

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced federal approval of New York State’s recovery action plan to help struggling homeowners and businesses following Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene, and Tropical Storm Lee. Funded through HUD's Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG – DR) program, New York State’s recovery action plan calls for a combined $1.7 billion investment in a variety of housing, infrastructure and business recovery activities.

via goldi - April 30, 2013

Some city sheltering expires today.  The Legal Aid Society has filed a class action suit on behalf of city shelter residents against the city's program.  A hearing was held yesterday, then got pushed to this morning where a temporary stay was issued until a further hearing tomorrow at 2pm.  If the ruling is in favor of the city and against residents, all residents in the city program should have the document below in their possession!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Whom It May Concern:
My name is __________________________.  I have been an occupant of room number _____ for more than 30 days and rent has been paid for at least 30 days.  I am not a transient and plan to remain in this room.  I would like a lease.

As such, under New York State law, Section 711 of the Real Property and Procedure Law, I am a month to month tenant of this room. 

nws.noaa.gov - April 24, 2013

On April 24, 2013, NOAA’s National Weather Service, in partnership with the National Weather Service Employees Organization (NWSEO), released The Weather-Ready Nation Roadmap 2.0.  The updated Roadmap blends an understanding of social and physical sciences and lends itself to building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events. After achieving the goals of the Weather-Ready Nation Roadmap, NWS will empower emergency managers, first responders, government officials, businesses, and the public to make faster, smarter decisions to save lives and protect livelihoods.

“The NWS recognizes that issuing excellent forecasts and warnings may not always be enough to save lives,” said NWS Director Louis W. Uccellini.  “The Weather-Ready Nation initiative is first and foremost to save lives and protecting livelihoods by providing useful, relevant, actionable information on for critical decision support services.”

submitted by Karen Jackson

This week, our eleven committees will be holding independent meetings the following days and locations:

All are welcome to join any committee. These working groups are a crucial way in which we can come together to brainstorm, communicate, set goals, plan events, do advocacy, and ensure that our neighbors are getting the help they need. Please commit your time, talents, and resources to this work and invite others to be a part of the recovery effort as well.

The boardwalk near the Arverne East site prior to superstorm Sandy.  FAR ROC

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's commitment to sticking with the waterfront following superstorm Sandy will be tested as the city tries to develop a roughly 80-acre site with more than 1,000 new housing units in Far Rockaway, one of the worst-hit areas.

The city, which owns the Arverne East site, and developers on Tuesday announced a design competition for architects, engineers, landscapers and urban planners. They are being asked to come up with ideas about how to develop a sustainable waterfront community that will be resilient in the face of future storms.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE - BARRON'S)

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE - WALL STREET JOURNAL)

nj.com - by Eugene Paik - April 4, 2013

The struggle to work out how, or whether, to put things back together

economist.com - March 16, 2013

Many of the homes in this Staten Island neighbourhood were destroyed or badly damaged by Sandy, a “superstorm” which struck in October.  Four and a half months after the storm, some houses in southern and eastern Staten Island are still marked with red tags, meaning they are unsafe to enter. People are wondering whether they should just abandon them, or rebuild; and, if they can rebuild, how and at what cost.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Organized by students from ORLI (Operation Resilient Long Island) and the New York Institute of Technology, the 3C Comprehensive Coastal Communities Competition aims to address issues facing towns that are vulnerable to, and have been affected by coastal storms.  While post-Sandy rebuilding has begun, little has been done to develop new strategies that will mitigate the impact of future storms – particularly those related to re-zoning and adaptable housing typologies. The 3C Comprehensive Coastal Communities Competition wants to create a platform that will bring forth ideas for a specific northeastern coastal community. Participants are invited to design a resilient housing typology that will be integrated into the community master plan.

There is no fee to enter. Registration deadline is June 30, 2013. Submissions are due July 25, 2013. Upon the announcement of winners and honorable mentions, ORLI plans to create a publication of all work to be then distributed to local municipalities throughout the region. A symposium is also planned which will showcase the winners along with 20-30 honorable mentions and will discuss the future implications of storms and overall climate change. The symposium will be organized by ORLI and collaborators and will be held at NYIT’s Auditorium on Broadway in New York City on October 10, 2013.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

statenislandlifestyle.com - April 11, 2013

On March 8th, 2013, hundreds of people attended the Superstorm Sandy Forum that was held at the College of Staten Island. The reason for this forum was to educate the public on the following topics: the nature of hurricanes, protection from hurricanes, risks associated with flooding, zoning and land use issues, social science,  financial impact, recovery, protection of natural resources and building codes. The forum lasted over 6 hours and included representatives from the federal, state, city, and local entities, as well as leading scientists, business people, and educators from around the world.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Superstorm Sandy Forum
http://www.csi.cuny.edu/sandyforum/resource_kit.html

submitted by Albert Gomez

journalism.org

For millions who lost power but could still access the internet on mobile devices, Twitter served as a critical lifeline throughout the disaster that struck on October 29. At least a few news operations, such as Huffington Post and the aggregator BuzzFeed saw their servers go down and turned to Twitter and other social media to deliver reports.

According to Twitter, people sent more than 20 million tweets about the storm from October 27 through November 1.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

submitted by Megan Fliegelman

dhs.gov - March 27, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today announced the creation of the Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience, in memory of Richard "Rick" Rescorla. During the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Rescorla led the evacuation of Morgan Stanley's 2,700-person workforce in the World Trade Center, saving the lives of many of his coworkers.

"Rick Rescorla's heroism during the 9/11 attacks and commitment to the preparedness of the thousands of employees under his watch serves as an inspiration and model to all of us," said Secretary Napolitano. "The Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience recognizes outstanding response to a catastrophic incident and leadership in fostering resilient and prepared communities."

The Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience is the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) first national resilience award for superior leadership and innovation by a non-governmental individual or organization who exemplifies the qualities and achievements of Rick Rescorla, emphasizing leadership in effective preparation, response, and recovery in the face of disasters.

postsandyjobfair.org

In the wake of Sandy, so many businesses have wanted to help those affected. The Post Sandy Job Fair for Greater New York offers a means for them to do so in a most significant and long-lasting way - by connecting with job-seekers and offering employment opportunities that will provide the lifeline they really need.

(VIEW WEBSITE)

Image: Photo from Shutterstock

inhabitat.com - March 13th, 2013 - Timon Singh

Despite the current controversy about hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in New York, a group of scientists from Stanford believe that even a city as large as the Big Apple could be powered by alternative means by the year 2050. In their study, which is scheduled for publication in the journal Energy Policy, the researchers state that it is “economically feasible to convert New York’s all-purpose energy infrastructure to one powered by wind, water and sunlight (WWS)“. Not just that, but they also feel that their strategy would create a host of jobs and save the state billions of dollars in pollution-related costs.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

propertycasualty360.com - March 14th, 2013 - Arthur D. Postal

A bill in the House introduced by New York State representatives, would extend the grace period for flood-insurance-premium increases for Superstorm Sandy victims.

The legislation was introduced as information became available that the cost of Sandy to the National Flood Insurance Program will be in the neighborhood of $7 billion.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have not responded to repeated requests over the last several days, but sources with knowledge of the costs to the program says Sandy flood claims have totaled about $6 billion so far, with projections to go to maybe $7 billion.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo: Office of the Governor

submitted by Henry Rodriguez

STATE OF NEW YORK ACTION PLAN FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM DISASTER RECOVERY (61 page .PDF document)
http://www.nyshcr.org/Publications/CDBGActionPlan.pdf

Associated Press - March 12, 2013

NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced statewide plans Tuesday to use $1.7 billion in federal storm-damage funds for home repairs, government buyouts of property in flood-prone areas, low-interest loans, flood-prevention measures, and other recovery work.

Most of the money will go to homeowners and businesses hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy last October. It also will be used for improvements at hospitals and nursing homes evacuated during Sandy.

READ COMPLETE ARTICLE: http://online.wsj.com/article/AP9eafd32669b041df8fabda9192157e26.html

Also see: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2013/03/14/284712.htm

                           (LINKS TO STUDY ABSTRACT AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ARE BELOW)

Scientists look at an ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide coring site.  Credit: Thomas Bauska, OSU

CNN - by Ben Brumfield - March 8, 2013

Global warming has propelled Earth's climate from one of its coldest decades since the last ice age to one of its hottest -- in just one century.

A heat spike like this has never happened before, at least not in the last 11,300 years, said climatologist Shaun Marcott, who worked on a new study on global temperatures going back that far.

"If any period in time had a sustained temperature change similar to what we have today, we would have certainly seen that in our record," he said.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

communityuplink.net - March 15, 2013