inhabitat.com - by Yuka Yoneda - July 12, 2013

It's already hurricane season - would you be ready if another Superstorm Sandy hit today? If you hesitated for a moment, you might be one of the many who meant to prepare for the next big storm but then just got sucked into the daily grind and forgot. The good news is that there's still time to gather up the essentials so that you'll be ahead of the game for the next hurricane instead of having to fight some lady for the last pack of batteries at Duane Reade. Read on for the 12 important items you should have at home in case of an emergency situation like a serious storm or other natural disaster. . .

A Soggy Neighborhood Fights to Stay Dry In order to mitigate flooding in Broad Channel, Queens, which is built on a marsh jutting into Jamaica Bay, city engineers have a plan to raise parts of the neighborhood.

nytimes.com - by Kia Gregory - July 9, 2013

As the sun began to set one recent Sunday, saltwater poured off Jamaica Bay onto West 12th Road, one of the lowest-lying areas in New York City.

Now, the city is budgeting $22 million to try to save the neighborhood by installing bulkheads and by raising streets and sidewalks by three feet.

But the project also raises fundamental questions about whether, in an era of extreme weather, the government should come to the aid of neighborhoods that are trying to fend off inevitably rising waters.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

statenisland.ny1.com - by J. T. Fetch - July 6, 2013

NY1 VIDEO: Members of the grassroots groups Where to Turn and Beacon of Hope New York collecting data to possibly pursue legal action against the city Health Department, saying they want city to perform air quality tests and declare abandoned homes with mold in them as health hazards.

http://statenisland.ny1.com/content/top_stories/185060/grassroots-groups-go-door-to-door-to-collect-data-on-mold-in-si-homes

submitted by Samuel Bendett

inhabitat.com- by Yuka Yoneda - July 17, 2013

New York City wasn’t ready when Hurricane Sandy hit last year, but city officials are hoping that a new prefab disaster housing prototype will help them prepare for the next big storm. Part of the Office of Emergency Management and Department of Design and Construction’s “What If NYC” campaign, the post-disaster housing system is expected to be tested this summer in Brooklyn.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

What If New York City - Design Competition for Post-Disaster Provisional Housing
http://www.whatifnyc.net/

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

submitted by Dennis McKeon

nbcnewyork.com - July 5, 2013

Mold has been an ongoing problem for Staten Island residents after Sandy, but the summer heat and humidity is now making it especially dangerous. One man is on a mission to battle the mold. Marc Santia reports.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Staten-Island-Residents-Battling-Growing-Mold-Problem-8-Months-After-Sandy/214424031

as-coa.org

July 08, 2013

Registration: 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Presentation and Discussion: 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

View map

REGISTER

Please join Americas Society/Council of the Americas for the launch of Stephen D. King’s latest book When the Money Runs Out, The End of Western Affluence.

About the book:

submitted by Michael Kraft

communities.firstresponder.gov

Lessons Learned: Social Media and Hurricane Sandy
(39 PAGE .pdf FILE)

(FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS - CLICK ON THE HEADLINE, OR "READ MORE")

By MEGHAN BARR

— Jun. 24 2:20 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — A silver lining frames the cloud of destruction left by Superstorm Sandy. In their hour of greatest need, families and communities — not the government — were the most helpful sources of assistance and support.

A poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that after the storm in New York and New Jersey, friends, relatives and neighbors were cited the most often as the people who helped them make it through.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

The Institute for Public Knowledge at NYU is hosting Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Chair of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Shaun Donovan, who will make an announcement related to promoting innovation and resilient design in Sandy rebuilding. Following his remarks, Secretary Donovan will chair a panel focused on the vulnerabilities of the Sandy-affected region and opportunities to make communities more resilient through innovative design and regional planning. Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, will discuss the role of philanthropies in generating and supporting innovative responses to Hurricane Sandy.

FULL INFORMATION HERE

LIVESTREAM LINK HERE

huffingtonpost.com - June 18, 2013

New York City officials released the final version of the updated hurricane evacuation zones map Tuesday. The new map incorporates 600,000 more city residents into evacuation zones.

The new zones are now listed from Zone 1 to Zone 6 and will replace Zones A, B, and C to "allow more flexibility in targeting areas to evacuate in advance of a predicted storm," according to a statement.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

(GO TO THE INTERACTIVE EVACUATION ZONES AND EVACUATION CENTERS MAP)

(NYC HURRICANE BROCHURE) - (3 page .PDF file)

(ALSO SEE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION HERE)

huffingtonpost.com - June 9, 2013 - Katie Zezima and Meghan Barr

MANTOLOKING, NJ - MAY 15: A beach front home damaged by Superstorm Sandy is tagged to be torn down and hauled off, May 15, 2013 in Manotoloking, New Jersey. Mantoloking officials say that at least 50 homes are scheduled to be demolished in the up coming weeks. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

George Kasimos has almost finished repairing flood damage to his waterfront home, but his Superstorm Sandy nightmare is far from over. ...

That's because the federal government's newly released advisory flood maps have put his Toms River home in the most vulnerable area – the "velocity zone." If that sticks, he'd have to jack his house up 14 feet on stilts at a cost of $150,000 or face up to $30,000 a year in flood insurance premiums....

For many, it's an impossible choice. They can't afford to do either. And many unanswered questions have left residents paralyzed with indecision....