submitted by Bill Sothern - May 29, 2013

A new ABC news program called the Lookout debuts tonight (at 10pm) and features a segment examining the sometimes dubious practices of mold inspectors and contractors as they conduct an inspection of a high-end suburban NJ home.  Myself and Prof. Richard Shaughnessy of U. of Tulsa provide the play by play and color commentary (no scripts, no rehearsals) while the hidden cameras capture the diverse conclusions of the good guys and bad guys as they present their findings and recommendations to the homeowner.

(CLICK HERE - ABC LIVE STREAM)

FEMA Building Science, the FEMA New Jersey Field Office, the New Jersey DCA, and Rutgers are pleased to announce multiple course offerings of “FEMA Best Practices for Flood and Wind Mitigation.” This course is offered to engineers, architects, contractors, builders, and local officials. There are still spaces open for these courses.

Schedule:

• Thursday, June 6, 2013, 8am – 5pm, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
• Thursday, June 20, 2013, 8am – 5pm, Waretown, NJ
• Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 8am – 5pm, Freehold, NJ

Course Description:

publicknowledge.org - by Harold Feld - May 9, 2013

Verizon wants to replace copper landlines destroyed by Hurricane Sandy with a new fixed wireless service called Voice Link. But should victims of natural disaster be guinea pigs when fundamental basic services are at stake? Especially when it means losing access to broadband?

Ever since Hurricane Sandy destroyed huge pieces of its landline network last October, Verizon made it clear it did not want to rebuild its traditional copper network. Most folks assumed that meant replacing damaged copper with fiber. While some consumers have grumbled about being upgraded to a more expensive service, no one doubts fiber to the home represents a step up – especially on the broadband side. 

But what about those communities where Verizon does not want to spend the money upgrading to FIOS? Turns out, rather than an upgrade to fiber, these communities will play guinea pig for Verizon’s new, cheaper, more limited wireless alternative called “Voice Link.”

submitted by Peter B. Gudaitis

Please RSVP to ***@***.*** by 5PM  Thursday, 5/30

NYDIS and The FEMA VAL Group Invite You to Attend the

NYC VOLUNTEER GROUP HOUSING COORDINATION PROGRAM

Planning Meeting

Who Should Attend: LTRG Volunteer & Rebuild Committee Members, Rebuild Organizations,

Faith Communities or Denominations Coordinating Housing and Individual Congregations Hosting Volunteers

______________________________

Friday, May 31, 2013  -- 2:30-4:00PM

NYDIS Office - 4 West 43^rd Street, Room 415 (Between 5th & 6^th Avenues)

Please join us to discuss city-wide long-term housing coordination needs and resources, including:

·       Preview of National VOAD Volunteer Housing Portal

·         LTRO Updates on Housing & Volunteer Needs

·        Assessment Process for Current Housing Assets, Networks & Needs

·         Review Host Registration Documents, Host Site & Volunteer Manuals

earth-policy.org - by Janet Larsen
May 14, 2013

When New York City opened registration for its much anticipated public bike-sharing program on April 15, 2013, more than 5,000 people signed up within 30 hours. Eager for access to a fleet of thousands of bicycles, they became Citi Bike members weeks before bikes were expected to be available. Such pent-up demand for more cycling options is on display in cities across the United States—from Buffalo to Boulder, Omaha to Oklahoma City, and Long Beach in New York to Long Beach in California—where shared bicycle programs are taking root.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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)

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)

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. 

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)

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