Wednesday, December 19, 2012

City Council introduces flood mitigation bill


From Crains:

The City Council on Tuesday proposed legislation to improve the city’s ability to withstand powerful storms like Hurricane Sandy. The package of bills would raise elevation requirements for new or substantially renovated buildings—including health care facilities—as well as boilers and other critical equipment in flood zones.

The legislation is to be introduced during the council’s main monthly meeting. A series of oversight hearings have been scheduled before more than 20 council committees over seven weeks. Substantially renovated means upgrades that amount to 50% or more of a property’s value, a City Council spokesman said.

According to a press release released by the office of council Speaker Christine Quinn, the bills would:

Study the feasibility of relocating power lines underground. The council Committee on Consumer Affairs will examine a bill that would require the mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability to conduct a study over the next six months on the feasibility of placing power lines underground. The study will review recent power outages in the city and include a list of areas that would most benefit by burying power lines.

Adopt new flood elevation maps. Legislation would adopt the new FEMA flood advisory maps, expected to be released this week. The maps would expand the areas that must adhere to flood-proofing requirements in the city’s building code.

Impose new flood-proofing requirements for buildings in vulnerable areas. Legislation would alter the city’s building code to raise elevation requirements for future buildings in flood zones as well as their boilers and other critical equipment. The bill would also establish more restrictive flood construction standards for buildings in coastal A-zones, which are areas that may be flooded by coastal waves.

Adopt more stringent codes for health care facilities.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I assume this is the new map...why is Broad Channel of all places not in red?

Anonymous said...

They're just blowing smoke up everyones' asses!

Queens Crapper said...

It's not the new map.

Anonymous said...

The Mickey Mice are looking to get themselves some publicity.

Anonymous said...

A band aid on waterfront development.

Can someone tell me why my life and my family's life is better because a million people are encouraged to move here?

And who in the hell wants to move back to a place that will get flooded every other year with a toxic soup?

Anonymous said...

I think if people want to live in the major flood zones, they ought to be able to. And if another hurricane hits it should be on them. Not a taxpayer dime.

And there doesn't need to be money wasted on a study about putting power lines underground. The cost of doing so would be exorbitant and Con Edison would pass along the financial burden to us customers.

Anonymous said...

There's nothing like asking Mother Nature to come back and again knock down a structure too close to the water's edge -- but do you have to do it with my tax dollars?

Anonymous said...

Just remove all the landfill and we will be fine!

Anonymous said...

That last poster is right!

We once had wetland buffer zones to absorb water. They're gone and being filled in everywhere to build high rise on a mush-marsh base!

Jerry Rotondi said...

Here we go again--the magic word--"MITIGATION"!

And WHO will be PAYING a king's ransom for all of this flood mitigation?

Oh, the developers will be tossing us a few nickels and dimes to pay their "fair share". Wow--a quarter!
Will we be able to buy a few ice cream cones with it?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I guess it'll be the overtaxed taxpayers bailing out billionaire developers again!

Let these greedy bastards build elsewhere--in Siberia maybe. The Russians need "luxury" housing too.

One million more people WILL NOT be coming to New York! That's just being used as an excuse to overbuild.

Bloomberg is trying to sell us all a pig in a poke!
It's his last big push before he leaves city hall.

What we'll be left with after the emperor finally leaves, is some ugly permanent scars on the landscape--and a VERY BIG bill!

Be sure that Bloomberg leaves no successors behind, like Speaker Quinn, to run things, as usual, after he's gone.