ch16 southqueens final singles (1)

A STRONGER, MORE RESILIENT NEW YORKJamaica Bay

Credit: Eddie Yee

CHAPTER 16 | SOUTH QUEENS 302

South Queens

At the southernmost point of Queens liesthe only unobstructed coastline in all ofNew York City, the11-mile-long RockawayPeninsula. Behind it are the 31 square miles ofwater that comprise Jamaica Bay. On the Penin-sula and around the Bay are manyneighborhoods that, at first glance, may seemto have little in common.

Far Rockaway, for example, sits at the easternend of the Rockaway Peninsula, with sturdybrick high rises and tiny bungalows along theAtlantic Ocean and the A train rumbling on ele-vated tracks.

By contrast, Belle Harbor, which is farther westalong the Peninsula, contains many large sin-gle-family houses dating from the 1920s, withtidy lawns, lining quiet streets.

Broad Channels residents, meanwhile, occupy askinny, mile-long island right in the middle of Ja-maica Bayan island they share with hundredsof species of birds that inhabit the Jamaica BayWildlife Refuge, which is also found there.

Yet, despite their differences, these three com-munities, along with the other neighborhoodson the Peninsula and ringing Jamaica Bayincluding New Howard Beach, Old Howard

Beach, and Hamilton Beach on the Bays northsideare alike in certain very profound ways.

All of these neighborhoodscollectively referred to in this chapter as South Queensshare a common geomorphology. This entirearea was once comprised of barrier islands andmarshland, all made of the soft soil left behindby the glacier that covered, and helped form,New York City some 22,000 years ago. The areahas the lowest elevation of any in the cityin

places almost at sea levelmaking parts of itsusceptible to flooding from even the regularmovement of the tides.

And the area continues to evolve. In fact, the nat-ural movement of sediment from east to westalong the Rockaway Peninsula over the courseof the 20th century formed what is today thecommunity of Breezy Pointan area built onland that literally did not exist just a short timeago. As these changes in the Rockaway Penin-

A STRONGER, MORE RESILIENT NEW YORK303

Edgemere

Bayswater

Atlantic BeachArverne

Somerville

Hamilton Beach

Neponsit

Brant Point

Far Rockaway

Breezy Point

New Howard Beach

Belle Harbor

Broad Channel

Old Howard Beach

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay

Atlantic Ocean

Rockaway Park

Jacob Riis Park

Rockaway Beach

Fort Tilden

Breezy Point Tip

RockawayInlet

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

Roxbury

Subway Lines

Parks

SIRR Area

Neighborhoods of South Queens

Rockaway Beach Credit: Daniel Avila/NYC Parks


sula have added land, they also have taken landaway. The Peninsula, which acts as a barriershielding the areas lying inland from it, once it-self was partially shielded by smaller barrierislands to the south. Over time, though, thosesmaller islands disappeared, leaving the Penin-sula completely exposed to the ocean andmaking its coastline significantly more vulnera-ble. (See map: The Shoreline: Then and Now)

Just as the neighborhoods of South Queenspossess a common geomorphology, they alsoshare a history of development. Generally, theyfirst sprang up in the 19th century as seasonalrecreational destinations, with pockets of smallsummer homes and bungalows spreadthroughout the Peninsula, New Howard Beach,Old Howard Beach, and Hamilton Beach, andmore stately homes and hotels lining the Penin-sulas oceanfront. This early development wasspurred by the advent of a rail line to the Rock-awaysthe forerunner of the right-of-way thattoday carries the A train across Jamaica Bay.

After the construction of Cross Bay Boulevardin 1923, the areas neighborhoods began to at-tract year-round residents. This acceleratedwith the end of World War II, when propertyowners and government entities began pavingover marshland, hardening shorelines withbulkheads and seawalls, and building newhouses, some on landfill.

In the 1950s, a new wave of developmentbegan, this time focused primarily on the Penin-sula. There, the public sector and privatedevelopers began constructing nursing homes,public housing developments, and affordablehousing projects under the Mitchell-Lama pro-gram. This trend continued through the 1960sand 1970s, resulting in high concentrations ofdisadvantaged populations in certain parts ofSouth Queens.

In recent decades, the neighborhoods of SouthQueens have continued to develop and flourish,with new residents, attracted by the desirabilityof living at or near the citys oceanfront, joiningthose who have lived in these areas for genera-tions. Both newcomers and long-standing arearesidents value the areas tranquil atmosphere,scenic locale, and strong sense of community.

On October 29, 2012, a new chapter in thecommon history of South Queens was writtenwith the arrival of Sandy. Waves struck thePeninsulas coastline, smashing houses, splin-tering large sections of boardwalk, causingwidespread flooding, and washing away orthrusting onto neighborhood streets and prop-erties at least 1.5 million cubic yards of beachsand. The storm surge pushed through Rock-away Inlet, overtopping bulkheads and seawalls

throughout the Bay and bringing significant in-undation to many Bay-lining neighborhoods.Though the storm brought hardship to manyparts of New York, it was particularly devastat-ing for this area.

Compounding the destruction caused by flood-waters, serious fires also broke out along thePeninsula in Breezy Point, Belle Harbor, andRockaway Park. In most cases, these fires werecaused by the interaction of salt water and electrical equipment. Due to the severe flooding in these areas, fire trucks were simplyunable to reach affected homes and busi-nesses. As a result, flames spread and fires

burned uncontrolled for significant periods. Intotal, some 175 homes and businesses weredestroyed.

Although rebuilding in South Queens is well un-derway as of the writing of this report, it is clearthat simply restoring what existed in theseneighborhoods before Sandys arrival is notenough. As the climate changes, this areas vul-nerabilities will only grow.

Entirely new layers of protection are needed forSouth Queens. This planwhich reflects theoverarching goals of this report, namely to limitthe effects of extreme weather, while enabling

The Shoreline: Then and Now

Hamilton Beach

Source: Coast and Geodetic Survey, October 1903

Credit: Nate Dorr


New York and its neighborhoods to bounceback quickly when those impacts cannot bepreventedproposes such protections. It ad-dresses the areas most significant risksitsvulnerability to storm surge and rising sea lev-elsseeking to limit oceanfront and bayside

exposures to floodwaters, facilitate the rebuild-ing and retrofitting of buildings in a moreresilient fashion, and protect vital infrastructuremore effectively. It also addresses otherthreats, including the increasing frequency ofheavy downpours, heat waves, and high winds,

by drawing on both citywide and locally tailoredinitiatives. Finally, the plan will build on theareas natural assets, local economic strengths,and community spirit to encourage reinvest-ment in its waterfront neighborhoods. This planwill ensure that South Queens is able to comeback stronger after Sandy, and better preparedto confront a future of growing risks.

Area Characteristics

South Queens is predominantly residential,home to 130,000 people who inhabit some 15different neighborhoods. Most businesses andnonprofits in the area are small, occupying com-mercial corridors that cater to local residentsand summer visitors. However, there are somemajor employers in the area, especially in thehealthcare sector. There is also significant infra-structure underpinning the everyday activitiesof those who live, work, and play in the area.

However, what truly sets South Queens apart isits unmatched recreational resources thatserve not only the local communities, but theentire city. South Queens is one of New Yorksgreat summertime playgrounds.

Public beaches line nearly the entire stretch ofthe Rockaway Peninsulaadding up to thelargest urban beach in America, lined, alongfive miles, with a boardwalk. While the Depart-ment of Parks & Recreation (DPR) managesapproximately seven miles of beachfront in theRockaways, an additional four miles, curvingaround the western end of the Peninsula, areunder the jurisdiction of the National Park Serv-ice (NPS), part of the Gateway NationalRecreation Area.

In the Rockaways, the properties managed byNPS include the Robert Moses-designed JacobRiis Park, which attracts visitors who mostly ar-rive by car or bus, lured not only by the beachbut also by the famous Art Deco bathhouse thathosts ranger-led programs and history exhibits.Next door at Fort Tilden, a decommissioned mil-itary base, NPS maintains natural areas such asa maritime forest and freshwater ponds. Finally,there is Breezy Point Tip, an isolated NPS beachfronting Jamaica Bay.

Jamaica Bay itself is another precious natural re-source in the area, containing a variety of nativehabitats including the citys largest remainingnatural marshlands. Based on concerns aboutthe accelerated loss of marshland within the Bayover the last century, governmental efforts wereput in place to preserve and restore the Baysecology. As a result, today much of the Bay issurrounded by parkland, some controlled byNPS and some by the City. After working inde-

86%

8%

Total = 24,200 Buildings

3%

1% 1%1%

Multi-Family (elevator)

Mixed

Commercial/Non-Profit

Other

1- and 2- Family

Multi-Family (walk-up)

Area Buildings Characterized by Building Type

41%

11%

45%

3%

Total = 53,000 Housing Units

Multi-Family (elevator)

Mixed

1- and 2- Family

Multi-Family (walk-up)

Area Housing Units Characterized by Building Type

Source: DCP PLUTO

Source: DCP PLUTO


pendently for decades, in 2012, the City formal-ized a partnership with NPS to allowcoordinated management of a total of 10,000acres of parkland, with a focus on enhancingrecreational amenities and the resiliency of theBay and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Neighborhoods and Residential DevelopmentDespite their bountiful amenities, as mentionedpreviously, the neighborhoods of South Queensare, first and foremost, residential, containing amix of housing types that range from bungalowsto multi-family elevator buildings. Most residen-tial buildings (86 percent) are 1- or 2-familyhomes, and 78 percent of the residential build-ings in the area were constructed prior to 1961,when modern construction standards wereadopted. These buildings (combustible struc-tures, in the Citys nomenclature) tend to beconstructed of lighter structural componentssuch as wood. Though most buildings in SouthQueens are 1- or 2-family homes, more than halfof all housing units (55 percent) are located inmulti-family buildings. These multi-family build-ings include six public housing developmentsoperated by the New York City Housing Author-ity (NYCHA) and seven Mitchell-Lamadevelopments. (See chart: Area Buildings Char-acterized by Building Type; see chart: AreaHousing Units characterized by Building Type)

Rockaway Peninsula Neighborhoods:On the easternmost end of the Rockaway Penin-sula are found the neighborhoods of Bayswaterand Far Rockaway, jointly referred to in thischapter as Far Rockaway. Much denser thanthe other neighborhoods on the Peninsula, FarRockaway is home to 54,000 residents42 per-cent of South Queenss total population. Unlikethe other neighborhoods of South Queens, FarRockaway is built on land that is slightly ele-vated, making it less prone to flooding. This partof the Peninsula is also partially protected bygroins and a portion of the Long Beach barrierisland that is a part of Nassau County.

To the west of Far Rockaway are five neighbor-hoods that together are referred to here asRockaway. These neighborhoods are Arverne,Somerville, Edgemere, Rockaway Park, andRockaway Beach. This area, with a population of49,100, is the second most densely populatedpart of South Queens, owing in part to fiveNYCHA developments containing over 3,400units and seven Mitchell-Lama buildings.

Particularly noteworthy in the Rockaway area isthe neighborhood of Arverne. This communityhistorically consisted of bungalow housing thatwas cleared as part of an urban renewal projectin the 1960s. After laying fallow for manydecades, the area began to spring back to life

in recent decades with the construction ofArverne By The Sea, a 117-acre mixed-use de-velopment between Beach 62nd and 80thStreets, which opened in 2008. The City notonly required that the new development beconstructed on an elevated site, it also calledfor a wide planted dune system facing theoceandesign features that would serve thecommunity well during Sandy. Additional urbanrenewal land east of Arverne By The Sea re-mains undeveloped.

North of Arverne, fronting Jamaica Bay, are theneighborhoods of Somerville and Edgemere.There, older bungalows and single-family homesbuilt of combustible materials predominate.The area also contains newer affordable home-ownership and rental units developed by theHousing Partnership, the primary City-spon-sored developer of affordable housing units inthe five boroughs. Between Somerville and Ja-maica Bay lies Brant Point Wildlife Sanctuary,which is mostly undeveloped marshland thatpreserves natural habitat and helps protectneighboring areas from floodwaters.

To the west of Arverne, Somerville and Edge-mere are Rockaway Park and Rockaway Beach.These areas have a mix of high- and low-risebuildings, ranging from multi-family complexesto clusters of bungalows. Fronting RockawayBeach (as well as Arverne) are the first legalsurfing beaches in New York City, which increas-ingly attract surfers from all five boroughs.

Farther west are Neponsit and Belle Harbor,neighborhoods that together have 5,500 resi-dents who primarily inhabit larger single-familyhomes. They sit directly next to Jacob Riis andFort Tilden National Parks.

At the westernmost tip of the Peninsula, lies adistinct area composed of the private commu-nities of Roxbury and Breezy Point. Part ofBreezy Point faces the ocean and another part,like Roxbury, fronts Rockaway Inlet. Nearly4,100 residents live in 3,400 single-familyhomes and bungalows in these communities onland owned by the Breezy Point Cooperative.The Cooperative maintains its own infrastruc-ture, controls access to its beachfront, and setsits own rules governing the construction andmaintenance of properties.

Homes of South Queens

Credit: Municipal Art Society Credit: Quiggty4/Flickr

Credit: Uli Seit/New York Times Credit: Chester Higgins, Jr./New York Times

Broad Channel Neponsit

Far Rockaway Rockaway Beach


Jamaica Bay Neighborhoods: On the Jamaica Bay island of Broad Channel, res-idents live on the southern portion of the islandwhile the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge occupiesthe northern end. The communitys 2,400 resi-dents dwell in approximately 1,000 single-familyhomes, some on stiltswith many lining narrowchannels on the islands western shore.

Finally, on the far side of the Bay, north of BroadChannel are New Howard Beach, Old HowardBeach, and Hamilton Beach. Together theseareas have a population of 14,700. Old Howardand Hamilton Beaches generally contain smallercombustible single-family houses, includingbungalows dating to the early twentieth century.New Howard Beach, meanwhile, tends to containhomes that are larger and newer, most sitting atslightly higher elevations. These neighborhoods

contain numerous narrow basins providing access to small docks for recreational boating.

Socioeconomic CharacteristicsThe socioeconomic makeup of South Queens asa whole is roughly comparable to the city as awhole, with, for example, an average povertyrate of 18 percent in South Queens, that mirrorsthe rate across the five boroughs. Median house-hold income across South Queens, meanwhile,is slightly higher ($55,000) than the citywide av-erage ($51,300). The same is true of the rate ofhome ownership, which is about one third higherthan the citywide average of 33 percent.

However, there are dramatic socioeconomicdifferences from neighborhood to neighbor-hood in South Queens. For example, in BroadChannel the poverty rate is only 1 percent,while the rates for Rockaway and Far Rockawayare 21 percent and 22 percent, respectively.Similarly, whereas the rate of homeownershipin New Howard Beach and Breezy Point areboth at 95 percent, the average rate for Rock-away and Far Rockaway is around 32 percent.(See table: Socioeconomic Characteristics)

Businesses, Nonprofits, and the Local EconomyGenerally speaking, businesses and nonprofits inSouth Queens tend to be small enterprises, withover 80 percent of businesses in the area employ-ing fewer than 10 people. Though by number, theareas small businesses predominate, there aresome larger enterprises in South Queens that ac-count for a substantial portion of area

Socioeconomic Characteristics

39

27

19

11

8

7

4

NYC average = 42 people/acre

Rockaway

Old Howard Beach/Hamilton Beach

New Howard Beach

Far Rockaway

Broad Channel

Breezy Point/Roxbury

Belle Harbor/Neponsit

0 10 20 30 40 50

Population Density of South Queens

Area PopulationPoverty

Rate

Median Household

IncomeHouseholds

Owner-OccupiedHousing Units

% Homeowners

% Owner-Occupied

Housing Unitswith Mortgage

Median Owner-

Occupied UnitValue

Far Rockaway 54,000 22% $39,800 17,100 4,400 26% 76% $474,200

Rockaway 49,100 21% $49,200 17,600 6,700 38% 59% $384,100

Belle Harbor/Neponsit 5,500 2% $117,200 2,100 1,900 90% 50% $810,700

Breezy Point/Roxbury 4,100 2% $86,900 1,800 1,700 95% 44% $557,300

Broad Channel 2,400 1% $78,200 850 700 78% 78% $424,000

New Howard Beach 7,400 9% $92,700 2,900 2,800 95% 53% $673,000

Old Howard Beach/Hamilton Beach

7,300 7% $72,000 2,700 2,000 75% 50% $550,400

Citywide Total/Average

8,175,000 19% $51,300 3,050,000 993,500 33% 64% $514,900

Source: 2010 US Census, 2011 American Community Survey, 5-Year estimate

Source: 2010 US Census


employment. In fact, approximately one-half ofthe employees of South Queens businesses workfor companies and institutions that employ over100 people. (See chart: Profile of Area Businesses)

Among the important industries in SouthQueens, perhaps the most significant is health-care. This sector includes most of the areaslarger employers, ranging from local medical of-fices, to nursing homes, adult care facilities, anda hospital. Two of the major healthcare providersin South Queens are Peninsula General NursingHome Corporation and St. Johns Episcopal Hos-pital. Since the closure of Peninsula HospitalCenter in 2012, St. Johns, with an inpatient bedcapacity of approximately 400, has been the solehospital in all of South Queens.

Though the manufacturing sector does not playa significant role in South Queens, one major em-ployer in the area is a manufacturer: MadelaineChocolates. This company, located in RockawayBeach, is, in fact, one of South Queenss largeremployers. Located in its current location since1967, before Sandy, the company employed 450people and, on a typical day, turned 100,000pounds of chocolate into Easter eggs, Chanukahgelt, and other confections.

Retail is another important sector of the SouthQueens economy. Generally, businesses in thissector can be found in the areas many com-mercial corridors that traditionally serve localresidents and seasonal visitors. Commercialcorridors include:

Mott Avenue: Far Rockaways main commercialcorridor, this area is anchored by governmentaland educational institutions. It is also served bymultiple modes of public transit. The area includes a mix of small businesses and nonprof-its as well as larger chain supermarkets andretailers. The area is the only commercial corri-dor in South Queens served by a localeconomic development organization, the Rock-away Development & RevitalizationCorporation.

Beach 116th Street: This commercial corridorruns from Jamaica Bay to the beach and islined with small businesses. It intersects withanother retail strip for a few blocks alongRockaway Beach Boulevard. Though the loca-tion has many advantages, including theterminus of the A line and access to both thebeach and the Bay, the area has, struggled inrecent years with the impact of vacant or un-derutilized buildings.

Beach 129th Street: A smaller strip of retail,service, and dining establishments, this corri-dor primarily serves residents of Neponsitand Belle Harbor.

Cross Bay Boulevard: This thoroughfare, run-ning from the northern end of Jamaica Bay to

the Rockaways, serves as the main commer-cial corridor of Howard Beach. It contains anauto-oriented retail strip, big-box retail, and,facing the water, restaurants and bars that arepopular during the summer.

Broad Channel: About a dozen retailers serv-ing this community are scattered throughoutthe island.

In addition to the foregoing businesses and non-profits that provide year-round employment and

economic activity throughout South Queens, thePeninsulas beachfront and boardwalk also sup-port a significant seasonal workforce. Forexample, during summer months, DPR hires life-guards for the Citys beaches, and restaurantsand vendors, including Rockaway Parks popularRockaway Taco, hire extra wait staff.

Notwithstanding this diversity of economic ac-tivity and the positive momentum from recentgrowth in the year-round surfing community

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay

Atlantic Ocean

Joseph P. AddabboMemorial Bridge

Beach / Boardwalk (DRP)

Rockaway WWTP (DEP)

Cross Bay Boulevard Elevated A-Train (MTA)

Marine Parkway Gil Hodges

Bridge

Long IslandRail Road (LIRR)

Cross Bay Bridge

Beach (NPS)

Beach (NPS)

RockawayInlet

Critical Infrastructure

Businesses (by size of business)

1 to 4

5 - 9

50 - 99

Employees (by size of business)

Total: 2.9k Total: 25.6k

8%

Emp

loye

e Si

ze

100+

10 - 49

82%

7%1%2%

17%

6%

8%

16%

53%

Profile of Area Businesses

Source: Hoovers


and revitalized concessions around RockawayBeach and Arverne, many businesses and non-profits in South Queens had been strugglingeven before Sandy. This was due to a combina-tion of factors, including the impact of thesevere economic downturn that began in 2008.

Critical InfrastructureSouth Queens contains a number of key infra-structure assets that serve the area and thelarger city beyond. These include assets thatare a part of the regions transportation net-work, process area wastewater, and act as vitalcoastal protections.(See map: Critical Infra-structure)

Among the transportation assets that can befound in the neighborhoods of South Queens,several serve as a critical link between this geo-graphically isolated area and the rest of the city.For example, Cross Bay Boulevard and the GilHodges Memorial Bridge, both north-south ar-teries, provide vehicular access to the RockawayPeninsula (and, in the case of Cross Bay Boule-vard, to Broad Channel) from South Queens andSouthern Brooklyn. The Metropolitan Trans-portation Authoritys (MTA) A train and shuttleservices that run on its lines, meanwhile, link the

Rockaway Peninsula, Broad Channel, andHoward Beach via a causeway that traverses Ja-maica Bay. On a typical weekday, thousands ofdaily commuters ride the A train, along with theLong Island Railroad, which stops in Far Rock-away, and the many bus lines serving the area.

South Queens is home to the Rockaway Waste-water Treatment Plant. The plant has been inoperation since 1952 and treats 45 million gal-lons of wastewater per day while also receivingstormwater runoff. The facility, operated by theNew York City Department of EnvironmentalProtection (DEP), sits on low-lying land immedi-ately adjacent to Jamaica Bay and is, therefore,one of the most vulnerable facilities in DEPsnetwork to flooding and other weather-relatedevents.

The Rockaway Wastewater Treatment Plant re-ceives flow from the areas sanitary sewersystem. Much of the Rockaways have been un-dergoing storm sewer build-out for years.Projects have included the extension, replace-ment, and installation of various water mainsand sanitary and storm sewers throughout thePeninsula. However, the required build-out inthe area is extensive, and in some neighbor-

hoods, such as Far Rockaway, Edgemere, andBroad Channel, the storm sewer system hasnot been completed. As a result of this andtheir low elevation, these neighborhoods tendto be more susceptible to flooding.

Another important piece of infrastructure inSouth Queens is one that provides a coastalprotection function: the areas beachesespe-cially those, along the Rockaway Peninsula,facing the Atlantic Ocean. However, in mostplaces, these beaches lack dunes, groins andother forms of coastal protection. As a result,they experience regular erosion.

In response to this erosion, starting in 1977, theUS Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) designedand implemented two major beach nourish-ment projects extending from Neponsitthrough Far Rockaway. However, in 2004, dueto the high costs associated with these proj-ects, the USACE deferred further nourishmentand other planned projects, with a goal of find-ing more cost-effective solutions. In the interim,though, the areas beaches have continued toerode, reducing their ability to protect theneighborhoods along the Peninsula.

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay

Atlantic Ocean

Inundation (Feet Above Ground)

Less Than 3

3 - 6

6 - 10

More Than 10

RockawayInlet

South Queens Surge Heights

Source: FEMA (MOTF 11/6 Hindcast surge extent)


What Happened During Sandy

Arriving almost exactly at the moment of hightide in South Queens, Sandy brought a massivestorm surge and battering waves to the neigh-borhoods of South Queens, wreaking havoc onthe area. Most of the destruction brought bySandy to these neighborhoods was, directly orindirectly, attributable to the huge volumes ofwater that inundated the area. This inundationfollowed three paths. First, areas flooded whenwaves rose directly up over beaches and brokeagainst the neighborhoods behind them. Sec-ond, floodwaters were funneled through theRockaway Inlet, throughout Jamaica Bay, andthen into the tributaries and channels aroundthe circumference of the Bay. Finally, in someplaces, inundation entered areas through low-lying drainage infrastructure that never wasintended to face flooding of this magnitude.(See map: South Queens Surge Heights)

The result of all of this was widespread lossbuilding damage, power and transportationoutages, disruptions in other services, displace-ment, and financial hardship for manyresidents, businesses, and nonprofits. Through-out South Queens, though few areas escapedharm altogether, different neighborhoods didexperience the storm in different ways.

Compared to other neighborhoods in SouthQueens, generally speaking, Far Rockaway ex-perienced minimal flooding associated withSandys surge due to its higher elevation andthe fact that a portion of the coastline is pro-tected by Long Beach. However, some pocketsof Bayswater and the southern portions of FarRockaway experienced more flooding thanadjacent areas.

In Arverne, meanwhile, Sandys surge breachedthe coastline, damaging beach-facing homes.However, damage was mitigated in large sectionsof Arverne By The Sea, where the dune systemon the beach in front of the new development ab-sorbed the impact of waves, while the elevatedsite and special drainage features in the develop-ment kept most housing units free of water.

Farther to the west, in Rockaway Park and Rock-away Beach, as in other sections of thePeninsula, Sandys surge waters spreadthroughout the area. The net result in thesecommunities was significant damage to build-ing systems in high-rise structures (knockingout critical services like electricity and water),as well as flooding and structural damage tomany of the areas low-rise buildings.

Even farther to the west on the Peninsula, dam-age generally increased. In these areas,high-velocity waves struck unprotected Belle

Harbor, Neponsit, Roxbury, and Breezy Point,smashing structures facing the ocean and send-ing floodwaters down streets, onto properties,and into basements and ground floors. Vastamounts of sand also were pushed onto neigh-borhood streets, sidewalks, and private land.

At Riis Park, the parking lot and Art Deco bath-house experienced significant damage, thoughit was not impacted structurally. At Fort Tilden,the entire network of protective dunes was lost,with the storm uncovering an old seawall withmetal rebar and jagged debris. Fort Tilden re-mains closed as of the writing of this report.

Even as Sandys surge attacked the RockawayPeninsula from the ocean, it was also pushing

through Rockaway Inlet. As it raised water lev-els in the area, it inundated Roxbury, damagingBay-facing homes in the neighborhood.

From the Rockaway Inlet, the surge spreadthroughout Jamaica Bay, overtopping deterio-rated seawalls along Belle Harbor and Neponsitand bringing floodwaters into these neighbor-hoods from that direction as well. As a result,at these and other points along the Peninsulathe ocean met the bay, with flood heightsreaching as high as 10 feet.

Other Bay-facing Peninsula neighborhoodswere deluged as well, including Somerville andEdgemere. There, low-lying land and soft soilconditions, together with already eroded

The Fires in the Rockaways

During and after Sandy, 94 storm-related fires broke out across New York City. About 80 per-cent of these fires were electrical in nature, caused by the interaction of electricity and sea-water, though some were also caused by open flames or even faulty generators. In total, thesefires destroyed over 200 homes and businesses across the five boroughs. As devastating asthey were wherever they hit, the fires were particularly disastrous across the Rockaway Penin-sula, where 175 of the destroyed homes and businesses were located.

Breezy Point A 6-alarm fire broke out in Breezy Point when seawater brought by Sandys surge came intocontact with the electrical system of a single-family home in the community. Fueled by Sandyshigh winds, the fire, which firefighters were unable to reach for some time due to flooding,spread quickly in this densely packed neighborhood, ultimately destroying 126 homes anddamaging 22 more. It took 10 hours to bring the fire under control.

Belle HarborOn Beach 129th Street in Belle Harbor, a major conflagration broke out after utility wires, com-promised by the storm, came into contact with a 2-story home. The ensuing fire spread to31 additional structures, completely destroying all of them.

Rockaway Beach Boulevard On Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 113th Street, utility wires came into contact witha 3-story, mixed-use building during the storm. The downed wires started a fire that eventuallyspread to 16 additional structures, destroying them all.

Fire damage in Breezy Point Credit: Kirsten Luce/The New York Times


coastal conditions, allowed Sandy to under-mine existing bulkheads, leaving homesvirtually unprotected from the storms waters.

Broad Channel, sitting at a low elevation in themiddle of Jamaica Bay, also suffered fromSandys surge, which spread large volumes ofwater throughout the neighborhood. Salt watercontaminated the Jamaica Bay Wildlife RefugesWest Pond on the northern end of the island. In New Howard Beach, Old Howard Beach, andHamilton Beach, inundation similarly causedsignificant devastation. Floodwaters largely en-

tered these neighborhoods from the Bay viathe narrow creeks and basins that wind throughand among these neighborhoods.

Another way in which Sandy wreaked havoc onSouth Queens was via its winds, which spreadfires that broke out in several South Queensareas, including Breezy Point, Belle Harbor, andRockaway, spreading them, in some cases, overlarge areas. (See sidebar: The Fires in the Rockaways)

As a result of Sandy, a large number of buildings

in South Queens suffered damage. After thestorm, the New York City Department of Build-ings (DOB) sent out inspectors to assessdamages in South Queens and other inundatedareas of the City. These inspectors were askedto assign tags to buildings based on the observed condition of each structure. Greentags indicated less serious damage or no damage. Yellow tags indicated that portionsof a building might be unsafe or might have significant non-structural damage. Red tagsindicated structural damage. And a subcategory of red tags was further catego-rized as destroyed.

The most methodologically rigorous buildingdamage assessment undertaken by DOB wascompleted in December 2012. According to thisassessment, of those buildings citywide thatwere tagged, either yellow or red (includingthose further classified as destroyed), 37 percentwere located in South Queens. This was well inexcess of the percentage of all buildings in thecitywide inundation zone that were located inSouth Queens (24 percent). The yellow and redtagged buildings in South Queens tended to beclustered in Edgemere, Somerville, RockawayBeach, Rockaway Park, Belle Harbor, Neponsit,Roxbury, Breezy Point, Broad Channel and Hamilton Beach. Consistent with other ocean-facing areas of the city, in South Queens, thepercentage of red and yellow tagged buildingsthat were tagged red (59 percent) was higherthan the percentage citywide (38 percent). Thisoverrepresentation was reflective of the destruc-tive impact that powerful waves coming off ofthe ocean had on the areas building stock.

Like residents, businesses and nonprofits inSouth Queens were hit hard by Sandy, with over2,275 businesses and nonprofits, employingnearly 15,000 people, impacted. These rangedfrom large to small.

For example, in Rockaway Beach, MadelaineChocolates was inundated completely. This re-sulted not just in the loss of inventory andvaluable equipment but also missed productionduring critical holiday seasons, from Thanksgiv-ing through Easter.

Many neighborhood retail corridors, service-providers, and beach-related concessionoperators also were devastated. This devasta-tion resulted primarily from inundation, though,in some cases, also was caused by fire. To addinsult to injury, as these businesses and non-profits began slowly to reopen after the storm,many found that they had fewer customers,owing to the large numbers of area residentswho the storm had displaced. This was eventrue in Far Rockaway, where storm damage wasless severe than elsewhere in South Queens,

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay

Atlantic Ocean

DOB Tag DataDestroyedRedYellow

RockawayInlet

Location and Level of Building Damage

South Queens Citywide

41%62%

26%

33%

11%

27%Destroyed

Yellow

Red

DOB Tag Data

Level of Building Damage

Source: DOB December Tags

Source: DOB December Tags

but where, three weeks after the storm, only 40to 50 percent of area businesses had reopened.Businesses in South Queens suffered manylosses, including lost inventory, damaged inte-riors, and compromised building systems.

Yet another impact that Sandy had on the neigh-borhoods of South Queens was extensivedamage to the areas critical infrastructure. Forexample, Cross Bay Boulevard was fully sub-merged during the storm. After the storm, thethoroughfare was littered not just with dam-aged cars and trucks but also with boats thatSandys surge had deposited well inland.

Mass transit serving South Queens also was sig-nificantly impaired by Sandy. For example,portions of the A train rail connection betweenHoward Beach and the Rockaway Peninsula werewashed away, leaving 35,000 daily riders withouta direct rail link to Queens, Brooklyn, and Man-hattan. Subway tracks south of Howard Beachwere also inundated with up to ten feet of water,washing these tracks out in many places and, intwo locations, washing out the land on which thetracks ran. Other railroad equipment was seri-ously damaged or destroyed, includingimportant signal systems. Though the MTA wasable to put shuttle bus and train service in placein the interim, full service along the A line was notrestored for some seven months, significantly in-creasing commuting times for those whonormally relied on the subway.


Rockaway Boardwalk

Track damage on the A Line

Credit: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Credit: MTA/NYCT

Although many parts of the city were affectedby power outages, few were as significantlyimpacted as the neighborhoods of SouthQueens. Not only did the entire area losepowercaused by damage to substations,power lines, and customer equipmentbut,in many cases, these power outages lastedlonger than anywhere else in the city. To un-derstand why this occurred, it is first neces-sary to understand how power is supplied tothe area.

In the Rockaways, the Long Island Power Au-thority (LIPA), a public authority controlled byNew York State, is responsible for deliveringelectric power. Meanwhile, as is the case inthe rest of the city, Con Edison, a private utilitycompany, is responsible for providing electricpower to Broad Channel, New Howard Beach,Old Howard Beach, and Hamilton Beach.

During Sandy, all four LIPA substations servingthe Rockaway Peninsula were knocked out ofservice by floodwaters, resulting in wide-spread power failures, impacting some34,000 customers. Because of the extent of

the damage to its system, after Sandy, LIPAwas unable to reenergize its grid for some 11days. Thereafter, LIPA was able to restorepower relatively quickly to approximately10,000 customers, predominantly in portionsof Far Rockaway that did not suffer extensiveflood damage. However, for the majority ofareas that experienced significant flooding,and resulting physical damage to buildings,for safety reasons, it was necessary to repairthis damage before power could be restored.As a result, around 24,000 customers re-mained without power returning one by oneover months until each building received certified inspections or repairs to their equipment.

In Con Edisons territory, meanwhile, poweroutages were also extensive, impacting ap-proximately 2,800 customers in New HowardBeach, Old Howard Beach, and HamiltonBeach and 950 customers in Broad Channel.This was, in large part, due to flooding, which,in turn, made it unsafe to restore electric serv-ice to customers until their in-building equip-ment could be inspected and, if damaged,

repaired. According to Con Edison, eight daysafter Sandys departure, half of the customersin New Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach, andBroad Channel had had their power restored,with about a quarter of customers restored inOld Howard Beach. The Citys groundbreak-ing Rapid Repairs program dramatically accel-erated the pace of power restoration in SouthQueens and other impacted areas, by dis-patching contractors and skilled constructionworkers to make emergency repairs on resi-dential properties affected by Sandy. In total,as of the writing of this report, Rapid Repairshas assisted more than 20,000 families in-cluding thousands in South Queens.

Overall, extended power outages createdhardships for many in South Queens, includ-ing the elderly and disabled. This was espe-cially true for those living in multi-storyfacilities that had lost critical building sys-tems, as occurred at numerous Mitchell-Lamadevelopments, NYCHA developments, nurs-ing homes, and adult care facilities.

Power Outages in South Queens


To address the transit challenges posed by theclosure of the A train, in November 2012, theCity launched temporary ferry service betweenthe Rockaways and Manhattan. Paid for in partwith Federal money and using a landing siteprovided by National Grid, the service cost rid-ers $2 per trip.

Another important piece of infrastructure inSouth Queens impacted by Sandy was theRockaway Wastewater Treatment Plant. This fa-cility suffered severe flooding and was out ofservice during the storm, leaving wastewateruntreated for three days, although chlorine wasapplied to untreated effluent. Notwithstandingthese releases, water quality samples taken byDEP following the storm showed minimal waterquality impacts, due in part to dilution of efflu-ent that resulted from the high volumes ofwater that Sandy brought with it. The RockawayWastewater Treatment Plant finally regained fulltreatment capacity approximately two weeksafter the storm.

Sandy caused significant erosion along thebeaches of South Queens. In fact, the USACEestimated that Rockaway Beach alone lost 1.5million cubic yards of sand, much of it pushedup into neighborhood streets or washed intothe Atlantic. Segments of the areas boardwalkwere also destroyed, although the portionsbuilt of concrete tended to emerge unscathedor to sustain only minor to moderate damage.

Schools in the area were also damaged. In total,37 schools in South Queens were closed for upto two months. Until repairs could be com-pleted. Students at these schools wererelocated to school facilities that had not beendamaged to ensure that instructional disrup-tion was kept to a minimum.

As significant as Sandys impacts were on themany neighborhoods of South Queens, they alsoinspired acts of heroism. These efforts rangedfrom the relief operations undertaken by commu-nity-based organizations, other non-profits, localresidents, and outside volunteers. The outpour-ing of financial and on-the-ground support helpedmany to begin addressing the damage done totheir homes, supported efforts to clean up thearea and assisted residents who were displacedor remained in the area but whose access togoods and services were impaired. In fact, theexperience of Sandy inspired 40 local organiza-tions to form a new coalition called RockawayUnited. This group was established to coordinateservices post-Sandy more effectively and to putmechanisms in place for future disasters. Effortssuch as these were, in many ways, the silver lin-ings that emerged from an otherwise gravesituation, providing a ray of hope that, out of thetragedy of Sandy, the neighborhoods of SouthQueens will emerge with strengthened commu-nity networks that will be critical to resiliency inthe future.

What Could Happen in the Future

Going forward, the neighborhoods of SouthQueens face a variety of risks relating to climatechange. (See chart: Risk Assessment: Impactof Climate Change)

Major RisksGiven the areas coastal exposure, the most sig-nificant climate change-related risk posed tothe neighborhoods of South Queens is floodingfrom coastal storms, which is likely to be exac-erbated by projected sea level rise. This risk issignificant even today, as illustrated by recently

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay

Atlantic Ocean

1983 FIRMs 100-Year Floodplain

2013 PWMs 100-Year Floodplain

Overlap

RockawayInlet

Comparison of 1983 FIRMs and Preliminary Work Maps

Restoration of the Rockaways Beachfront

Following Sandy, a top priority for the City was the reopening of the beaches of the RockawayPeninsula in time for the summer of 2013. To this end, the Department of Parks and Recreation(DPR) repaired portions of the boardwalk that had sustained only minor or moderate damage topre-Sandy designs, repaired and replaced damaged lifeguard stations and restrooms, and cre-ated resilient boardwalk islands in several compromised locations to provide access to beachfacilities and amenities. Looking to the future, DPR intends not only to restore the boardwalk infull but also to continue to support beach restoration projects that will protect the neighbor-hoods that it fronts. DPR also is prioritizing opportunities for beach-fueled economic develop-ment in both the near- and long-terms that could contribute to the wider recovery of theRockaway Peninsula, South Queens, and the city as a whole (See South Queens Initiatives 7 & 8).

Rockaway Beach, 1902

1983 FIRMs 100-Year Floodplain


Overlap

R

Source: FEMA


released Preliminary Work Maps (PWMs) fromthe Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA). According to these maps, the 100-yearfloodplainthe area with a 1 percent orgreater chance of flooding in any given yearhas expanded in the borough of Queens by 40percent over that shown on the 1983 FEMAmaps that were in effect when Sandy hit. In thenew maps, the growth in the floodplain is pro-found for South Queenswith the exception ofisolated sections of Far Rockaway, virtually theentirety of the South Queens area now lieswithin the 100-year floodplain. Additionally,portions of Broad Channel, Roxbury andBayswater are now within a V Zone, which is acoastal area at risk of storm waves of three feetor more. In some limited instances zones en-croach on residential property. (See Chapter 2,Climate Analysis; see map: Comparison of 1983FIRMs and Preliminary Work Maps)

As the 100-year floodplain has expanded insize, there has also been an increase in thenumber of buildings in the floodplainan in-crease of over 70 percent (from just over11,000 to more than 19,000 buildings). BaseFlood Elevationsthe elevation to which flood-waters could rise during a stormhaveincreased 1 to 4 feet throughout the area. According to projections from the New York City

Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), described inChapter 2 (Climate Analysis), sea levels are fore-cast to rise through the 2020s and 2050s.Though already in the 100-year floodplain, manyneighborhoods in South Queens will experiencemore frequent flooding and even greater floodheights. (See map: Comparison of PreliminaryWork Maps and Future Floodplains)

Although most of South Queens is already inthe 100-year floodplain, flooding in these neigh-borhoods are likely to be at a greater heightand occur more frequently. (See table: Buildingsin the Floodplain)

Other RisksThough coastal inundation poses the greatestthreat to the neighborhoods along the water-front, these areas face other climate risks, aswell. Sea level rise, for example, even withoutextreme weather events like hurricanes, could,in some communities, lead to increased fre-quency and severity of street and basementflooding on a chronic basis by the 2050s. Thisrisk, which already exists in areas like Edge-mere, Broad Channel, Howard Beach andHamilton Beach, is expected to impact as muchas 12 miles of shoreline in the decades to come.(See map: Sea Level Rise Analysis in HowardBeach and Hamilton Beach)

Scale of Impact

HAZARD Today 2020s 2050s Comments

GRADUAL

Sea level riseSome bay-facing, low-lying areas already experience regular tidal flooding; sea level rise likely would result in increases in localized flooding

Increased precipitation

Minimal impact

Higher average temperature

Minimal impact

EXTREME EVENTS

Storm surgeSignificant risk of both flooding and wave action, as evidenced by Sandy; risk likely would grow asV Zone expands; increased storm frequency would leave less time to restore coastal protections

Heavy downpour May exceed capacity of sewer systems more frequently, resulting in localized flooding

Heat waveGreater strain on power system with potential for more failures; most significant impact on high-rise buildings

High winds Overhead power lines are at risk of failure

Risk Assessment: Impact of Climate Change Major Risk Moderate Risk Minor Risk

Buildings & Units100-Year Floodplain

1983FIRMs

2013PWMs

Projected 2020s

Projected 2050s

Residential Buildings 10,810 18,790 20,030 20,560

Residential Units 25,400 42,600 45,000 46,500

Commercial andOther Buildings

350 640 690 700

Buildings in the Floodplain

Source: DCP PLUTO, FEMA


Increased precipitation and more frequent andheavier downpours also could overwhelmsewer systems going forward, resulting in moreflooding. Based on current forecasts, however,this risk is likely to be fairly localized.

While future projections for changes in windspeeds are not available from the NPCC, agreater frequency of intense coastal storms bythe 2050s could present a greater risk of highwinds in the New York area. This could cause is-sues for materials that are exposed and forbuildings built before modern building codesof which South Queens has many.

High Tide Flood Risk, 2020 High Tide Flood Risk, 2050

Sea Level Rise Analysis in Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach

Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay

Atlantic Ocean


Projected 2020s 100-Year Floodplain

Projected 2050s 100-year-Floodplain

RockawayInlet

Comparison of Preliminary Work Maps and Future Floodplain


Projected 2020s 100-Year Floodplain

Projected 2050s 100-year-Floodplain

R

Source: FEMA, CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities


Since the Special Initiative for Rebuilding andResiliency (SIRR) was launched in December2012, the input of local stakeholders has helpedshape an understanding of what happened dur-ing Sandy, what risks South Queens faces in re-lation to climate change and what approachesmake sense to address these risks.

South Queens is represented by a wide array ofelected officials at the Federal, State, and locallevels. It is also represented by two communityboards. The area is further served by a largenumber of community-based organizations,civic groups, faith-based organizations, andother neighborhood stakeholders. All playedan important role in relief and recovery effortsafter Sandy. Throughout the process of devel-oping this plan, SIRR staff benefited from nu-merous conversationsboth formal andinformalwith these groups and individuals, in-cluding, in South Queens, two task forces thatmet regularly.

SIRR also held three public workshops in Marchof 2013 in South Queens, part of a series ofsuch workshops held citywide in which over1,000 New Yorkers participated to discuss is-sues affecting their neighborhoods and com-municate their priorities for the future of theirhomes and communities. Generally, the on-the-ground insights provided at these public work-shops helped SIRR staff to develop a deeperunderstanding of the specific priorities of, andchallenges facing the communities of SouthQueens.

Overall, out of the various task force and othermeetings and public workshops attended bySIRR staff since January, several priorities forSIRR clearly emerged: Providing coastal protection measures on theocean and bay;

Clarifying available resources to retrofit, re-pair, and rebuild homes;

Addressing concern over future flood insur-ance rates;

Providing support to small businesses; Expanding transit options; and Creating jobs and access to job training andeducational opportunities for local commu-nity members.

Priorities from Public Engagement in South Queens

South Queens community outreach workshop

South Queens community outreach workshop

Task Force Briefing Frequency# of Stakeholders from South Queens

Elected officials Monthly ~14 City, State, Federal elected officials

Community-basedorganizations

4 6 weeks 2 community boards 55+ faith-based, business, and community organizations


INITIATIVES FOR INCREASING RESILIENCY IN SOUTH QUEENS

South Queens Community Rebuilding and Resiliency Plan

South Queens is a section of New York City withscenic vistas and a relaxed pace, a rare find forurban New Yorkers. The area is characterizedby tight-knit communities and rich natural andrecreational assets, which include miles of openbeaches and the majestic waters of Jamaica Bay.

The following is a multilayered plan that notonly applies citywide strategies to SouthQueens, but also provides strategies designedto address the areas specific needs and partic-ular vulnerabilities. In anticipation of future climate change-related risks, this plan proposesways that South Queens neighborhoods canadapt by: addressing wave action and inunda-tion along the entire coastline and within Jamaica Bay; providing opportunities to retrofitthe areas most vulnerable building stock; protecting and improving critical infrastructure;and focusing investments in strategic areas,such as the beachfront, to advance a long-termand sustainable recovery.

Coastal Protection

As Sandy illustrated, the greatest extremeweather-related risk faced by New York City isstorm surge, the effects of which are likely toincrease given current projections of sea levelrise. Going forward, it is anticipated that climatechange will render coastal regions of the city,including South Queens, even more vulnerableto these risks.

While it is impossible to eliminate the chance offlooding in coastal areas, the City will seek to re-duce its frequency and effectsmitigating theimpacts of sea level rise, storm waves includingerosion, and inundation on the coastline of thecity generally and South Queens in particular.Among the strategies that the City will use toachieve these goals will be the following: increas-ing coastal edge elevations; minimizing uplandwave zones; protecting against storm surge; andimproving coastal design and governance.

In the development of cost-effective coastalprotections measures that fit these strategies,a range of considerations, particularly the areasexposure to coastal risks, its geomorphology,and land use, must be taken into account.Other considerations, such as impacts to water-front access, water quality and the environ-ment, navigation, and neighborhood characterand quality of life for residents and businesses,will be evaluated, where appropriate. For a fullexplanation of the following initiatives and acomplete description of the Citys comprehen-

sive coastal protection plan, please refer toChapter 3 (Coastal Protection).

The initiatives described below provide impor-tant examples of how the City intends to ad-vance its coastal protection agenda citywide.These initiatives will have a significant impacton the residents, businesses, and nonprofits of South Queens. Taken together, when com-pleted, the first seven coastal protection initia-tives described below, would provide enhancedprotection for nearly 18,000 buildings in SouthQueens, representing around 35,000 housingunits as well as many businesses and much ofthe critical infrastructure.

Coastal Protection Initiative 2Call on and work with the USACE to complete emergency beach nourishmenton the Rockaway Peninsula

Beach replenishment in the Rockaways was sus-pended in 2004, and in the intervening yearsthey have continued to erode. This erosion,coupled with the 1.5 million cubic yards of sandlost during Sandy, has created a breach thatthreatens adjacent neighborhoods. The City,therefore, will support emergency beach nour-ishment work from Beach 19th Street to Beach149th Street. The initiative will replace approx-imately 3.6 million cubic yards of sand. Thisproject is expected to start in July 2013, withcompletion targeted for December 2013. Aspart of this initiative, the City will continue towork with the USACE will develop a plan for ongoing beach maintenance so that future extreme weather events can be followedquickly by restoration of lost sand.

Coastal Protection Initiative 6Raise bulkheads in low-lying neighbor-hoods to minimize inland tidal flooding

Bulkheads provide the first line of defenseagainst flooding in many South Queens neighborhoods, including Old Howard Beach,Hamilton Beach, Broad Channel and Edgemere,but throughout the city, many bulkheads arebuilt to an elevation that may be insufficientgiven the latest projections of sea level rise by2050. Subject to available funding, the City,therefore, will launch a program to raise bulk-heads and other shoreline structures across thefive boroughs in low-lying areas most at risk ofdaily or weekly tidal flooding, a phenomenonthat could impact as much as 12 miles of shore-line by the 2050s. The Mayor's Office of LongTerm Planning and Sustainability (OLTPS) will work with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to managethis program, to begin implementation in 2013,in conjunction with the new citywide waterfrontinspections program described in Chapter 3.

This chapter contains a series of initiatives thatare designed to mitigate the impacts of climatechange on South Queens. In many cases, theseinitiatives are both ready to proceed and haveidentified funding sources assigned to cover theircosts. With respect to these initiatives, the Cityintends to proceed with them as quickly as prac-ticable, upon the receipt of identified funding.

Meanwhile, in the case of certain other initia-tives described in this chapter, though theseinitiatives may be ready to proceed, they stilldo not have specific sources of funding as-signed to them. In Chapter 19 (Funding), theCity describes additional funding sources,which, if secured, would be sufficient to fundthe full first phase of projects and programs de-scribed in this document over a 10-year period.The City will work aggressively on securing thisfunding and any necessary third-party ap-provals required in connection therewith (i.e.,from the Federal or State governments). How-ever, until such time as these sources are se-cured, the City will only proceed with thoseinitiatives for which it has adequate funding.


Coastal Protection Initiative 8Complete bulkhead repairs and roadway drainage improvements adjacent to Beach Channel Drive on the Rockaway Peninsula

Belle Harbor is lined by about two miles of City-owned seawall on its bay side. This floodwall,however, is in deteriorated condition that couldallow surge waters to inundate the neighbor-hood during extreme weather events. Comple-menting the bulkhead work described above (seeCoastal Protection Initiative 6), the City, throughNYCEDC, therefore will continue its ongoing workto restore segments of the floodwall that are inpoor condition. NYCEDC recently completed thefirst of three segments between Beach 125thand Beach 130th Streets, and will restore the re-maining sections by early 2014. The City also willequip a portion of the roadway drainage networkfrom approximately Beach 116th Street to Beach143rd Streets with new duckbill tide gates, orvalves that block waters from entering pipesfrom the drainage end, while still allowingstormwater to drain out. This work will make useof existing funding and provide protection concurrent with and subsequent to the upcom-ing hurricane season. After work is completed,the City will evaluate the elevation of the flood-wall generally and whether changes to this elevation should be made over time.

Coastal Protection Initiative 11Call on and work with the USACE to complete existing studies of the Rockaway Peninsula and implementcoastal protection projects

The entire Rockaway peninsula faces continuedrisk of flood and wave action. The City will,therefore, call on the USACE to complete theRockaway reformulation study started in 2003.This authorized study offers an expedited pathto rethink and improve the current flood protec-tions on the Rockaway Peninsula. DPR will en-sure that this work makes effective use ofexisting Federal appropriations to advancemeaningful flood protection projects. It is expected that the reformulation study will becompleted by 2015. Consistent with this study,the City also will call upon the USACE to imple-ment further beach nourishment and dune construction projects in the area, and workingwith DPR to complement its future boardwalkrestoration plans.

DPR also will work with the USACE to determinethe feasibility and effectiveness of expanding orstrengthening the existing groin fields on theRockaway peninsula. In the interim, DPR willcomplete short-term dune improvements onthe Rockaway peninsula from Beach 9th Street

to Beach 149th Street, using low-cost and read-ily available solutions to mitigate the effects of storm waves on adjacent neighborhoodsduring this years hurricane season.

Coastal Protection Initiative 12Call on and work with the USACE to study primary and secondary dune systems in vulnerable Rockaway Peninsula neighborhoods and install such a system in Breezy Point

Neighborhoods such as Breezy Point suffereddevastating damage from Sandy and are likely tobecome more exposed to extreme weatherevents as the climate changes. This vulnerabilityis particularly great on the ocean-facing side ofBreezy Point, where wave action during extremeweather events brings not just inundation, butdestructive force, as well. Subject to availablefunding, the City, working through OLTPS, there-fore, will call on and work with the USACE tostudy and construct a project to protect thisneighborhood first on its ocean-facing side. TheCity believes that such protection should takethe form of a primary and secondary dune system, which not only will protect residents andtheir property but also will demonstrate theviability of these systems. It should be notedthat, to obtain federal funding for these or otherprotective measures, the Breezy Point Coopera-tive, which is the owner of the oceanfront prop-erty in the area, will likely be required to providepublic access to the communitys beaches. Thegoal is that, following the completion of theUSACE study, the resulting project would beimplemented within four years.

Coastal Protection Initiative 14Call on and work with the USACE to study and install wetlands for wave attenuation in Howard Beach and tostudy further flood-protection improvements within Jamaica Bay

Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach, twoQueens communities along the northern coastline of Jamaica Bay, are highly exposed,low-lying neighborhoods. To address this vulner-ability, subject to available funding, the City willcall on the USACE to study and implement awetlands restoration project designed to atten-uate waves. This project will build upon the existing work contained in the Hudson-RaritanEstuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan andwill leverage planning work done by the NatureConservancy. This project will not only protect the two aforementioned neighborhoods, butalso will allow the effectiveness of such wetlandrestorations to be tested. DPR will oversee theseefforts. Following a USACE study, this projectshould, be implemented within four years.

The City also will call upon the USACE, simulta-neous with the Howard Beach-Hamilton Beachwetlands restoration, to restart existing studiesof the Rockaway Peninsula and of Jamaica Bay.These authorized studies offer an expeditedpath to project completion. Following comple-tion of these studies, the USACE should, subjectto available funding, implement coastal protec-tion projects recommended by the studies to provide flood protection and reconstitutesome of the citys most important historic

Wetlands Restoration Project, Jamaica Bay

Credit: Courtesy of US Army Corps of Engineers/Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, LCC: Stefan Turner Aerial Photography



protective wetlands and marsh islands. DPR willensure that these projects make effective useof existing Federal appropriations. If restartednow, these studies should be completed by2016. Improvements of bulkheads in low-lyingneighborhoods, and implementation of a localstorm surge barrier for Rockaway Inlet.

Coastal Protection Initiative 17Complete living shorelines and floatingbreakwaters for wave attenuation inBrant Point, Queens

The Brant Point Wildlife Sanctuary is a low-lyingnatural area that, even today, is vulnerable tothe potential impacts of extreme weatherevents. This threatens the Wildlife Sanctuaryand the neighborhoods that it fronts. This vul-nerability, moreover, is expected to grow as theclimate changes. Therefore, the City, workingthrough the Department of Environmental Pro-tection (DEP) and subject to available funding,will construct and monitor new living shorelinesand floating breakwaters in this area. These improvements not only will protect the WildlifeSanctuary and the residents of the communi-ties abutting the Sanctuary but also will demon-strate the viability of these protection systems,especially in areas with existing wetlands andmarsh islands. If effective, living shoreline andfloating breakwater projects could be repli-cated elsewhere in the city. The goal is that theproject would be implemented during 2014.

Beyond the priority coastal protection projectsdescribed in Chapter 3, including those summa-rized briefly above, the City is proposing addi-tional coastal protection initiatives specific toSouth Queenss vulnerabilities. These initiativesare described below.

South Queens Initiative 1Call for USACE to develop an implementation plan to mitigate inundation risks through Rockaway Inlet, exploring a surge barrier and alternative measures

Much of the flood damage from Sandy in theneighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens thatface Jamaica Bay came from water that flowedthrough Rockaway Inlet into the Bay. The exten-sive shoreline that surrounds Jamaica Bay sup-ports a variety of land uses and densities, all of which are at risk of flooding. Because floodprotection along the existing shoreline of Jamaica Bay would be extremely expensive,and disruptive, and in some cases nearly impos-sible, the City will call on and work with theUSACE to develop an implementation plan fora local storm surge barrier to be constructed

across Rockaway Inlet approximately betweenManhattan Beach in Brooklyn and Breezy Pointin Queens. A Rockaway Inlet local storm surge barrier at this location could protect against sig-nificant inland flooding and wave risk in neigh-borhoods from Sheepshead Bay to HowardBeach, as well as JFK Airport, Broad Channel,and the entire bayside of the Rockaway penin-sula (provided that the barrier was completedin conjunction with dune enhancements alongthe oceanside of the Rockaway peninsula andmitigation measures along Coney Island Creek).This project, in turn, would obviate the need forextensive localized coastal protections spreadaround the shoreline of the Bay. A preliminaryfeasibility assessment, to be performed byOLTPS in coordination with DEP, would examineimpacts on water quality, habitat, hydrodynam-ics, and navigation, and would identify potentialsecondary coastline reinforcements.

The goal is for USACE to begin work on thisplan as part of its comprehensive study of floodrisk reduction in New York City, based on therecommendations of this report.

South Queens Initiative 2Develop an implementation plan to address frequent tidal inundation inBroad Channel and Hamilton Beach, incorporating international best practices

Already experiencing more frequent tidal flood-ing (even without extreme weather events) thanother neighborhoods in South Queens, BroadChannel and Hamilton Beach face acute riskfrom projected sea level rise as described inChapter 2 (Climate Change). To address this risk,the City, working through OLTPS and NYCEDCand subject to available funding, will developcost-effective protection and adaptation strate-gies to address the vulnerability of buildings,land, and critical infrastructure in these commu-nities in a manner that also addresses neighbor-hood character. Prior to launching the plan, theCity will issue a Request for Qualifications for atechnical support team of experts, including ar-chitects, engineers, urban and landscape de-signers, scientists and others who haveinternational experience working in areas vulner-able to comparable flood risks and have experi-ence generating innovative solutions. Theseexperts will be tasked by the City with develop-ing viable designs to address the challenges inthese communities. The goal is to launch theplanning process in 2013.

Simultaneously with launching this initiative, theCity also will evaluate the flood protection im-pact of a joint DEP/Department of Transportation(NYCDOT) project on Broad Channel that is slatedto commence by 2014. The project involvesthree local roadways and includes raising these

roadways 3 feet, upgrading drainage systems,and installing bulkheads. If effective, the projectcould be replicated in other vulnerable areas ofJamaica Bay.

South Queens Initiative 3Complete short-term dune improvementson the Rockaway Peninsula

In the event of a storm, the entire RockawayPeninsulawithout additional protectionis vulnerable to storm surge and flooding. Whileawaiting the completion of the Rockaway Refor-mulation Study described above (see Coastal Pro-tection Initiative 11), the City will, through DPR,will complete short-term dune improvements onthe Peninsula from Beach 9th Street to Beach149th Street. These improvements will utilizelow-cost solutions to mitigate the effects of ex-treme weather events on adjacent neighbor-hoods during the upcoming hurricane season.

Buildings

The citys buildings give physical form to NewYork. As Sandy demonstrated, however, thebuilding stock citywide, including in SouthQueens, is highly vulnerable to extreme weathereventsa vulnerability that is expected to increase in the future. While the coastal protec-tion measures outlined above are designed toreduce the effects of sea level rise, storm surge,and wave action on the city and South Queens,these measures will not completely eliminatethose risks. They also will take time to design,fund, and build. It is equally important, there-fore, to supplement these measures by pursu-ing resiliency at the building level.

To achieve building-level resiliency, the City willseek to protect structures in South Queens andthroughout the five boroughs against a spec-trum of climate risks, including not only floodingbut also high winds and other extreme events.Among the strategies that the City will use toachieve these goals will be to construct newbuildings to the highest resiliency standards andretrofit as many existing buildings as possible sothat they will be significantly better prepared tohandle the impacts of extreme weather events.The initiatives described below provide impor-tant examples of how the City intends to advance building resiliency citywide. Theseinitiatives will have a positive impact on the res-idents, businesses, and nonprofits of SouthQueens. For a full explanation of the followinginitiatives and a complete description of theCitys five-borough building resiliency plan,please refer to Chapter 4 (Buildings).


Buildings Initiative 1Improve regulations for flood resiliencyof new and substantially improved buildings in the 100-year floodplain

Though buildings constructed to modern Con-struction Codes generally performed well duringSandy, given the increasing risk of flooding thatis likely with climate change, modifications arewarranted. The City, therefore, will seek toamend the Construction Codes, and Zoning Res-olution to provide for strengthened require-ments that will, among other things, improve thedesign of new buildings through the applicationof appropriate resiliency measures that are cali-brated to the best floodplain data available overtime and provide that critical building systemsare better-protected from flood risks. In 2013,the City, through the OLTPS, will seek to imple-ment these code changes and the Departmentof City Planning (DCP) will continue to take zon-ing changes through the public review process,with the goal of adoption before the end of theyear. If adopted, they will improve resiliency fordevelopments throughout South Queens.

Buildings Initiative 2Rebuild and repair housing units destroyed and substantially damaged by Sandy

Roughly 23,000 private residential buildings encompassing nearly 70,000 housing unitswere damaged or destroyed during Sandy. Subject to available funding, the City, therefore,through the Mayors Office of Housing RecoveryOperations (HRO), will provide financial andother assistance to owners of residential prop-erties that were destroyed or substantiallydamaged during Sandy, including to approxi-mately 7,000 residential buildings encompass-ing approximately 8,000 housing units in SouthQueens. This program will help homes to berebuilt or repaired to the highest resiliency stan-dards based on the best floodplain data avail-able over time. In limited circumstances, theCity will explore acquisition of homes that weredestroyed or damaged with the goal of subse-quently disposing of such sites for redevelop-ment consistent with zoning. Additionally, the City is seeking to incorporate resiliencymeasures into approximately 500600 multi-family properties that sustained minor damageincluding many publicly assisted buildings prop-erties such as those developed pursuant to theMitchell-Lama program and other affordablehousing. The City, therefore, will support theretrofit of these publicly-assisted buildings,such as those developed pursuant to Mitchell-Lama and other affordable housing programs.

Buildings Initiative 3Study and implement zoning changes to encourage retrofits of existing buildingsand construction of new resilient buildings in the 100-year floodplain

The City, through DCP, will undertake a series ofcitywide and neighborhood-specific land usestudies to address key planning issues in se-verely affected and vulnerable communities. Aspart of these studies, the City will identify waysto facilitate the voluntary construction of new,more resilient building stock, and to encouragevoluntary retrofits of existing vulnerable build-ings over time. To be undertaken in close con-sultation with local residents, elected officials,and other community stakeholders, these landuse studies will focus on the challenges posedby flood exposure of the applicable neighbor-hoods; the vulnerability of the building typesthat are found in these neighborhoods (e.g.,older, one-story bungalows); and site condi-tions in these areas (e.g. narrow lots andstreets) in Hamilton Beach that can make eleva-tion or retrofit of vulnerable buildings expensiveor complicated.

In South Queens, DCP will examine neighbor-hoods including Old Howard Beach, HamiltonBeach and Broad Channel, exploring zoning andother land use changes that, in the future, couldencourage residents, if they so choose, to makechanges with respect to existing homes or buildnew homes that would result in significantlygreater resiliency. Subject to available funding,the goal is for DCP to commence this study in 2013. Thereafter, DCP would move to imple-ment changes, if any, that it deems to be appro-priate, based on the results of its study.

Buildings Initiative 4Launch a competition to encourage development of new, cost-effective housing types to replace vulnerable stock

Subject to available funding, the City, throughthe Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), will launch an internationalResilient Housing Design Competition. This competition will offer prizes to private-sectordevelopers who design and develop new, high-quality housing prototypes that offer owners ofvulnerable building types (e.g., older, one-storybungalows), a cost-effective path that is consis-tent with city building and zoning requirementsto replacing these structures with structuresthat meet the highest resiliency standards. Inaddition to cash prizes, the winners of this competition will be given the opportunity to put these structures into service in connectionwith a City-sponsored development project. Prototypes will have applicability throughout the

five boroughs, including in sections of SouthQueens such as Broad Channel and HamiltonBeach and other vulnerable bungalow commu-nities. The goal is for HPD to launch this compe-tition in 2013.

Buildings Initiative 5Work with New York State to identify eligible communities for the New YorkSmart Home Buyout Program

The City will evaluate opportunities for collab-oration with the State in connection with itshome buyout program, using an objective setof criteria developed by the City, including extreme vulnerability, consensus among a crit-ical mass of contiguous local residents, andother relevant factors. It is anticipated thatthese criteria will be met in a limited number ofareas citywide. As of the writing of this report,no areas have been identified for this programin South Queens.

Buildings Initiative 6Amend the Building Code and complete studies to strengthen wind resiliency for new and substantiallyimproved buildings

As noted above, buildings constructed to mod-ern Building Code standards generally per-formed well during Sandy. Sandy, however,brought relatively weak winds, compared toother hurricanes. Given the possibility of morefrequent or intense wind events in the future,modifications to the Building Code are war-ranted. The City, therefore, through DOB will seekto amend the Building Code to provide forstrengthened requirements so that new build-ings citywide can meet enhanced standards forwind resiliency. The City will further studywhether additional wind resiliency standardsshould be required going forward. The amend-ments will be submitted to the City Council foradoption, and the study will commence, in 2013.

Buildings Initiative 7Encourage existing buildings in the 100-year floodplain to adopt floodresiliency measures through an incentiveprogram and targeted mandate

Even if every structure destroyed or damagedby Sandy were rebuilt to the highest resiliencystandards, this would still leave tens of thou-sands of existing structures in the 100-yearfloodplain vulnerablewith more becoming vul-nerable as the climate changes. Subject to avail-able funding, the City, therefore, will launch a$1.2 billion program to provide incentives toowners of existing buildings in the 100-yearfloodplain to encourage them to make resiliencyinvestments in those buildings. Of the up to $1.2



billion available through the program, the Citywill reserve up to $100 million for 1- to 3-familyhomes, up to $500 million for distribution acrossthe five boroughs based on each borough'sshare of vulnerable buildings, citywide, up to $90 million for small businesses, and $100 millionfor affordable housing developments. The Cityalso will mandate that large buildings (i.e., thosewith seven or more stories that are more than300,000 square feet in size) undertake certainflood resiliency investments by 2030. If the Cityconsistently achieves its stated goal of encour-aging significant resiliency retrofit investmentsfor the vast majority of the built floor area in the100-year floodplain in the five boroughs, as many as 13,500 buildings in South Queens, encompassing over 25,000 housing units and over40 million square feet of built space would, overtime, be made meaningfully less vulnerable. Thegoal would be to launch these programs in 2013.

Buildings Initiative 8Establish Community Design Centers to assist property owners in developingdesign solutions for reconstruction andretrofitting and connect them to available City programs

The City, through HRO will establish CommunityDesign Centers in neighborhoods affected bySandy, potentially including South Queens, to as-sist property owners in developing design solu-tions for reconstruction and retrofitting, andconnect them to available City programs. TheCenters would be managed by the Citythroughagencies such as HRO, HPD, DOB, DCP, andNYCEDCwith support from local partners.

Buildings Initiative 9Retrofit public housing units damaged by Sandy and increase future resiliencyof public housing

During Sandy, public housing developmentsowned and operated by NYCHA suffered signif-icant damage throughout the city. Still morewere not impacted by Sandy but remain vulner-able to extreme weather, with even more likelyto become vulnerable as the climate changes.The City, therefore, through NYCHA, will repairpublic housing developments across the Citythat were damaged by Sandy, incorporatingnew flood resiliency measures. In South Queens,59 buildings containing over 4,000 units will berepaired incorporating resiliency investments.

Buildings Initiative 10Launch a sales tax abatement program forflood resiliency in industrial buildings

As Sandy demonstrated, many industrial build-ings are vulnerable to extreme weather, withmore likely to become vulnerable as the climate

changes. However, many industrial buildingsoperate on thin margins, making it challengingto invest in resiliency. The City, through the NewYork City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA), therefore, will launch a $10 millionprogram to provide incentives to owners of industrial buildings to encourage them to makeresiliency investments in those buildings. Theprogram will prioritize 1- to 2- story buildingwith more than 4 feet between their actualground elevation and the applicable Base FloodElevation (BFE). In South Queens, 16 industrialbuildings with over 300,000 square feet of floorarea will be eligible for this program. This program will be launched in 2013.

Buildings Initiative 11Launch a competition to increase floodresiliency in building systems

Many existing strategies for improving resiliencyin buildings are either imperfect, expensive, ora combination of both. The City, throughNYCEDC, therefore, will launch an approxi-mately $40 million Resiliency TechnologiesCompetition using allocated Community Devel-opment Block Grant (CDBG) funding to encour-age the development, deployment, and testingof new resiliency technologies for building sys-tems. In South Queens, 19,400 buildings will beeligible to benefit from this competition. Theprogram will be launched in 2013.

Buildings Initiative 12Clarify regulations relating to the retrofit of landmarked structures in the 100-year floodplain

The City, through the Landmarks PreservationCommission, will clarify the Commissions regu-lations to assist owners of landmarked buildingsand properties in landmarked districts in the 100-year floodplain who are contemplating retrofitprojects. In South Queens, there is one land-marked building in the floodplain. The Commis-sion will issue its clarifying regulations in 2013.

Buildings Initiative 13Amend the building code to improvewind resiliency for existing buildings andcomplete studies of potential retrofit

As noted above, given the possibility for morefrequent intense wind events in the future,modifications to the Building Code are war-ranted. The City, therefore, through OLTPS, willseek to amend the Building Code and expandthe existing DOB Faade Inspection Safety Pro-gram for high-rise buildings to include rooftopstructures and equipment. The City will furtherstudy whether additional wind resiliency stan-dards are required going forward. Theseamendments will be submitted to the City

Council for adoption and the study will commence in 2013.

Beyond the priority building resiliency projectsdescribed in Chapter 4, including those summarized briefly above, the City is proposingan additional building resiliency initiative specific to South Queens vulnerabilities. Thisinitiative is described below.

South Queens Initiative 4Complete design competition to enhance resiliency of planned Arverne East Project

The Arverne East Urban Renewal Area in theArverne section of the Rockaway Peninsula wasplanned for approximately 1,700 housing units,500,000 square feet of retail and commercialspace, together with a significant amount ofopen space, including a large nature preserve. AsSandy demonstrated, however, without resiliency investments, this area will be highly vulnerable to future extreme weather events.This vulnerability is expected to expand as the climate changes. Given this, HPD and its designated private development partner havelaunched a new design competition to solicit revised ideas for the development that would incorporate resiliency elements. Among the re-siliency elements that will be considered will bethe placement of open space and built elementsto provide protection from extreme weatherevents. It is anticipated that competition winnerswill be announced in the fall of 2013.

Insurance

Insurance can help provide residents and businesses with financial protection againstlosses from climate change and other types ofrisks. Sandy not only highlighted the impor-tance of insurance, it also revealed that manyNew Yorkers are exposed to flood losses, whichare not covered in standard homeowners orsmall business property insurance policies.Citywide, 95 percent of homeowners carryhomeowners insurance, but when Sandy struckless than 50 percent of residential buildings inthe effective 100-year floodplain had coveragethrough the National Flood Insurance Program(NFIP), a federal program administered byFEMA that provides flood insurance to proper-ties in participating communities like New YorkCity. While larger properties, in particular largecommercial properties, tend to purchase floodinsurance through the private market, NFIP isthe primary source of flood insurance for home-owners throughout the country. The City esti-mates that in areas of South Queens inundated


by Sandy, less than 31 percent of residentialproperties typically insured under the NFIP, in-cluding 1- to 2- family homes, amongst others,actually had policies in force during Sandy. Fur-thermore, Sandy drew attention to the signifi-cant cost increases in flood insurance thatmany New Yorkers will soon face, resulting fromrecent reforms to the NFIP as required by theBiggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act.

The City will use several strategies to encour-age more New Yorkers to seek coverage and tohelp the NFIP meet the needs of policyholderscitywide. Specifically, the City will work to: address affordability issues for the most financially vulnerable policyholders; define mitigation measures that are feasible in anurban environment such as South Queens andcreate commensurate premium credits tolower the cost of insurance for property ownerswho invest in these measures; encourage theNFIP to expand pricing options (including options for higher deductibles) to give potentialpolicyholders more flexibility to make choicesabout coverage; and launch efforts to improveconsumer awareness, to help policyholdersmake informed choices. The initiatives de-scribed below are important examples of howthe City will advance these strategies. These initiatives will have a major impact on the residents, small businesses and nonprofits inthis community. For a full explanation of the following initiatives and a complete descriptionof the Citys five-borough insurance reformplan, please refer to Chapter 5 (Insurance).

Insurance Initiative 1Support Federal efforts to addressaffordability issues related to reform of the NFIP

The City will call on FEMA to work with the Na-tional Academy of Sciences to complete thestudy of flood insurance affordability, as re-quired under the Biggert-Waters Act. The Citywill urge its Federal government partners tocomply with this provision of the Act and takeswift action to enact the recommendations.

Insurance Initiative 4Call on FEMA to develop mitigationcredits for resiliency measures

The NFIP provides few incentives for propertyowners to protect their buildings from flooddamage and reduce their premiums,

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