BROOKLYN COMMUNITY BOARD 6
ECONOMIC/WATERFRONT/COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & HOUSING COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 19, 2012
ATTENDANCE
PRESENT:
R. BASHNER N. BERK-RAUCH R. CERVONE N. COX E. DEMETRIOU L. DEROSA V. HERMANIA D. KIKEL A. KOZYR A. KRASNOW R. LUFTGLASS P. MINDLIN
G. O’CONNELL
EXCUSED:
M. SCOTT D. SCOTTO L. SONES
ABSENT:
F. BROWN L. BUFFINGTON A. DAVILA
D. ORTIZ
GUESTS:
M. ALGHAZEEV – REP. FOR HON. FELIX ORTIZ, STATE ASSEMBLY MEMBER
M. MOSER D. BRAVO
MINUTES
The meeting was called to order at 6:40pm.
Discussion on the effectiveness of Hurricane Sandy responses from public agencies and organizations, and the development of future disaster planning recommendations based on recent experiences.
There was a debriefing on Hurricane Sandy to develop the committee’s recommendations on improving response.
Rick Luftglass opened with a statement of purpose of the meeting – constructive criticism is the goal. He handed off to District Manager Craig Hammerman for background. Craig discussed communication and coordination effort. CB6’s Facebook page hits jumped from 900-1500 daily to 24,000, an increase of 2000%. The grayed-out subway map showing the NYC Transit limited service was the most popular posting. The district office will work to develop more useful, aggressive and targeted social media outreach strategy.
Plaudits for city response overall – “proactive”. • Plaudits for Sanitation Department (rarely praised) for debris removal. • Collaboration across community groups and cooperation among individuals.
• Government focus on long term (e.g. sea wall, building code changes, etc.).
SPECIFIC ISSUES
- Pharmacies and prescription drugs not available to people who evacuated. - Turning up the volume of the evacuation and preparedness message, especially for people with medical conditions. - 9th Street bridge as an evacuation route, but it floods right away. - Update Zone A contours in light of experience? - Reading letter from Red Hook small business owner. - Availability of flood insurance – need to make more clear where and how to get it (including from IRS – past filings) – possible issue especially if more than 2 year tax filings.
November 30 is FEMA/SBA deadline for starting process? (Rick-Craig). FEMA and SBA are in IKEA at the Disaster Recovery Center. Outreach outside church masses and at Red Hook Initiative.
• Does it make sense to rebuild in-kind and repeat prior mistakes? • Should building code be revised to require flood-safe reconstruction? • What about a “Shop Red Hook” initiative? Elizabeth Demetriou said SBIDC is working on a specific marketing initiative designed to support local businesses post-Sandy. • Ask NYC Partnership for funding for “recoverable grants” to Red Hook businesses. • Solar power streetlights/traffic lights in Red Hook. • Should Police and Fire Stations all have back-up generators/fuel tanks? Some do – 76th Precinct provided fuel to other agencies. • Housing Authority not sufficiently communicative. • Suspend rule against renting out apartment (e.g. Airbnb) – Bloomberg change in position on short-term rentals – same as changing rule to allow multiple fares in one cab. • Not having a tally or census inventory of affected people could lead to our being shorted on disaster relief. • Where are displaced people going, and what can be done for them – expropriation of private property (!), eminent domain. • Some older buildings require parts that are no longer available. • Could the tunnel entrances have had steel doors welded on?
Correction to last minutes: Dawn Kikel was “excused” from the previous meeting held on October 15, 2012.