In this week's FORUM - The FEMA Fight Begins

EDITORIAL: FLOODED WITH CONCERN —THE FEMA FIGHT BEGINS

APRIL 18, 2013

Over the last few weeks we have been discussing the implications of the revised flood maps released by FEMA, which have altered the designation of flood zones within our communities.

We have also discussed the possibility that exists with the potential to have flood insurance rate premiums skyrocket to virtually unaffordable rates as a result of these revisions.

None of these subjects was introduced to bring panic to our readers and we walk a line of caution in that area, however, we cannot stress enough the importance of what is before us.

I was approached by friend and local architect, John Calcagnile, with his grave concerns over this situation. He explained that he felt the power of the newspaper should be used in this instance to serve the community.

After meeting with John and reviewing all that he presented me with in terms of his professional research, my concerns have become more heightened.

Together we poured over stacks of documents that John has compiled as a result of countless hours of painstaking research and reading. His concerns, my concerns and your concerns are indeed very valid and very grave.

To sum the situation up in the proverbial nutshell, there are two main issues before us. The new categories for zones on the new FEMA maps have placed many areas in flood zones where they were not before or into a higher priority zone than before. Because of such classifications, flood insurance is needed where it was not before. To coincide with that, a piece of legislation, the Bigger-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, was passed to eliminate the subsidized rates  for flood insurance in many cases. It also increased the limit for annual rate increases without consideration of the classification of structures from 10% to 20%. In five years, premiums could rise over $10,000 per household. It does not require a graduate degree in mathematics to understand that an annual rate increase such as the one provided for in the bill is yet another way to spell disaster.

This disaster however, is not one that involves the forces of nature, but the forces of something far more destructive—careless and ill conceived governing by legislators who admittedly put this bill through without proper consideration or understanding.

Although the situation seems grim, the purpose of this message to you is to help everyone understand that we have certain things that are on our side—one of them is time; the final revisions to the maps and the decisions about them are still a ways off.  The other is a far more important and valuable resource than that—the strength we possess as a unified front.

It is for that very reason that we have decided to offer the services of this newspaper to act as an information and resource guide to the communities we serve through what will be a difficult and tedious process before us.

Even now there are meetings being scheduled with leaders from the Rockaways, Broad Channel and all of  Howard Beach to form a committee to organize a block of representatives to take this fight wherever we must in order to protect our homes and our lives from being torn apart and shattered. A look through the national news front will provide you with a glimpse of similar movements all across the coastal community of the United States.

In addition to The Forum’s participation in this critical charge, The Wave of Rockaway is committed to this fight. Together these  publications will serve as a home base of sorts where opinions and ideas can be exchanged and messages delivered. Where a fight to protect ourselves can be mounted and launched.

There are many things to be considered in the weeks and months ahead of us. Many discussions and plans to be formulated.

There are two basic considerations which should, in our opinion, be looked at first. Any number of large scale projects to install storm barriers is certainly a possibility. Such projects have been implemented throughout the world  and have yielded successful results. Projects to install storm gates, locks, the construction of seawalls and jetties have all served as a protective force for communities formerly threatened by storms and their surges. We can’t rely solely on these measures because they naturally require a lot of funding and are subject to comes in the form of affordability studies. Which brings us to the next consideration— which is one we MUST consider. Forcing the legislators that we elect to act on our behalf as opposed to destroying the very foundation of everything we have built as communities and individuals.

For the immediate future we urge you, BEG you, not to be misled by FEMA officials who are going around and telling people not to worry, offering their assurances, saying things are not official yet and still a long way off —we caution you : THEY ARE LYING.

Everything will not be alright if we do not act together. What they are trying to do is to remove the sense of urgency from the situation and lessen the severity of the need to unify.

If we step aside now we will be left fractionated, alone and vulnerable. Instead what we are proposing is to knit our immediate area together— Rockaway, Broad Channel and Howard Beach—get all of our facts straight and assemble a package of demands, as is being done across the country all around us. Look to our immediate neighbors in New Jersey and as far off as Louisiana and Florida. Seeking to overturn and modify legislation is a quest for the entire coastal community burdened with the threat of storms. We must remember that to be part of this national movement is not a pipe dream, it is a ticket for our survival. This is perhaps the strongest evidence that there is strength in numbers that we will witness in our lifetime.

Please watch The Forum and The Wave in the weeks to come for the announcements of meetings. We will also be posting information and resource links on our website at: www.theforumnewsgroup.com and on our Facebook page.

If you would like to get involved in the formation of a committee  or volunteer for research and administrative work,
Please contact us at
FOURMSOUTH@gmail.com.

By Patricia Adams