Broad Channel Resident Responds to recent NY Times story....

On July 10, 2013, we posted an article from the N.Y. Times, "Raising Broad Channel...Where the Streets Flood with the Tide. A Debate over City Aid."

When we were first approached in early June about participating in this story we were led to believe that the focus of the article would be the "shared street/space" design concept of the Broad Channel Flood Mitigation Project that is scheduled to construct new bulkheads and raise street elevations on West 11th, 12th and 13th Roads. 

When the NY Times story was published earlier this month we were somewhat surprised that the focus of the story had shifted to one of "climate change and rising sea levels" and more specifically, the question of "How much sense does it make to keep reinvesting taxpayer dollars in... [Broad Channel]...a community that is directly in harm’s way?”

Anyone reading the Times article who is not familiar with Broad Channel could only come away with the impression that our community is a lost cause in the battle of climate change and not "worthy" of the investment of taxpayer dollars to strengthen our town's infrastructure with the only proffered solutions being "buy outs" and "relocation"!

Sophia Valakis-DeVirgilio, a resident of West 12th Road, has written a response to the NY Times which is posted below for your information. (It should be noted that Sophia, along with Carol Fox of West 11th Road, have been working tirelessly researching alternative and innovative flood protection measures for our community, most recently being their communications with The Buoyant Foundation's founder, Dr. Elizabeth English Phd.  

A quote in The New York Times posed the question, “How much sense does it make to keep reinvesting taxpayer dollars in a community that is directly in harm’s way?” in a July 9, 2013 article titled, "Where Streets Flood With the Tide, a Debate Over City Aid," and similarly in the video, "Raising Broad Channel," this discussion about the capital project that is slated to begin constructing raised streets in Broad Channel, Queens to alleviate flooding [having nothing to do with Superstorm Sandy] is discussed. 

But what is not mentioned is that there are areas in our city where there is no question about rebuilding or implementing substantial repairs to mitigate flooding or other problems, it just gets done. I

In addition, our modest town of Broad Channel has paid taxes, sewer and water among other fees, for decades without the basic services that are taken for granted by most of the rest of New York City, even before Sandy, yet the implied stinging question of whether we are worth the money to implement flood mitigation measures is asked almost as if we in Broad Channel shouldn't be so arrogant as to dare ask.

World history has examples of flooding challenges that were met and successfully addressed in much older and less resourced civilizations than our glorious 21st century computer assisted society of today. 

Let's not forget that to a very large degree, our economy was built around water transportation and port cities. 

If climate change is the new reality, where and when does it stop, and do we just retreat? If the estimates are correct that the percentage of citizens in our country at risk of sea-level-rise will drastically increase to an ever-increasing number, and impact businesses as well as homes, my question then is, shouldn't we consider technology to assist in mitigating the impact of flood? Shouldn't we think outside the box without regard to current entrenchments, political or otherwise? 

Yes, happily, there are options (http://to.pbs.org/NFsxDO), innovation is still alive. It's what built this country and moved the entire world from being flat and the center of the universe, to discovering galaxies beyond our reach. 

There are whole towns at risk, people's lives that are vital, the future of our children. Do we make these investments only if the people of the area fit a certain demographic? What does this say about parity and fairness in the way our policies are carried out? How do we justify collecting taxes from whole populations, yet no one is accountable for not providing basic services for generations to a place, and when disaster hits, assistance is withheld for a variety of reasons (thanks again Senator Toomey). And now after Sandy, our home values have severely depreciated, but I don't see that reflected yet in our tax burden -- the founding fathers must be rolling in their graves.

However, nary a word about Sandy assistance to homeowners is mentioned by the current crop of mayoral candidates or others running for office. And since the grandiose statements made by Misters Bloomberg, Cuomo and Obama, we come to find that buyouts that were originally being offered by Mr. Cuomo to those who might want to leave their homes will now be at post-Sandy values. At first it was only Mr. Bloomberg who suggested post-Sandy-values for homeowner buyouts to make those properties available for redevelopment. At this point buyouts are hardly discussed at all. How's about that!

To be honest, with all of my family's expenses, if we weren't in financial straights before; paying rent for a 3 room apartment that has house 4 of us, mortgage, utilities for both residences, and then an SBA loan when the first payment becomes due a year after we signed, soon we'll be pushed over the edge. Grants are severely impacted by the mere ability to qualify for an SBA loan and their right of first refusal, so those are not an option.

No, Sandy recovery is not over, not even close for many of us. Our little town is strong and we don't scare easily. While hundreds of National Guardmen sat idly on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach the rest of the country came running to help us, people-to-people (pizza from Portland Maine, the Budhists, the Mormon volunteer laborers... and Philip Goldfeder!), and that is the energy and spirit that we have to keep us fighting for what we need to do to rebuild. Thank God for everyone who gave us a hand! 

A salute to my neighbors and friends who are staying instead of taking the easy way out. And despite the fact that my 62 year-old husband, who has been fighting liver cancer, was in the hospital twice right before and once since Sandy hit, has now put off his retirement for another year because of Sandy (he's actually doing very well thank God!) and where that's left us (my health was no bargain either since the beginning of the year), we will come out on the other side of this. The bureaucratic skirmishes that remain will be hard-fought, but worth it in the end.

Thank you,

Sophia A. Vailakis-DeVirgilio

43 West 12th Road, Broad Channel, NY 11693

sophiaalex@aol.com