We are all in this together.....

BROAD CHANNEL, HOWARD BEACH, FAR ROCKAWAY, ROCKAWAY PARK, BELLE HARBOR, NEPONSIT, ROXBURY, BREEZY POINT....

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!

George Kasimos, founder of Stop FEMA Now, has proposed a rally  to be conducted on a national basis by those communities facing fiscal destruction as a result of the regulatory reforms Biggert-Waters Act of 2012, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and FEMA have burdened our communities with.

Perhaps our neighbor, Alex Dubrovsky, from New Jersey stated it best when he wrote:

"There are unintended consequences of these reforms. Some people will walk away from their mortgage(s) or get foreclosed. Some people who voluntarily buy flood policies will likely drop flood coverage. One result of changing property ownership will be what has been called the “gentrification of the coast”.  When low-income and middle–class families can no longer afford their properties in coastal and oceanfront locations, these properties will be purchased by the wealthy who can afford the insurance costs. 

Over time, high NFIP premiums will cause so many middle class families to relocate, that the desirable waterfront living becomes exclusive to the wealthy. Another possible outcome is a “hollowing out” of less-desirable communities. These are working class communities in flood prone zones that are not appealing to the wealthy. When insurance premiums become unaffordable in these communities, it becomes a vicious circle. Homeowners are unlikely to be able to sell because those that can afford the home do not want to live there, and those that might want to live there can no longer afford it." 

Without significant and intensive community opposition accompanied by real and long term remediation actions on the part of our elected representatives, the potential impact of the above triumvirate of government bureaucracy can only result in our properties becoming un-insurable (and thus unsaleable) which will ultimately lead to our communities being destroyed by this federal government "fiscal super storm" of regulations.

Presently, we are in the planning stages for this national rally of affected communities.  No date has been set nor has the construct of this rally been decided on.

We are in touch with George Kasimos in New Jersey and thus far we have reached out to local media  and our elected representatives to alert them to the pendency of these actions.

We are also reaching out to the civic and other neighborhood organizations in local communities who were affected by Super Storm Sandy in order to ultimately address this issue with one voice for our entire region.

As the details and other specific information for this rally come together we will inform all of you immediately.

We are strongly urging that all of you who can, please support us in this matter.  Mention this to your family and friends, Tweet them or email them this page, but please get the word out that this rally will take place in the near future.  I cannot stress this too strongly - if these reforms are left unchecked, our very way of life and community will be in serious jeopardy.  

Thank you.

Your neighbor,

Peter J. Mahon