Broad Channel Civic Association Meeting - Thursday, February 25th

BROAD CHANNEL CIVIC ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

A Publication of the Broad Channel Civic Association

CIVIC ASSOCIATION MEETING

 VFW Hall – Shad Creek Road – 7:00 PM 

February 25, 2016

This issue of the Newsletter is sponsored by 

All American Channel Market

President’s Message

This month's Civic meeting will be held on Thursday, February 25th at 7 pm at the VFW Hall. Come down and get caught up on what is going on in your neighborhood !


Recent Nor’easter Flooding caught even seasoned weather watchers by surprise and saw many cars ruined and some homes flooded. While work is underway to raise side streets and additional blocks are now on the drawing board it will not stop all of the flooding all of the time. 

The Civic Association has been in communication with the Army Corps of Engineers as they finish their study which will determine the "preferred alternative" for what action to identify for protecting those communities that are located around Jamaica Bay. 

At this time it appears that there is a strong likelihood that the preferred option that they will be supporting is that of a "surge barrier" located adjacent to the Marine Parkway Bridge. While the plan is not out yet, it most likely would include two jetty-like structures protruding from the Queens and Brooklyn sides and then an opening in between them that would have an operable gate. The gate would be closed for severe tidal surges and left open at all other times. The adjacent areas of Breezy Point, Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay and Gerritsen would be addressed thru shoreline (dunes/berms) protection and two smaller gates.

There are many questions that would have to be answered before opinions and positions could begin to form such as impact to water quality, size of opening, how to pay for it, timeframe. While we will wait for all details to come out and will ensure that this community’s voice is heard on this, the plan it is one that we feel should be strongly considered for the following reasons:


1) All of the dune and jetty work that has and will be conducted in Rockaway is useless if the "backdoor" (bay side) is not secured as the water will flood that neighborhood from the bay side in the event of another serious Hurricane. 


2) This plan could conceivably protect all of the neighborhoods; Broad Channel, Rockaway, Belle Harbor, Far Rockaway, Howard Beach, Bayswater and Canarsie. In the process it could save billions of dollars in the event of another Sandy.


3) The cost will be high but the following is a possible scenario to consider. The Port Authority must take actions to safeguard Kennedy airport from another Sandy like storm. Perimeter protection measures would cost close to a billion dollars if they were to act unilaterally. The Port Authority , which operates the most important airport in the nation at JFK, should provide that equivalent funding towards the gate. The City of New York should put forth funding to protect their citizens as should the State. The Federal government should provide some of the Sandy supplemental funding to this project as well. The combined funding would be able to cover the projected cost, around 2.5 to 3.5 billion dollars and ensure that all of these neighborhoods and the hundreds of thousands of residents who reside here are safe.


The Army Corps of Engineers have been working hard to finalize this plan, and we look forward to seeing the completed version and to engaging them on tidal flooding protection for the future.


I want to thank all of our elected officials including Congressman Meeks, Assemblyman Goldfeder, Senator Addabbo and Councilman Ulrich for reaching out during the recent Nor’easter to inquire as to what impact it had on the community and how they could help. We are fortunate to have representatives who reach out and this has not always been the case.


Respectfully submitted, 
Dan Mundy Jr.