Broad Channel Civic Association Newsletter: Presidents Message

BROAD CHANNEL CIVIC ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

CIVIC ASSOCIATION MEETING

***** VFW Hall – Shad Creek Road – 7:00 PM *****

October 23, 2014

This issue of the Newsletter is sponsored by

Hillebrand Funeral Homes.

President’s Message

The next Civic meeting is Thursday, October 23^rd at 7 pm at the VFW Hall -Hope to see many of you there!

Flood Insurance continues to be a big issue for coastal communities and when the new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMS) are officially adopted thousands of more homeowners will be "mapped" into designated flood zones. As we all know the Biggerts Waters law was a disaster and imposed massive rate hikes on flood insurance premiums. Proponents of that law claimed that flood insurance was a program in debt and that the general public was being forced to subsidize the premiums. Forget the fact that the program ran in the "Black" (fully paid for itself) from its inception until hurricane Katrina, when wide spread waste was the biggest culprit, or the fact that the insurance companies profited at obscene rates, perhaps the most disturbing fact that refutes this assertion is that in any year that there was a surplus in the FEMA ran Flood Program it went back to the general fund, in essence another tax on the homeowner.

We all fought for a change and the ability to have congress come together and pass such a law, the Flood Insurance Affordability Act, within a year and with this extremely divided Congress was a testament to the grassroots efforts put forth here and across the country. The Affordability Act is not a perfect Bill and we will work hard to see it includes further protections for homeowners when it is reauthorized in 2017. One of the central points on the law is that flood insurance premiums, for primary homes, cannot raise beyond 18% when renewing in any given year. Some homeowners have seen increases beyond that cap and if you are one of them we have established a liaison within Senator Schumer’s office in order to have a recourse for homeowners to get an officially inquiry about premiums that have risen above the 18% level on renewal for their primary residence. The contact for this is Julietta Lopez at Senator Schumer's office and her email is Julietta_Lopez@schumer.senate.gov. 

The street raising project, on West 11^th, 12^th, and 13^th Roads is well underway with cofferdams being constructed on West 12^th and West 13^th Roads at this time. The cofferdams will be temporary half-moon shaped walls which will allow the end of the streets to remain free of water.  They use giant pumps to remove the seawater in order to allow the end of street bulkheads to be constructed. The construction Liaison, Fern Weindrich, is onsite every day located at 59 West 12^th Road (in the last house on the right on West 12^th Road) for any issues that may arise.

On October 15^th another Jamaica Bay Taskforce Meeting was held and it was a very interesting night. Five presentations were given on topic that ranged from large scale oyster projects planned for the Bay to the new Science and Resiliency Center that will soon be established to help further promote the ecology and resilience efforts around the Bay. Very encouraging to see so many positive developments focused around the Bay. If you were unable to attend the meeting the Power Point presentations can be viewed at  links provided here ---  jamaicabayecowatchers.org.

The side street repaving  is completed at this time and it is a great improvement to our roads that were in severe need of an upgrade. We are still waiting to hear back from DOT about the Boulevard from East 1^st to East 5^th Roads. We are hoping that it will be funded by FEMA after DOT put in a request for them to reevaluate their decision to skip this portion when the rest of the Boulevard was being done.

The Civic Association continues to push the Build it Back program to address the many shortcomings that we continue to hear about. They have responded  and changed a number of  protocols within the program based on our input. Currently we are working with them to address Dept. of Building issues that are slowing down the design portion of the program. Hope to have an update at the Civic meeting .

The Broad Channel Christmas lights have been a real great addition to the town over the last two years during the Holiday Season. The lights are on display as a result of the efforts of Stephanie Wagner who has run a number of fund raisers to pay for the costs of having them installed. Once again she is stepping up to take on this challenge and we ask that you support her efforts. There will be a fundraiser at the Bungalow Bar on November 22 at which time the raffle will be drawn for the $5000 chance. This chance is one way to help support this effort. The cost is $50 and only 400 tickets will be sold in addition there will be 10 additional cash prizes drawn. Raffle to be drawn at the Bungalow Bay Saturday Nove 22 at 8 pm --Drink specials and Dj all night --Contact Stephanie Wagner to purchase your tickets!Payment can be collected by cash, check OR through the Chase banking app!
$500 Prize to Seller of Winning Ticket... Contact Stephanie if you are interested in selling!
E-Mail: SWagner.bc@gmail.com   or Text: 718.925.7950---Donations for the fund can also be made at:
http://www.gofundme.com/bclights---Or Send a Check Payable to the BCAC to:
Attn: Stephanie Wagner
79 West 18th Road
Broad Channel, NY 11693

Quote of the Month  --“ Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment "--- Unknown  

continued…..

Respectfully submitted, 

Dan Mundy Jr.