Future of NYC Parks

Outline
Overview-Past
1. How do parks contribute to the community?
2. Why invest in parks?
Parks are backyards for the public.They’re vacation homes for those who can’t leave NYC for vacation. Parks allow interactions among community members and they’re a place where people can go to relax, improve their mood and reduce stress. Since parks are vital to the betterment of a community’s health and social life, it is indeed important to invest in them as well.
3. A mini-history of the parks & their development in NYC.
1733- Bowling Green Park became the first official park
1797- land was purchased by the city for the specific purpose of recreation
1847- Madison Square Park, Bryant Park and Fort Greene Park were developed
1850- acquisition of Central Park began and ended in 18
1875- The first permanent zoo is placed in Central Park
1887- Small Parks Act – government can acquire parks in crowded neighborhoods
1920- Cunningham and Alley Pond park were developed in response to a growing population in Queens
1965- Landmarks Preservation Committee; Central Park is declared a National Historic Landmark

NYC Parks-Present
1. Budgets and fundings for parks in Queens NYC.
-Parks require approximately $30-50 million of funding per year.
-Two types of Budgets
a) Expense and Operating Budgets
b) Capital Budget
2. Maintenance of the parks (staffings & programs)
-Parks are divided into specific divisions
-PlaNYC has given an influx of money and additional staffing.
-Unlike the late 70s-early 80s, there is better management and efficiency of parks via mechanized equipment.
-Parks have become more green and are continuously improving due to the rising expectations of the Park Inspection Program.
-Commissioner Veronica White has reviewed management programs and hired nearly 500 people for administrative staff.

4. Information on each individual park.
A) Cunningham Park
i)mini history
-parcels of land called Hillside Park. One of the parcels was a highway but it had competition from a newly expanded highway that put it out of business. The property was donated to the City and in 1934 was renamed for W. Arthur Cunningham
-1936-plaza in Cunningham’s memory and the southern part of the park was completed. It had tennis courts, playgrounds, stables, fields and parking lots
-1950s the City acquired more land for a greenbelt of public parks
-the park was decreased in size as Queens grew; more space for schools and roads; 1986- land was restored as playing fields from the Sanitation and Transportation Departments
ii) facilities: Big Apple Circus, Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, Barbecuing Areas, Baseball Fields, Basketball Courts, Bathrooms, Bicycling and Greenways, Cricket Fields, Dog-friendly Areas, Fitness Equipments, Football Fields, Handball Courts, Hiking Trails, Playgrounds, Soccer Fields, Spray Showers, Tennis Courts , Volleyball Courts, Water Fountains.
iii)individual funding: Friends of Cunningham- advocate to officials to get funding.

B) Alley Pond Park
i) mini history -in previous decades, used to be acres of salt marsh
-1930s- became dumping grounds for debris from the construction of Cross Island Parkway
-1970s- development of a new understanding of importance of wetlands
-Hy and Joan Rosner (Douglaston residents) transformed the landscape with grassroots organizing
-Alley Pond Park Environmental Center established in 1972
-1979- park in terrible shape, relied on many volunteers of the community and the founders to clean and set up
-park now holds a memorial garden, apiary, collection of animals, outdoor classrooms and Douglaston Windmill and APEC now hosts over 50,000 visitors each year
ii) facilities available
iii) individual funding
From 1985-99, $10.9 million was spent to acquire more land for the park

In 1993, almost $1 million was spent to restore the Picnic Grove, renovate two stone buildings, and reconstruct the playground and soccer field

In 2009, $7.1 million was allocated for planning, design, and construction

Facilities offered at the Alley Pond Park – Adventure course that opens up in the summer, tennis courts, Environmental Center, open fields for athletes to practice sports, a track, bike pathway, a playground for children, BBQ’s and benches/tables set up for picnics, and many others .

Alley Pond Park has an environmental center that focuses on preservation of wildlife, keeping the gardens/grasses in the park healthy, and recycling bins.

Urban Park Rangers work to preserve nature and wildlife. Alley Pond park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The park was opened in 1934 and visited by both Robert Moses and Fiorello La Guardia at that time. The park’s environmental center for ecological preservation has contributed to a safe and healthy place for fauna to reside in.

APEC – the park’s nonprofit organization (mentioned above) for nature conservation; in the past the park was home to a windmill –> energy conservation.

Several opportunities for both volunteers and businesses are made available at the park. The myriad of volunteers have chances to obtain jobs along with internships, while making the park and the community as a whole a greener place to live in.

Alley Pond Park connects Douglaston (Little Neck) and Bayside together and about $10 million is put into the park for maintenance and enhancement.

C) Flushing Meadows Corona Park
i) mini-history
FMCP was originally an ash dump where massive amounts of furnace ashes and garbage were dumped, inhibiting the growth of its environment. In 1939, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses proposed a transformation of the site into a World’s Fair. This World Fair failed to provide decent funds for the development of FMCP which left the parks potential unfulfilled until 1964 where another World Fair was held at FMCP. While this World Fair was financially unsuccessful like the first, it did leave behind many of the prominent structures that we recognize today at FMCP like the Unisphere and the Queens Zoo.

ii)facilities available
FMCP offers a wide variety of facilities that New Yorkers enjoy everyday. Some of these facilities include baseball fields, tennis courts, a skate park, and even a brand new aquatic center. People go to FMCP for many different reasons. Some people go to enjoy a picnic with their family, while others go to talk a walk on their beautiful greenways and take in the nature. There are even plans proposed by Mayor Bloomberg to build a shopping mall and a major league soccer stadium that will use about 55 acres of its 1,250 acres of space. This will definitely bring a lot more people to FMCP, and not only people from Queens, but from all over the city.
iii)individual funding (if applicable)
Because of FMCP’s large size, one might think that it would have a large work-force working around the park ensuring the cleanliness and development of the park. Unfortunately, this is not the case as FMCP has only half the amount of workers as does Prospect Park which is only a quarter of its size, and only one eighth the amount of workers that Central Park has. Many larger parks are able to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in private funds whereas FMCP was only able to accumulate $5,000 in private funds last year.While a lesser amount of funds are going into the development of the park, Mayor Bloomberg has actually proposed a plan that will take away 50 acres of parkland in order to build a commercial shopping center and a major league soccer stadium. This plan will cost approximately $800 million dollars. Many park advocates say that this is a bad idea as it will take away precious parkland from the public. Adding a soccer stadium and retail center will only commercialize an area that is meant for the public to use as a park. Below is a picture of the intended locations for these centers.

NYC PARKS-FUTURE
1. Current problems with parks and possible future changes.
At the moment, many parks are intended for children. Parks should be for everybody, including senior citizens, and not just kids. A future goal of parks should be to reach out to the elderly population. The parks dept. also plans on adding more fitness equipment and creating newer skateboard plazas at parks. PlaNYC’s goal is make sure that all New Yorkers are within a 10-minute walk of a park.
2. Map of Queens NYC highlighting areas that don’t have parks nearby.
A)Why aren’t there parks in these areas?
These areas have schoolyards, vacant lots, and athletic fields that can be better utilized.
B) Why can’t we make more parks with the funding money instead of redeveloping or adding new facilities to older parks?
C) Has PlaNYC helped on a broader sense to actually make more parks?
plaNYC has definitely helped make more parks. PlanNYC has brought in an influx of money into the Parks system to improve, and to create more parks throughout the city. The Schoolyards to Playgrounds program renovated schoolyards that could be better utilized. Since 2007, more than 100 sites have been built and improved. 12 open fields have been created and opened to the public since 2007.
D) What are the barriers to making new parks?
Some of the barriers to making new parks is the supply of vacant land and the funding considering the challenging economic times.
E) How will the parks be funded?
The parks will be funded by non-profit, volunteer organizations and friends of park groups.
F) What will the future of NYC Parks look like?
The goal of plan NYC is to create more sustainable, environment-friendly parks that not only children will enjoy, but everyone including senior citizens. Parks will increasingly have green roofs on top of park buildings to help the environment. Parks will also have more active recreational plaza’s with fitness equipment that will promote a healthier living for New Yorkers.

This is the pic of areas that have parks within a 10 minute walking distance that Maggie was talking about. As we can see, Queens has the lowest density of parks compared to the other boroughs.

-see if there are any new parks being built

SCRIPT
AISHA ALI –
Parks are backyards for the public. They’re vacation homes for those who can’t leave NYC for vacation. Parks allow interactions among community members and they’re a place where people can go to relax, improve their mood and reduce stress. Since parks are vital to the betterment of a community’s health and social life, it is indeed important to invest in them as well.

In 1811, the Commissioner developed a plan that showed the map of NYC. It showed the little open space that New York had and how by the 1840s, the neglect of an adequate city plan threatened to make the crowded city uninhabitable.
In 1850, the acquisition of Central Park began. This shack just outside of the park is was cleared to make more room. This Arsenal because the permanent zoo that exists in Central park today.
In 1887 the Small Parks Act was passed which allowed the government to acquire parks in crowded neighborhoods.
Robert Moses, the Park Commissioner was a great helping hand in creating nearly 685 new parks.

NYC Parks require approximately $30-50 million of funding per year. Each park gets the same type of funding although staffing can vary on the size of the park.
There are two types of budgets.
1. Expense & Operating Budget: Given from the mayor and park brokers for park equipment and salaries.
2. Capital Budget: Given from bonds of the city for construction of the park.
3. Maintenance of the parks (staffings & programs)

Parks are divided into specific divisions, each of which has its own administrators and staff members for maintenance. These divisions include a forestry division, public programs division, capital division, rangers division, etc.
Unlike the late 70s-early 80s, there is better management and efficiency of parks via mechanized equipment.
Commissioner Veronica White has reviewed management programs and hired nearly 500 people for administrative staff.

Mehreen Ahmed –

We focused on three of the bigger parks in Queens. The first one being, Cunningham Park. The park used to be parcels of land called Hillside Park. It was donated to the City and in 1934, it was renamed for Arthur Cunningham. In 1936, there was a plaza made in his memory as the southern part of the park was completed. It was full of tennis courts, playgrounds, stables, fields and parking lots. In 1986, the land was restored from the Sanitation and Transportation Departments as made into playing fields.
The park offers many facilities for people of all ages. These facilities include baseball and cricket fields, basketball and volleyball courts, hiking trails and playgrounds. For seniors, there is an exercise program, bingo, computer instruction and Wii games. There is actually construction going on right now at the park. The fields are being redeveloped and this occurs every 10-15 years. The park is privately funded by an organization called Friends of Cunningham Park. It is dedicated to the maintenance of the park and the members advocate to officials for funding. The organization includes councilmembers, the state department of environmental conservation, the state senator and other organizations.

Jodi Wong –
Alley Pond Park, in Queens, used to be a dumping ground for debris from the construction of the Cross Island Parkway, in the 1930s. However, by the 1970s, people started to understand the importance of wetlands. Douglaston residents started to transform the landscape with grassroots.
It took many years to get the park into today’s condition, thanks to endless volunteer work.
Now, Alley Pond, with its Environmental Center, hosts over 50,000 visitors each year. This park offers many facilities, such as an adventure course that includes rock climbing. The picture on the right here shows a site in the park open to everyone during the Spring and Summer

Vishal Vig –

The Alley Pond Park is also home to an environmental center (APEC) for preservation of fauna and flora. The Alley Pond Environmental Center works on making the park a greener and healthier place to be in. By greener, it is meant that APEC contributes by growing more plants and enhancing the park via gardening. While being environmentally friendly, the park offers several baseball fields for use. In addition to this, tennis centers, tracks, and soccer fields are some of the various facilities made available at the park.

Alley Pond Park also has many other facilities that visitors of the park can use. For example, canoeing is offered during the summertime and sites for barbecues and picnics are present for families to use.

About 10 million dollars was put into the park for maintenance and enhancement. Funding from the park comes from several non-profit organizations, fundraisers set up by volunteers, and donations made by visitors of the park.

Rawan Shafi –

Before FMCP came to be what it is today, it started off in the 1920’s as an ash dump where massive amounts of furnace ashes and garbage were dumped. It wasn’t until the 1930’s did restoration of FMCP start. In 1939, with the help of the Parks Commissioner at the time, Robert Moses, did FMCP get its time to shine in the 1939 World Fair. Then again in 1965, the World Fair came again to FMCP. These two World Fair’s played an instrumental role in the development of FMCP.

Today, FMCP has all kinds of facilities including a brand new aquatic center, an Ice Skating Rink, and even a Skate Park. If one is not in these facilities, there’s a good chance that they are at the various sports fields or barbecuing areas.

In the Future of FMCP. Mayor Bloomberg has proposed $800 million dollar, 55 acre plan that will bring FMCP its own shopping center and a major league soccer stadium. While this may attract many more to visit FMCP, some locals say that the commercialization of FMCP will detract from its natural beauty.

In 2011, the NYC Parks department released its first ever sustainability plan called “A Plan for Sustainable Practices in NYC Parks”. In an interview with the deputy commissioner of parks and recreation for the borough of Queens, she also mentioned that parks are becoming more environment friendly by implementing green roofs and green streets. By This chart shows the progress NY is making when it comes to water. Every year, more and more green streets and green roof systems are being installed in order to capture stormwater.

Jodi Wong –
Today, 2,000 new acres of parkland are being constructed in NYC. More space is being made to make room for interactive playgrounds for children.
There is a certain organization that makes this all possible, and that is PlaNYC. Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed PlaNYC in 2007, in hopes of strengthening the quality of life for New Yorkers by making the city environment friendly. One of the plan’s aim is to create more open spaces and expanding the city’s urban forest.

Vishal Vig –

PlaNYC has incorporated the Schoolyards to Playgrounds program, which has been in existence for the past 3 years. Close to 200 parks have been receiving improvements, such as sports courts, play equipment, trees and benches rather than newer parks being built.

The non-profit Trust for Public Land and the Parks Department and the Department of Education are collaborating to improve current parks through capital improvements. For the most part, PlaNYC’s main focus has been to make changes to existing parks rather than creating newer ones for the general public to use (though, PlaNYC has recently installed a new playground at Ozone Park).

http://prezi.com/m1es3imypr1m/rocking-the-rockaways-this-one/?kw=view-m1es3imypr1m&rc=ref-25012809

Elliot’s Script:

1) In terms of hard engineering, the common idea that everyone has thrown around is that we have to raise our houses. However, you have seen that this process is quite costly and there are physical constraints. For example, we cannot raise preexisting structures like this. Instead, we have to develop resilient tactics that do not call for raising a house, but at the same time protect the houses in low lying areas. One of these resilient tactics is installing a storm surge barrier.

2) As you may know, the fire in Breezy Point that destroyed about two hundred homes was the result of water seeping into the electrical systems. Our electrical system or electrical grid needs to become resilient in order to combat this side effect of super storms and other natural disasters. We can do this by implementing the smart grid.

What makes the smart grid so “smart” is that it uses information technology for real time communications. This is indicated by the dotted lines in the picture. Notice that everything is interconnected. So what does this mean and why is this useful? This means that the electric companies would instantaneously know if there is a problem with the grid. Currently, electric companies do not know when power has gone out until someone reports the problem. This is useful because the electric companies can shut off power to troubled sections of the grid to prevent further damage. Hence, the smart grid could have saved the two hundred homes in Breezy Point.

Aamir’s Script:

Storm Surge Barrier

The idea to build storm surge barrier or levees has been thrown around in order to protect New York City from flooding during the next major storm.

Whats a storm surge barrier?A huge wall outside of major parts of the city that would close if a storm brought along a tide that would flood the city. Where the walls would go would be up to the government deciding which areas are most important to protect.

What are levees?Embankments that can be artificially placed on the shore line to prevent water from reaching a certain level. These can work to an extent, but can fail once the water level exceeds the height of the levee.

Is this feasible?Before discussing the cost, it is important to discuss that this stormwall idea doesn’t come from nowhere. Stormwalls in the Netherlands and London have prevented floods for half a century.

Barriers in northern Netherlands- delta works

Storm surge barrier in Netherlands Ooster… opened in 1986. Costed 2.5 billion euros 3.2 billion dollars close to 7 billion now. 3km long. Contains sluice gates that allow water flow. Usually these gates are open but can be closed during a severe storm.

Rotterdam- to protect the shipping channel

-open and closing gate, each half the size of the Eiffel tower

-opened in 1997

– Predicted to be used once every 10 years against storm surge

-Used in 2007 storm

cost 4 billion dollars in 1997

today it would be about 6 billion dollars

London Storm wall

Thames Barrier- protects London during storm surge

Opened in 1983- shut 119 times to prevent floods

tides have been rising

Aruna’s Script:

The difference between resilient and sustainable:

After Hurricane Sandy, is apparent that the threat of global warming is very real and imminent. Scientists predict that sea levels will continue to rise and extreme weather situations will become more frequent. While sustainability is important in slowing down global warming and its detrimental effects, damage has already been done so it is also important to learn how to cope with the effects; this is what resilience is about. While there are techniques to make the rockaways more resilient and sustainable, there is the question of whether or not is practical to employ these techniques or to relocate people.

Hard vs. Soft Engineering:

There are two general approaches to combating the effects of an extreme storm: hard engineering techniques and soft engineering techniques. Hard engineering techniques involve man-made structures, it encompasses sea walls, underwater gates, and flood barriers; they work against natural processes. Soft engineering on the other hand works with natural processes using ecological principles to slow storm surges. Soft engineering ideas include incorporating wetlands, oyster beds, reefs and other natural features.

Absorptive streets and Oyster Beds to control and slow storm surge:

One idea is to make the streets more absorptive and reconstruct them in a way that would better handle flooding. On Level 1 streets, those only mildly affected by a surge, a more absorptive material would be used to soak up excess water. Level 2 streets, which would be more severely effected by a surge would send water into marshes and prepositioned ponds meant to collect runoff. Level 3 streets, those most harshly affected, would be made parallel to the shoreline, in this way the surging water would drain back into the harbor. While this would not help with the initial damage caused by the force of a storm surge, it would quicken the recovery process.

Another idea designed by Kate Orff, an architect and landscape designer, is to create an artificial system of oyster reefs which would decrease the impact of waves reaching the shore.This would help minimize the damage caused by a storm surge because the force of a wave hitting the shore would be diminished.

Karen’s Script:

Effects of Hurricane Sandy:

Hurricane Sandy has left a winding path of destruction in parts of New York City, the Jersey Shore, and other areas of the East Coast when it hit in October 2012. When looking at the Far Rockaways in Queens, this destruction seems like it only happened a few weeks ago. Many houses still look battered beyond repair and many lots where homes once stood, have only their foundations remaining. From rampant flooding to fires, the Far Rockaways has endured through the ordeal and is now partaking in the slow, and often frustrating, rebuilding process. Many people have taken measures to restore their homes’ electrical and heating systems that were destroyed when basements were flooded. In addition to this, some people are even rebuilding their homes to withstand such flooding if another storm were to hit again. Unfortunately, those who lost their homes were forced to live elsewhere until they can move back into the area. As a result, families have been separated from each other until they can restore their homes. Not only have homes been destroyed, but the beaches have also faced similar devastation. Various objects litter the once clean sand and the Far Rockaway boardwalk was reduced to shambles in the face of the hurricane. Now, all that’s left to do is continue this arduous repair process in hopes of building stronger to withstand the next storm.

Financial Effects:

For coastal dwellers, the cost of rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy is an enormous financial burden on its own. Now that the houses are being rebuilt, homeowners will have to deal with another hit to their pockets: spiking flood insurance rates and higher building standards. Homes being rebuilt within the flood hazard zones have to include expensive additions that are now required by law.  In addition to this, flood insurance costs are soaring in order for the insurance companies to buffer their profits the next time there is a huge storm. With all of these expenses piling up, it seems as though coastal living will become something only the wealthy can afford. Overall, these changes can result in the gentrification of places like the Far Rockaways.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/nyregion/cost-of-coastal-living-to-climb-under-new-flood-rules.html?pagewanted=all

Flood Prevention:

Natural ways of buffering the mainland from the harsh effects of flooding would be to build salt marshes and mossy wetlands along the coastal areas that were affected by the storm. Salt marshes are transitional areas between land and water that are home to many species of plants and animals. These areas work to lower the effects of flooding by absorbing the storm surges along the water line thus reducing the erosion that occurs during flooding. Mossy wetlands act very much like a sponge that traps and releases water. In addition to this, roots and trees found in such wetlands provide a barrier that slows down floodwater so that it is distributed slowly across the area.

Sources:

http://water.epa.gov/type/wetlands/flood.cfm

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/dynamic.html

Download (PPTX, 3.29MB)

Rosie’s script (presenting opening slides):

Our focus today is storm surge and the importance of an immediate response plan in New York City.  Our goal is to inform each of you on three components of environmental catastrophes, which include: Planning, Response, and Recovery.  In order to understand the importance of planning, response, and recovery, we need to first understand what storm surge is.  This will lead us into a better understanding of the effects of storm surge in New York City as well as the future of storm surge in New York City.  Storm surge is an abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, over and above the predicted astronomical tide.  The height of the storm surge is driven by many variables, such as the strength and size of the storm, as well as how quickly and the direction in which the storm moves.  Here we have a clear picture of what storm surge looks like.   The water starts to rise above the mean water level and quickly starts to flood the shore causing damage to any trees and homes in the area.  The more waves and the higher they get, the more damage is caused.  Climate change makes large energetic storms more likely, and large energetic storms create storm surge.  This first chart shows how temperatures have risen over the years due to human activity.  The solid light blue line shows measured temperature.  The dark blue dotted line is the model for natural forces alone (sunlight and volcanic eruptions), whereas the dotted red line shows the model for natural AND man-made forces.  You can see that the line including man-made forces such as greenhouse gases better matches the rising temperatures.  These temperature rises increase sea-surface temperatures, as shown in the second chart.  Sea surface temperatures very slightly year to year, but since 1994 they have been far higher than the average.  Together this warm air and warm water create the right conditions for storms to occur.  So, in this third chart we see that because of these conditions (in addition to rising sea levels and high winds) the number of storms in the North Atlantic has been on the rise since the mid-1990s.  There is a steady rise into the 2000s and as these conditions continue storms are going to increase drastically in our future.  If this is not a clear reason to finally start planning, then Hurricane Sandy definitely was.  This image shows the actual flooding that occurred due to the hurricane.   New York City and the coasts were heavily impacted.  Homes were lost and transportation was inhibited.  The red in this second image shows the flooding during Sandy in relation to the rail systems most at risk of being damaged during the flood.  The damages are even more obvious in real life images.

Emily’s Script:

Unfortunately, I have first-hand experience with the devastation that storm surge can cause, because my home in Seaford, Long Island flooded during Hurricane Sandy. Evacuation in our area was only optional, and we never expected the storm surge to reach our house since we lived about three miles from the water and didn’t even lose power during Hurricane Irene. We didn’t evacuate and only did minor preparations to the house, like putting sandbags outside our garage door. I asked my dad what the recovery process was like when the house did flood, and this is what he had to say: [VIDEO]

Those are all pictures from my old home. I’m sure you saw some things you recognize, maybe even things you have yourself. My family was safe, but so many pieces of our lives were lost. This leaves the question of what can be done to prevent such destruction to people’s homes in the future. Our insurance company told my family that if we wanted to rebuild our house, we would need to raise it six feet off the ground in order to qualify for flood insurance with less than a $30,000 deductible. While raising a house above the designated flood plane would keep the water out, it comes with a hefty price tag. For my family to raise our home, it would have cost us $90,000, and our home was only one story. After losing $60,000 worth of property, my parents couldn’t afford to pay even more money to raise our ruined house, and they chose to relocate our family farther away from the water to Levittown, Long Island. Therefore, even though raising a house is an effective way to prevent damage from storm surge in the future, it is not a monetarily feasible process for the average family. This presents a serious problem to people living in areas already affected by storm surge, and leaves a lot of uncertainty as to the housing situation on the south shore of Long Island and other areas affected by Hurricane Sandy’s surge.

Kiran’s script:

This is a graph displaying projected temperatures and number of hurricanes in the next few decades. These results were generated from three different climate models- the MDR (main development region), global, and full spatial models.

Looking at the graph as a whole, we can see that with just a 2 degree celsius increase in global temperature, future generations can expect to experience up to 5 or 6 hurricanes in less than a period of 10 years- Sandy itself was not even a hurricane but it still caused plenty of damage.

It is agreed that the Department of Transportation (DOT) and government collaborate to prepare a better immediate response plan. According to the DOT, the only response to future storms is to amend our evacuation plans. As Kat will explain further, it is important that the government give the DOT the authority to go ahead with such plans. While it is important that resources be allocated towards long-term recovery efforts, it is just as important that resources also be used towards keeping residents out of harm’s way. Certain long-term options, such as raising houses, is not feasible, from a financial and practical viewpoint, as seen with Emily’s situation. And, with the possibility of hurricanes occurring even annually, people may find themselves without shelter and supplies by the time the next catastrophe hits.

Rebecca’s Part:

We spoke with Deputy Commissioner Leon Heyward, Sharita Hunter, Keith Howard, and Nelson Castillo at the DOT about their response and plans for natural disasters in NYC. Obviously depending on the event, their plans are different, but among all of these the DOT is extremely important because it covers a wide range of operations and has many different divisions. So now we’re going to talk about their experience with Sandy and what they did, before, during, and after the event. According to them, plans on this level are not feasible because storms are unpredictable and unique, and almost all action is decided upon on the spot. About a week prior to the storm they got in contact with the national weather service and other government agencies to begin planning and setting these plans in motion, which included sending it through the ranks until it made a full circle. They then tied down anything that could fly, such as securing signage and taking down any unnecessary signs, and set any important material, equipment and personnel in accessible locations, such as in the area around CitiField so they could get to them when the catastrophe hits. After this initial preparation, the only thing we can do is wait out the storm. After the storm hits, there is a 72 hour time to assess order of priority and take care of the most dire situations. It’s still a work in progress and will take several years to complete. For example, the DOT is working now to fix roads, remove debris, fix salt water damage, and work collaboratively with other agencies like the FDNY and Dept of Sanitation. The DOT stressed that minor things like missing traffic signs, etc. are of a lower importance that structural issues and that people must be willing to let these things slide for a little while. In order to deal with storms of this magnitude, individuals must be willing to prepare for it to the best of our abilities and be flexible and willing to change up plans at a moment’s notice. On a short term and immediate scale, individuals must be prepared to evacuate and sustain some kind of damage or property loss, but the focus should be on lessening the impact that has on their lives. Ways that this could be implemented beforehand is reconfiguring electrical outlets so that they sit higher on the wall and thus have a lower chance of being damaged by rising water levels.

Kat’s Script:

According to the people we spoke to at the DOT, Sandy was a storm the scale of which they had never seen before. Given this and given anyone’s inability to plan completely for any kind of disaster before it strikes, the DOT officials think their pre-storm planning, immediate response, and ongoing recovery have been very efficient. They pride themselves on how good they’ve been at communicating with each other, within the department, as well as with other agencies, such as the Department of Sanitation and FDNY, at each stage of the game and at adopting their strategies to deal with the ever-changing circumstances in the meantime. Of course, there are several things they think could be improved upon in terms of how the city and the nation as a whole prepares for and responds to future disasters. Namely, before any kind of response can even begin to occur, people higher up than the individual agency, such as Michael Bloomberg and officials in the federal government, have to “pull the trigger” faster, have to give agencies like the DOT the go-ahead, so they can actually move out and respond to the disaster in the ways just described. When they don’t pull the trigger fast enough, response is delayed and people get flustered because they don’t think anyone is doing anything to help them. But the agencies are doing all they can, and people have to understand that help is coming. People also have to listen to directives from officials. If they are told to gas up their cars ahead of time, they should do so. If they are told to evacuate an area, even if it’s just a suggestion, they should do so immediately as well. Because not doing so puts them in harm’s way. A person may live on the 18th floor of a 30-story building and flood water may not reach them up there, but help won’t be able to reach them either during and after the storm. Obviously, if they are elderly or disabled, the government should help them get out beforehand, for example by providing ambulances, but otherwise the DOT stresses that responsibility falls mainly on the people to take the initiative. And since storms like Sandy are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity over the coming years, people should get into the habit of performing these immediate responses now, especially if they are unwilling to spend large amounts of money to build up their houses against the storm or to permanently relocate.

The Future of NYC – Parks
Group Members – Aisha Ali, Mehreen Ahmed, Rawan Shafi, Vishal Vig, & Jodi Wong

Outline:
General Overview of Parks
1) How do parks contribute to the community?
2) Why should we invest in parks?
3) A mini-history of the parks and their development in NYC

NYC Parks – Present
1) Budgets and fundings for parks in Queens
2) Maintenance of parks (staffing and programs)
3) Before and after Hurricane Sandy (how parks prepared for the storm and how they plan on tackling future climatic catastrophes)
4) Information on each individual park
a) Cunningham Park
b) Alley Pond Park
c) Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
i.mini-history of each park
ii. facilities available
iii. individual funding (if applicable)

NYC Parks – Future
1) Current problems with parks and possible future changes
2) Maps of Queens borough, highlighting areas that lack parks nearby
A) Why aren’t there parks in these “areas?”
B) Why can’t we make more parks with the funding money instead of redeveloping or adding newer facilities
to older parks?
C) Has PLANYC helped on a broader sense to actually make newer parks? Has it been conforming to the
standards written down in the book itself to improve the future of NYC parks?
D) What are the barriers to creating new parks?
E) How will these future parks be funded? (differently or similarly to previous parks)

Breakup of Tasks:

Rawan Shafi – Interview with Mr. Garafola (Deputy Commissioner of Parks) & asked questions; took pictures of and interviewed some people at Flushing Meadows Park; contacted Ms. Rodriguez and scheduled the interview with her; working collaboratively on the Future of NYC Parks with the group; Focus on Flushing Meadow Park (history, funding, facilities)

Jodi Wong – Performed research on Alley Pond park; worked with Rawan on Flushing Meadows Park, as well; participated in the interview with Ms. Rodriguez and typed up the information while she was speaking; also working collaboratively on the Future of NYC Parks – both background (descriptive) and analytical focus of these parks

Aisha Ali -Participated in the interview with Ms. Rodriguez and typed up the important information during the interview; researched the history and development of the parks in NYC; focused on the mini history, facilities, and funding of Cunningham park; visited Cunningham Park to gather pictures and interview people; created the questions for the interviewers; collaboratively researched PLANYC and its ideas towards creating new parks in NYC; provided the general outline for the project as a whole.

Mehreen Ahmed – emphasized on Cunningham Park and worked with Aisha to research the park and visit it and took pictures for visual data; helped with the outline makeup, too and contributed to give good ideas for questions to be asked during the interviews; conducted research on funding, particular facilities offered by Cunningham Park; researched scholarly articles on history of parks as well as the broader goal of plaNYC, how its helped develop new parks, future initiatives and brownfields

Vishal Vig – Updated the Google Docs page; participated in the interview with Ms. Rodriguez; working together with the group on the Future of NYC Parks and PLANYC guidelines; focused research and visit for Alley Pond Park; took pictures and visited the Environmental Center; mini history of the park itself and funding aspects

This past Sunday our group went to Far Rockaway and actually got more footage than we intended. We interviewed a few people and talked to some who did not wish to be recorded. In any case, we feel that the video footage that we have is excellent and we are debating if we will take the video or the Prezi approach to our presenation.

For the contents of our project, Anastasia will open by talking about what is wrong with the current housing of the Rockaways. After discussing these problems, Karen and Elliot will explain the effects of Hurricane Sandy (namely the social and financial aspects). We will accompany our explanation with the footage we have from interviewing Mr. Gaska and others. This will build up to our main part of the presentation – the future of a sustainable community that should develop in the Rockaways. Aruna and Aamir will lead the discussion and the ideas they will present (since this is the main part of the presentation) will incorporate research done by the whole group.

We decided a powerpoint would work best for our presentation.  It will include pictures, audio clips, visual projections, and animations to illustrate our research.  We have already done 3 interviews that will be incorporated into the powerpoint.

Here is the outline of what we discusses today:

Outline

1- Do we want a powerpoint instead of a video?

2-Audio/video bits in powerpoint

3- Data

-stats for damage in storm surge

-flood zones

-projections for storm surge

-intensity

-flood heights and distance

-maps

Here is the layout of our slides:

Powerpoint Slides:

1- What is Storm Surge?

2- Why is it a problem? What are the effects?

3- What does it look like? (Hurricane Sandy)

4- Climate Change (science, stats, atypicality)

5- What these kinds of storms do to a city like NYC? (personal next)

6- What could it look like in the future? (stats and projections, maps, charts, graphs)

7 – Planning – public institutions (DOT interview)

8- DOT’s plans for hurricane, how they reacted, what the aftermath looked like

9- What they did well and what they (and the city) could do better (lessons – or non-lessons from Sandy)

10- Recovery efforts, what it looks like and what it needs to look like in the future

We also have a list of references which we are using to collect data.

Here is the division of work:

Emily – pick out parts of the audio clip that can be put directly into the powerpoint

Rebecca & Kat – pick out direct quotes that can be typed into the powerpoint

Rosie – create beginning slides that will lead into the personal accounts

Kiran – find charts/graphs that illustrate Sandy AND projections

The Magic of Urban Agriculture – Prezi

HNRS 226 Script

Our project, the Magic of Urban Agriculture is centered around two themes: the 4 types of gardens/farms and the two philosophies behind them (grassroots vs. for profit).

So this is the break down of our presentation which will be ppt:
Introduction Slide
4 Types of Farms (interactive map with pictures/information about them) – 4 minutes
Grassroot vs. For Profit Philosophy – 4 minutes
Impact & Shaping Future – 2 minutes
Hendrey Interview and Closing Statement – 1 minute

Break Up of Work
Tyler – Impact of Urban Agriculture/Education Garden Example

Lauren – PlaNYC/Community Farm Example
PlaNYC paper
Contacted Added Value Farms

Jackie – Impact of Urban Agriculture/Introduction Slide
Scientific Articles
Newspaper Articles
Growing Cities documentary

Ebby – For profit philosophy/Commercial Garden Example
Hendrey Interview, Gotham Greens, Bright Farms, and Brooklyn Grange site research (attempted interviews)

Elissa – Grass roots philosophy/Community Garden Example
596 Acres Phone Interview
596 acres Website Research
Green Oasis Garden Research Website and Contacted them through Email – Waiting for Response
Going to put presentation together through prezzy or powerpoint

Welcome to the class site for Professor Rodberg’s Seminar Four, The Future of New York City.  We will be using this site to post readings, the syllabus, a course schedule and as a place to host our final class projects.