Borough Cabinet Looks At Flooding, Disaster Planning
"It's good to know that we won't be swimming in our subways," Queens Borough President Helen Marshall said before moving onto the second item of the agenda, a presentation about how to plan for and recover from floods, given by the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management.
BY DAVID GORDON

Flooding was the major topic of this month's Queens Borough Cabinet Meeting on Tuesday, June 17. Of the three-item agenda, two were devoted to flood recovery and preparedness in the wake of this past weekend's heavy rainstorm and, more importantly, the Aug. 8, 2007 storm that turned many neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn into areas qualifying for federal disaster assistance.

MTA representatives spoke first about their plans for subway flooding abatement. A PowerPoint presentation showed photographs of 61st Street in Woodside under water and totally flooded. The result of the citywide inundation was bus disruption, displaced subway customers and a total of 2.5 million angry travelers. Most services were restored by midday, after 8 tons of debris had been removed and all the water pumped out. A 30-day report to assess and address the situation determined the top 10 flood locations.

Some of the locations in Queens where flooding hits most frequently are located in Task 1 of the project, "from the 179th Street Station to the Sutphin Boulevard Station (F Train), the 36th and 65th St. stations (G, R, and V trains), and the Archer Avenue line's Sutphin Boulevard station (E train)", according to press materials. What makes these, and most other areas, vulnerable are subway grates in the sidewalk, staircases, and elevator shafts, according to Andrew Berger, the principal architect of di Domenico + Partners, the MTA's project consultant.

Berger detailed a program that would install some grates on a higher platform and cover up other sidewalk grates. Working with Rogers Marvel Architects, proposed 15-foot long stainless steel platforms (varying by feet high, low enough to accommodate benches) would hold the grate. Gratings would be elevated, depending on the areas most affected by flooding. Regulations concerning fire hydrants and bus stops will be followed. Funding has already been allocated.

"It's good to know that we won't be swimming in our subways," Queens Borough President Helen Marshall said before moving onto the second item of the agenda, a presentation about how to plan for and recover from floods, given by the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management.

The OEM created the SMSA Report (Stormwater Mitigation Study Areas), which detailed the reasons for and the areas in Queens that have the most flooding. Among the strategies which will help solve flooding are installation of new grates and catch basins, planting more trees to capture water, building larger sewers and monitoring constantly flooded areas and cleaning grates and catch basins.

Aside from working to fix constantly flooding areas, one of the OEM's main goals is to educate the public on what to do in the event of a flood. A pamphlet entitled "Ready New York", which does just that, was distributed by speakers Jennifer Manley, Queens director of the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit, and Shana Whitehead, of the Mayor's office of operations. The pamphlets will be sent to every community board office for people to pick up and are also available on the Office of Emergency Management's Web site, and by calling 311.

"If water is pouring into your basement, what do you do?" Marshall asked.

"There's no perfect solution," said Whitehead, adding, "Some homes would benefit from contractors coming in and out and developing individualized, home based solutions." Resources providing financial assistance are being developed for homeowners who cannot afford private contractors.

The final speaker was Waheed Bajwa, director of the Office of Vector Surveillance and Control for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the 2008 West Nile Prevention plan. The department will no longer continue to test individual dead birds and will spray larval mosquito control via low-flying helicopters into six areas: the Rockaways (Dubos Point and Edgemere Park), Flushing Airport, Flushing River and Alley Creek Marsh Area.

The spraying was to begin June 23 and spraying of each area was to be completed within two days. No drifting is expected from the helicopter spraying. The public will be informed by pamphlets, handouts, and other methods at least 24 hours in advance.

Days after the topic was announced, it was reported that the first mosquitoes of the season to test positive for West Nile Virus had been found in Staten Island.