Some Sandy victims express their disappointment with the city and its recovery process.
Photo by Michael V. Cusenza
Dozens of victims of Superstorm Sandy on Monday night trekked to Beach Channel High School for a town hall and resource fair, during which they listened to the heads of many city agencies tout the admittedly slow, but sure, recovery process, and what sounded like the death knell of the Rockaway Ferry.
Organized by City Councilmen Eric Ulrich (R-Rockaway Park) and Donovan Richards (D-Far Rockaway), the event brought together commissioners of city agencies such as Parks and Recreation, Transportation, Environmental Protection, and representatives of the Mayor’s Office to brief the community on progress made since Sandy devastated the area and work slated for the future.
At the Resource Fair, attendees had the opportunity to meet with non-profit and direct providers to learn about services and programs available to those in need. Vendors included the city Department of Small Business Services; Rebuilding Together NYC; NY Disaster Interfaith Services; After Hours Project; Jewish Community Council; Margert Community Corporation; Queens Legal Services; Friends of Rockaway; Local Initiatives Support Corporations; and Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation.
As he detailed the construction of the new Rockaway Boardwalk, which began in earnest in April, 2014, and is scheduled to be complete by Memorial Day, 2017, City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver delivered an unexpected apology for a remark he made on an internal memo regarding a discrepancy between how much the city budgeted the boardwalk project for ($274 million) and what the Federal Emergency Management Agency planned to reimburse the city ($480 million).
“We continue to be concerned that it will be a political liability for the Administration in the Rockaways when the full $480M FEMA reimbursement becomes known, if the City is unable to announce funding for additional boardwalk elements and rebuilding the destroyed recreational zone,” Silver wrote in September.
On Monday night in Rockaway Park, he apologized, particularly for using the term “political liability.”
“What I meant and should have said is that people were concerned with FEMA money, and they should be,” Silver said. “I hope I’ve earned your trust moving forward.”
Queens DOT Commissioner Dalila Hall noted that resurfacing work on damaged roads continues, as does the work to replace hardware such as lights, signals and signs.
“Storm water got into every crevice of our equipment out here,” Hall said.
Dan Zarrilli, director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, talks about the Build It Back program on Monday night at a Superstorm Sandy town hall meeting. Photo by Michael V. Cusenza
One of the liveliest moments of the night came when city Economic Development Corporation President Kyle Kimball raised the ire of the majority of the audience after indicating that “we will be ending the [Rockaway] ferry service later this month.”
“You don’t care about Rockaway!” one resident fumed.
“It’s not lost on me that this is something that this community has come to rely on,” Kimball said. “But just to tell you right now, it’s something we’ve analyzed six ways from Sunday—we just couldn’t find it in the budget. Many of you see this as an injustice to the community, and vital to the economy, and I can’t convince you otherwise. But all I ask is that you trust that we’ve studied this. The ferry is absolutely not a proxy for economic development. I hope that you respect that we looked at it very closely.”
Dozens of victims of Superstorm Sandy on Monday night trekked to Beach Channel High School for a town hall and resource fair, during which they listened to the heads of many city agencies tout the admittedly slow, but sure, recovery process, and what sounded like the death knell of the Rockaway Ferry.
Organized by City Councilmen Eric Ulrich (R-Rockaway Park) and Donovan Richards (D-Far Rockaway), the event brought together commissioners of city agencies such as Parks and Recreation, Transportation, Environmental Protection, and representatives of the Mayor’s Office to brief the community on progress made since Sandy devastated the area and work slated for the future.
At the Resource Fair, attendees had the opportunity to meet with non-profit and direct providers to learn about services and programs available to those in need. Vendors included the city Department of Small Business Services; Rebuilding Together NYC; NY Disaster Interfaith Services; After Hours Project; Jewish Community Council; Margert Community Corporation; Queens Legal Services; Friends of Rockaway; Local Initiatives Support Corporations; and Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation.
As he detailed the construction of the new Rockaway Boardwalk, which began in earnest in April, 2014, and is scheduled to be complete by Memorial Day, 2017, City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver delivered an unexpected apology for a remark he made on an internal memo regarding a discrepancy between how much the city budgeted the boardwalk project for ($274 million) and what the Federal Emergency Management Agency planned to reimburse the city ($480 million).
“We continue to be concerned that it will be a political liability for the Administration in the Rockaways when the full $480M FEMA reimbursement becomes known, if the City is unable to announce funding for additional boardwalk elements and rebuilding the destroyed recreational zone,” Silver wrote in September.
On Monday night in Rockaway Park, he apologized, particularly for using the term “political liability.”
“What I meant and should have said is that people were concerned with FEMA money, and they should be,” Silver said. “I hope I’ve earned your trust moving forward.”
Queens DOT Commissioner Dalila Hall noted that resurfacing work on damaged roads continues, as does the work to replace hardware such as lights, signals and signs.
“Storm water got into every crevice of our equipment out here,” Hall said.
One of the liveliest moments of the night came when city Economic Development Corporation President Kyle Kimball raised the ire of the majority of the audience after indicating that “we will be ending the [Rockaway] ferry service later this month.”
“You don’t care about Rockaway!” one resident fumed.
“It’s not lost on me that this is something that this community has come to rely on,” Kimball said. “But just to tell you right now, it’s something we’ve analyzed six ways from Sunday—we just couldn’t find it in the budget. Many of you see this as an injustice to the community, and vital to the economy, and I can’t convince you otherwise. But all I ask is that you trust that we’ve studied this. The ferry is absolutely not a proxy for economic development. I hope that you respect that we looked at it very closely.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
