PHOTO: City Councilman Eric Ulrich has introduced a bill that would require OEM to conduct a direct mailing informing residents whose properties are in special flood hazard areas of the flood insurance requirements and other information. File Photo
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), who represents many flood-prone and Superstorm Sandy-damaged communities, has introduced a bill that aims at keeping constituents in these neighborhoods informed.
Int. 864-2015, sponsored by Ulrich, would require the city Office of Emergency Management to conduct a direct mailing after the final adoption of a federal flood insurance rate map, informing residents whose properties are in the special flood hazard area of the flood insurance requirements and other relevant information.
“All too often, residents remain in the dark about changing maps and regulations that will affect their homes,” Ulrich said. “It is absolutely vital that homeowners receive the most accurate information regarding the flood maps. This bill will increase transparency and clarity for residents and will mandate that every homeowner receives direct notice from OEM regarding the impact to their property and the changes to the flood zone.”
Ulrich’s bill arrived about a month after the city notified the Federal Emergency Management Agency that it is appealing the January 2015 Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps. In a letter sent to FEMA Region 2 Mitigation Director Michael Moriarty by Daniel Zarrilli, director of the city Office of Recovery and Resiliency, the administration said that the team of engineers that were hired in anticipation of the appeals period found errors in FEMA’s modeling. The city’s analysis shows FEMA overestimated the size of the 100-year floodplain and the height of the Base Flood Elevations.
By Michael V. Cusenza
michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
