Photo: Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder on Tuesday raised his idea of a new flood insurance association at the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic meeting. Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza.
Storm recovery, resiliency and flood insurance dominated a packed agenda on Tuesday at the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic meeting.
Dana Kochnower, a senior policy advisor in the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, talked about the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region II New Jersey and New York Coastal Flood Study, which have informed updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps for communities in coastal New Jersey and New York, including New York City.
According to FEMA, the FIRM, which shows flood hazards for communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, is used to determine flood insurance rates and requirements and where floodplain development regulations apply.
The new coastal flood study includes an updated flood hazard analysis, with new storm surge and overland wave modeling. New, detailed topographic information has also been used to map the coastal flood hazards.
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach), who was assigned to the Assembly Committee on Insurance in February, ripped NFIP as “a broken system.”
“Insurance companies are making billions off your back with zero risk,” he said.
Goldfeder took the opportunity to push his proposed legislation that would create a New York Flood Insurance Association, aimed at providing homeowners with an alternative to rising federally-backed flood insurance premiums.
“I propose we take back control,” he said. “It’s time to start thinking long term.”
Later in the meeting, Amy Peterson, director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, detailed the revamped Build it Back program’s impact on Howard Beach.
The latest numbers show that 450 area property owners have been issued roughly $11 million in checks, and that 100 construction projects are underway.
michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
