With only seven months before he makes his final departure from his post as mayor, there is speculation that Mayor Bloomberg wants to end his term by building barriers along they NYC waterfront to protect against future storms. A number of sources say that the mayor will propose the installation of several removable steel panels in key flood-prone areas, including a permanent barricade at Newtown Creek, a toxic waterway that sits between Brooklyn and Queens. The verdict is still out about whether the mayor’s possible plans will actually be effective and worth the price tag to prevent major damage to the city during hurricanes to come.

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Post tags: bloomberg steel barrier, Catherine seavitt nordenson, governor cuomo, Hurricane Sandy, mayor bloomberg, mayor bloomberg steel panels, new york harbor, newton creek, ny flooding, ny waterfront, ny waterways, nyc storm barrier, rockaway, sandy hook, Staten Island, storm barrier nyc, storm panels nyc, storm surge barriers, wetlands

Enduring a brutally hot summer in New York City may end up killing you. A new study released this week says thanks to global warming and the “urban island” effect, NYC mortality rates due to warming temperatures are likely to increase by 20 percent by 2020 and as much as 90 percent by the 2080s. The report, released this week in the Nature Climate Change journal, was conducted by a team of researchers at Columbia University’s Earth Institute in collaboration with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Post tags: central park, climate change, columbia university, donate air conditioner, earth institute, global warming, global warming death, heat related deaths nyc, nature climate change, nyc green house gas emissions, nyc green roofs, nyc heat wave, nyc summers, planyc

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Post tags: eco art, eco design, green design, MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, rain art, Rain Room, rain room at moma, Random International, sustainable design, water recycling art installation

Image via Wikimedia

The famous Jersey Shore roller coaster that ended up in the Atlantic Ocean after Hurricane Sandy is slated to be removed from the waters by this time next week. The coaster, which has since become an iconic symbol of the October 29th storm, will be removed piece by piece in a project that will take about 48 hours to complete. Local residents won’t have to say good-bye to the floating coaster in its entirety, however. A section of the ravaged ride will be preserved as a memorial once the damaged pier is rebuilt next year. There are even plans to erect a new roller coaster, which will be named “The Superstorm”.

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Post tags: after sandy, atlantic ocean, beachfront, climate change, east coast reconstruction, Hurricaine Sandy, hurricane relief, Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy damage, Ipe, jersey pier rebuild, jersey shore, jersey shore rebuild, jersey shore roller coaster, Jet Star roller coaster, New Jersey, Rebuild Historic Boardwalk, Sandy, seaside heaight boardwalk, seaside heights, seaside heights boardwalk rebuild, super storm sandy

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Post tags: bklyn designs, eco design, environmental sustainability, flood-proof construction, Garrison Architects, green building, green design, green NYC, Hurricane Sandy, Inhabitat Local New York City, Inhabitat NYC, jim garrison, new york city, nyc beach buildings, nyc prefab, post-Sandy construction, prefab beach buildings, sustainable design

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning this morning for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island due to heavy rains. The alert warns that some urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses will be flooded, and commuters are advised to steer clear of low-lying areas as “water depth may be too great to allow your car to cross safely.” According to the latest update, the warning will be in effect until 9:15 AM this morning. Visit Weather.gov to stay on top of the most up-to-date information.

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Post tags: flood warning nyc, flooding manhattan, flooding nyc, National Weather Service, nyc flash flood warning, nyc floods, nyc weather alert, severe weather nyc

A new report by non-profit research organization Climate Central shows that Hurricane Sandy did more damage than we thought. According to the report, 11 billion gallons of sewage – the equivalent of the entire area of Central Park – leaked into New York and New Jersey waterways. Untreated sewage is estimated to have comprised 32 percent of the overflow that flooded lakes and rivers. Today, a telepress call will discuss the report and how climate change will exacerbate these risks in the future.

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Post tags: central park, Climate Central, climate change, climate change nyc, Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy sewage, new york new jersey hurricane sandy, nyc sewage treatment plants, nyc wastewater, rising sea levels, sewage treatment

The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) recently announced an exciting new design competition asking architects for ideas on how to rebuild the Hurricane Sandy-stricken Rockaways. Called “For a Resilient Rockaway” (FAR ROC), and organized by L+M Development Partners, The Bluestone Organization, Triangle Equities, Enterprise Community Partners, and AIA, the initiative is asking for proposals on how to redevelop the 80 acre Averne East site that was hit by the hurricane last October. The design contest is specifically seeking sustainable development plans for coastal and flood-prone areas that incorporate mixed-use, mixed-income communities.

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Post tags: AIA New York Center for Architecture, Bluestone Organization, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, eco design, for a resilient rockaway, green design, L+M Development Partners, Mathew M Wambua, rebuilding Rockaway, rockaways, sustainable design, Triangle Equitiies

One NYC apartment that was hit hard by the waters that flooded the Financial District during Hurricane Sandy is taking matters into its own hands by investing in a giant, airtight floodgate. 2 Gold will be the first Manhattan rental complex to build a 13-foot, $250,000 gate in its basement in order to prepare for future extreme weather events. The hope is that the structure will safeguard the building’s mechanical systems, allowing them to withstand rising tides.

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Post tags: 2 Gold, 2 gold floodgate, eco design, flood gate, flood gate Financial District, flood prevention, green design, Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy floodgate, manhattan floodgate, sustainable design

MoMA PS1’s VW Dome 2 – the temporary cultural center created after Hurricane Sandy left Rockaway Beach severely damaged – opened last Friday with a performance by singer and Rockaways resident Patti Smith. The geodesic dome structure will be up for the next month and is located in a parking lot between Beach 94th and 95th Streets. The opening kicked off a full series of exhibits, lectures and performances centered around rebuilding the storm-ravaged neighborhood.

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Post tags: expo 1 new york, Hurricane Sandy, kevin boyle, MoMA, moma call for artists, moma geodesic dome, moma rockaways, open camera sessions, patti smith, rebuilding the rockaways, rick horan, Rockaway Beach, the wave, VW Dome

Read the rest of SNEAK PEEK: Nest-Shaped Treehouse Made of Hurricane Sandy-Fallen Trees Rises at Brooklyn Botanical Garden testing

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Post tags: bbg treehouse, brooklyn botanic garden, brooklyn botanic garden treehouse, eco design, green design, Hurricane Sandy salvaged wood, reclaimed wood, roderick romero, Roderick Wolgamott-Romero, sandy remix, sustainable design, tree house Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Tree houses, treehouse, treehouse nyc

When Hurricane Sandy wiped out the lifeguard stations and public bathrooms on many of New York City’s beaches, the city found itself in a bind. How could it rebuild these necessary facilities in time for the summer of 2013? To answer that question, officials turned to architect Jim Garrison, who has been designing buildings for the city for over three decades, and luckily, his firm was ready to jump into the fray and design more than 50 beach structures for a scheduled opening on Memorial Day. The resulting facilities will be flood-resistant, sustainably-built, modular and prefab (not to mention nifty-looking).

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Post tags: Brooklyn, eco design, environmental sustainability, flood-proof construction, Garrison Architects, green building, green design, green NYC, Hurricane Sandy, Inhabitat Local New York City, Inhabitat NYC, jim garrison, new york city, nyc beach buildings, nyc prefab, post-Sandy construction, prefab beach buildings, sustainable design

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Post tags: Chelsea Piers, eco design, green design, high line park, Melt Bakery, nemo, People's Pops, Posman Books, rei, Snow Sculpt-off, Snowfall NYC, sustainable design, The Standard High Line, Winter Activities NYC, winter storm nemo nyc

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Since Hurricane Sandy hit, there has been much talk about how New York can better prepare for the catastrophic climate events of the future. From the construction of Rotterdam-style floodgates to introducing marshlands and more green roofs across Manhattan, designers and thinkers have been throwing an array of ideas into the ring. Now The Landscape Architecture Program of the City College of New York’s Spitzer School of Architecture is hosting Waterproofing New York, a conference of municipal leaders, scientists, engineers, and designers that aims to explore the impact of past and future storms on New York City’s infrastructural systems.

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Post tags: American Society of Landscape Architects New York Chapter, catastrophic climate events, Hurricane Sandy, infrastructure nyc, institute for urban design, landscape design, municipal art society, new york city, sandy recovery, superstorm sandy, The Landscape Architecture Program of the City College of New York’s Spitzer School of Architecture, urban design, urban discussion, waterproofing ny

Yesterday evening the Senate finally passed a $50.5 billion emergency relief bill to aid Hurricane Sandy victims still suffering from the ill-effects of the storm. The vote comes four weeks late, after Speaker John Boehner announced that the House’s vote on the bill would be postponed until the 113th Congress was sworn in. After outrage spewed from both parties and their constituents in response to Boehner’s news, the House hastened its schedule and the package was given the okay on January 15th. The package, which was approved 62-36 by the Democratic-controlled Senate on Monday, now goes to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

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Post tags: Environmental destruction, John Boehner, New Jersey Sandy relief, nyc hurricane sandy, NYC Sandy relief package, Sandy aid bill, sandy relief

Seaside Heights, which boasts one of the most famous boardwalks on the East Coast, is in the process of rebuilding its oceanfront promenade, which was destroyed last October by Hurricane Sandy. This week, the beach community was awarded a $3.6 million contract to complete reconstruction of the boardwalk and substructure beneath it just in time to draw back summer tourism revenue by Memorial Day weekend.

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Post tags: american red cross in greater new york, Bec Brittain, Fort Standard, Hurricane Sandy, Lin Morris, NYC aid, NYC artists, occupy sandy, reclaim nyc, Reclamed materials, Sandy debris, sustainable furniture

Governor Andrew Cuomo tackled some serious post-Hurricane Sandy issues this week in his 2013 State of the State address, including a very important proposed program that would give storm-affected homeowners the option to relocate instead of returning to their homes. The Recreate NY-Home Buyout Program would allow storm victims who simply don’t want to deal with rebuilding (especially in areas where future extreme weather damage is frequent and expected) to have their properties bought out using FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds. These households would be able to use the cash to relocate to less vulnerable areas and start new lives without the worry of facing further storm-related crises.

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Post tags: climate change, eco design, FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, governor andrew cuomo, green design, hurricane prevention, Hurricane Sandy, rebuilding Hurricane Sandy, Recreate-NY Home Buyout Program, sustainable design

The People’s Recovery is a 3-day summit in February that invites New Yorkers to learn about and support equitable and sustainable rebuilding efforts in Hurricane Sandy-affected communities. From Friday to Sunday (Feb 1st-3rd), attendees will gather for workshops, training sessions, speakers, concerts and community dinners to discuss strategies for moving towards a greener post-Sandy NYC. Read on to see how you can participate.

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Post tags: Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy nyc, Mutual Aid, occupy sandy, Sandy Aid, Sandy Summit, Sustainability NYC, Sustainable development after sandy, The Peoples recovery

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In the 10 weeks since Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the East Coast and claimed 131 lives, there has been much discussion about the failures in infrastructure that left New York City at a virtual standstill for days. In an article published in this week’s New Yorker, sociologist Eric Klinenberg discusses some of these concerns in a piece called “How Can Cities Be Climate-Proofed?”. Emphasizing that “[t]he fundamental threat to the human species is, of course, our collective inability to reduce our carbon emissions and slow the pace of climate change,” Klinenberg broaches Sandy from the perspective of how we might rethink a wide range of key design, infrastructure, regulatory and social components so as to adapt to rising sea levels and increase resiliency against these now inevitable extreme weather events.

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Post tags: army corps of engineers, climate change, climate proof, community resiliency, disaster management, eric klinenberg, flood defences, floodwalls nyc, global warming, horizontal organizing, Hurricane Sandy, infrastructure, MTA flooding, natural disasters, new york city, public transit, Sandy, sea level rise, storm surge nyc, subways sandy, superstorm sandy, urban development, urban planning

A new 175-page study conducted by the NYS 2100 Commission is recommending major changes to New York’s coastlines to better cope with worsening storms. Formed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the Commission was tasked with finding ways of dealing with and proactively preventing damage from future storms. Some of the suggestions in the new report include building storm barriers with mobile gates and a number of “soft infrastructure” projects like building dunes, wetlands and oyster reefs.

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Post tags: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Sandy recovery package, NYC coastline protection, nyc global warming, NYC natural disasters, NYC storm protection measures, NYC Storms, NYS 2100 Commission, sandy relief

While many Americans are relieved that the country won’t go tumbling off the much ballyhooed fiscal cliff (yet, anyway) there are thousands for whom relief is nowhere in sight. This week, to the shock of many of his fellow Congresspeople, Speaker John Boehner announced that the House’s vote on a Hurricane Sandy relief bill would be postponed until the 113th Congress is sworn in on January 21st. For the residents of New York and New Jersey who are still struggling to recover from the devastating superstorm, the decision was the ultimate betrayal, and yet another sign that our wealthy elected officials are devoid of empathy for their constituents.

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Post tags: Congress, house of representatives hurricane sandy, house postpones sandy, Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy nyc, Hurricane Sandy Relief, John Boehner, New Jersey, new york city, politics, sandy ny, superstorm

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Post tags: eco design, fresh kills landfill, fresh kills park, freshkills park, green design, Hurricane Sandy, sandy nyc, Staten Island, storm surge absorption, sustainable design