Image via NYC Mayor’s Office Flickr

Yesterday, New York City officials released final updates to the city’s hurricane evacuation zones that include an additional 600,000 residents who were not part of the former zoning map. The new system replaces Zones A, B and C, with Zones 1 through 6, and is based on coastal flood risk resulting from storm surges. With the new system in place, the city has more flexibility in targeting areas to evacuate in advance of a predicted storm—helping families that live in the expanded zone areas to prepare for emergencies and stay safe.

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Post tags: Deputy Mayor cas Holloway, hurricane irene, Hurricane Sandy, new york city housing authority, nyc expanded zone areas, Nyc hurricane evacuation zones, nyc new evacuation zones, nyc new flood zones, nyc new zone system, office of emergency management, ready new york hurricane guide

Image via Global Green USA Flickr

Yesterday, Global Green USA announced the roll-out of its “Solar for Sandy” program to build emergency back-up solar energy systems at five or more Sandy-struck NYC community centers to prepare for future blackouts like the one that overtook the city last fall. The first full-scale program implementation will begin this fall in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The new program is supported in part by the Clinton Global Initiative and by home furnishings retailer IKEA, whose Brooklyn store and the surrounding community were deeply impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

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Post tags: Clinton global initiative, far rockaway, global green usa, Hurricane Sandy, matt Peterson, nyc blackout, nyc emergency services, nyc flood zone, nyc natural disaster relief projects, nyc solar energy systems, Parsons The New School For Design, red hook hurricane sandy, red hook ikea, solar energy nyc, solar for sandy, solar for sandy global green usa program

Yesterday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency proposed changes to NYC’s decades-old flood zone maps that nearly double the number of people and buildings at risk to 400,000 residents and 70,000 buildings. Though a two-year review is still required before the new maps will be deemed official, scientists are predicting that conditions are only going to get worse as ice caps melt, sea levels around the city rise (a predicted 12 to 55 inches by 2080) and temperatures increase. In light of these developments and the damage we’ve already seen from events like Hurricane Sandy, city officials will be revealing their plans to protect New York from future storms this afternoon.

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Post tags: Bloomberg steel dunes, deputy mayor caswell Holloway, fema hurricane sandy, fema nyc, fema nyc flood map, Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy nyc, mayor Bloomberg climate change, mayor michael bloomberg, mayor Michael Bloomberg nyc, nyc climate change, nyc climate change report, nyc flood map, NYC flood zones, nyc flooding, nyc future climate change, nyc future hurricanes, nyc future storms, nyc heat waves, nyc sea levels, seth pinsky

According to an annual progress report released last week, PlaNYC is on track to exceed its greenhouse gas reduction goals by the year 2030. The paper measured progress on more than 100 citywide initiatives launched by the mayor’s office to meet its targets for long-term sustainability and enhanced quality of life for all New Yorkers. In the last year alone achievements include the planting of 65,000 trees, breaking ground on High Bridge Park, expanding the city’s recycling system (the largest upgrade in 25 years) and we can’t forget the recent launch of Citi Bike—the nation’s largest bike share program.

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Post tags: climate change, climate change nyc, high bridge park, Hurricane Sandy, mayor michael bloomberg, mayor Michael Bloomberg planyc, NYC bike lanes, nyc bike share program, nyc citi bike, nyc clean heat program, nyc organic waste recycling program, nyc parkland, nyc recycling program, nyc tree planting, nyc trees, planyc, planyc 2013 report, planyc annual report, planyc initiatives, planyc reduction goals

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Post tags: climate change, ex.terra by anonymous, Hurricane Sandy, MoMA, moma department of design and architecture, MoMA PS1, moma ps1 call for ideas, moma psi ex.terra, nyc climate change, nyc hurricane sandy, nyc rising sea levels, rebuilding Hurricane Sandy, rebuilding rockaways, rockaways hurricane sandy, superstorm sandy

Read the rest of 12 Things to Know Before Using NYC’s New Citi Bike Share Program testing

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Post tags: citi bike, citi bike launch date, citi bike official launch date, citi bike opening, citi bike share, citi bike share program, Citibank bike share program, citibike, city bike share programs, department of transportation nyc, gramercy park, Hurricane Sandy, new york bike share program, new york bike share stations, new york bike tours, nyc bike share program, nyc bike tours, nyc transportation, shelly mossey, Transportation Alternatives, urban mobility project, when does citi bike launch

Image via NYC Mayor’s Office Flickr

Mayor Bloomberg recently announced the launch of the “NYC Build it Back” program to assist homeowners, landlords and tenants whose homes were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Affected residents who have been waiting in limbo with no money to repair their homes or move will now have access to federally-funded grants and loans to rebuild and recover out-of-pocket costs they incurred as a result of the superstorm.

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Post tags: Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy home owners, hurricane sandy nyc, Hurricane Sandy recovery, mayor bloomberg, mayor michael bloomberg, nyc build it back, nyc build it back program, nyc city hall, nyc department of housing and urban development, nyc housing recovery

Hurricane season started last week, and the NOAA is predicting that it will be one of the worst the U.S. has ever seen. Considering what happened to New York in the last super storm, we can’t help but ask ourselves whether the city is ready for another one – and if what the Intelligencer concludes is true, we’re not. They recently did some research into the question on everyone’s minds and found some very disturbing data points. Read on to see the five major areas of hurricane preparedness that NYC is currently lacking .

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Post tags: 2013 hurricane season, con ed, extreme weather, gas availability, hospital preparedness, hurricane new york, Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy new york, MTA, new york hospitals, new york hurricane preparedness, new york power outages, NOAA, residential safety along the shoreline, subway flooding

If you’re one of the many New Yorkers who stood at a Citi Bike kiosk last week pressing buttons and scratching your head because you simply couldn’t rent a bike, we’ve got good news for you. It’s not that those terminals were broken; the NYC bike share program just wasn’t open yet to non-annual members – but it is now! As of yesterday, Citi Bike made its 6,000 royal blue cruisers available to all weekly and daily members, which means that you no longer need an annual member key to unlock them. Happy riding!

+ Citi Bike

+ Citi Bike on Inhabitat

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Post tags: bike smart, bike stations, citi bike, citi bike launch date, citi bike official launch date, citi bike share, citi bike share program, Citibank bike share program, citibike, city bike share programs, department of transportation nyc, gramercy park, Hurricane Sandy, new york bike share program, new york bike share stations, new york bike tours, nyc bike share program, nyc bike tours, nyc transportation, shelly mossey, Transportation Alternatives, urban mobility project, when does citi bike launch

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Post tags: brooklyn brewery, brooklyn flea, Howard Hughes Corp, Hurricane Sandy, jonathan butler, nyc summer concerts, Pier 17, sea change south street seaport, seaport museum, seaport shipping container mall, shipping container mall, shipping container restaurant, shipping container retail boutique, SHOP architects, smorgasbar, South Street SEaport

Image via MTA Flickr

Great news for residents living in the Rockaways – after nearly seven months of cramming onto slow and crowded shuttle buses thanks to Hurricane Sandy, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority finally restored A train service as of noon today. The $650 million project is said to be the most expensive of all Sandy restoration projects, but we think Rockaway straphangers will agree that it was well worth the money. WNYC reports that the MTA rang in the return of the A by riding a vintage R1/R9 1930’s subway car down the newly opened tracks.

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Post tags: a train, a train hurricane sandy, a train nyc, a train reopening, Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy new york, metropolitan transit authority, MTA, ny a train restoration project, ny ferry, ny rockaways, r1 r9 subway car, vintage subway car

Employees of the High Line Hotel were expecting to get back to work after the hotel suffered major flooding damage during Hurricane Sandy, and owners MCR Development and Brodsky Organization spent months telling workers that they would return to their previous jobs. However, once renovations were completed on the hotel, former employees learned that not only would they not be re-hired to their previous positions, they had all already been replaced.

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Post tags: Community board 4, High Line Hotel, high line hotel employees, high line hotel workers, Hurricane Sandy, intelligentsia, mcr development nyc, patricia sims, tyler morse

Last week, Mayor Bloomberg and New York City Parks Commissioner Veronica M. White visited Coney Island to announce the opening of all New York City beaches for the 2013 season. The kick-off was even more special than in past years because it also included beaches in places like the Rockaways, Coney Island and Cedar Grove that were badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy. After the storm, there was speculation over whether these areas could be restored in time for Memorial Day weekend, but all doubts were erased this morning with the unveiling of even better, more resilient facilities at these locations.

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Post tags: Brighton beach Manhattan Beach, brooklyn beach, Cedar Grove, coney island, 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 beaches open, nyc prefab, Orchard Beach, post-Sandy construction, prefab beach buildings, Rockaway Beach, South Beach, sustainable design, when do nyc beaches open, Wolfe’s Pond

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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

Citi Bike just launched New York City’s first bike sharing program as 6,000 royal blue cruisers took to the streets of Manhattan! So far more than 10,000 people have signed up to use the brand new bikes, and nearly 15,000 have enrolled in Citi Bike’s membership program. Though the program comes one year late (and much to the chagrin of several factions across NYC’s boroughs), most New Yorkers are welcoming the bikes with open arms, hoping that the program will mean more bike paths, safer riding city-wide, reduced emissions, and healthier bodies.

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Post tags: bike smart, bike stations, citi bike, citi bike launch date, citi bike official launch date, citi bike share, citi bike share program, Citibank bike share program, citibike, city bike share programs, department of transportation nyc, gramercy park, Hurricane Sandy, new york bike share program, new york bike share stations, new york bike tours, nyc bike share program, nyc bike tours, nyc transportation, shelly mossey, Transportation Alternatives, urban mobility project, when does citi bike launch

Image ©Fabien Belcourt

New York City’s waterfront has been increasingly susceptible to flooding, super storms and rising tides, and the fragile support system of pilings (or wood and steel columns) holding up the city is in desperate need of repair. Rather than rebuilding the decaying wood and steel, which can be very expensive, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has chosen a rather unconventional solution to keep the city afloat – 3D printing. The city estimates that using 3D printing to reinforce the columns will save a whopping $2.9 billion in construction costs.

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Post tags: 3d printed barricade new york city, 3d printed pilings, 3d printed sinfrastructure, D-shape, eco design, green design, hurricane protection nyc, Hurricane Sandy, hurricanes nyc, New York City Economic Development Corporation, new york city storm surge protector, NYCEDC, sustainable design

Image via NYC Mayor’s Office Flickr

Yesterday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Finance Commissioner David M. Frankel announced a $90.3 million reduction in property taxes for residents and commercial business owners who suffered damage due to Hurricane Sandy. More than 88,000 homes and businesses will see a reduction on their property tax bill when it’s time to file in 2014. The city’s finance department assessed property damages to individuals and business owners following a Sandy-specific reporting form distributed in January. Inspectors were sent to evaluate over 6,000 homes hit hard by the storm to tabulate an across-the-board market value property assessment decrease of 15 percent for residential properties, and 10 percent for commercial properties.

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Post tags: commissioner david frankel, far rockaway sandy, Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy property damage, hurricane sandy tax reduction, liberty warehouse brooklyn, liberty warehouse nyc, mayor michael bloomberg, nyc department of finance, red hook brooklyn

Today is the day! Mayor Bloomberg and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan will be announcing the official launch of the Citi Bike NYC bike share program this morning. The first Citi Bike stations will open in Manhattan below 59th St and in Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bed Stuy. There’s one catch though – today is only the official opening for annual members so weekly and daily members will have to wait until June to ride. If you’re already an annual member but did not receive your key yet, there is a way you can still hop on a Citi Bike today. Read on for more info.

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Post tags: bike smart, bike stations, citi bike, citi bike launch date, citi bike official launch date, citi bike share, citi bike share program, Citibank bike share program, citibike, city bike share programs, department of transportation nyc, gramercy park, Hurricane Sandy, new york bike share program, new york bike share stations, new york bike tours, nyc bike share program, nyc bike tours, nyc transportation, shelly mossey, Transportation Alternatives, urban mobility project, when does citi bike launch

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

Looking for something fun to do this summer in NYC? How about a free ferry ride that also supports a neighborhood that was knocked off its feet after Hurricane Sandy? Mayor Bloomberg joined other city officials this week to announce the launch of a free Red Hook Summer Ferry that will operate on weekends throughout the summer season. The newly expanded service spells good news for Red Hook businesses hoping to see an increase in foot traffic, and it provides a way for them to continue recovering after last October’s superstorm. The ferry will kick off Memorial Day weekend at Pier 11 in Manhattan and will give people another reason (besides just going to IKEA) to visit Red Hook.

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Post tags: east river, East River Ferry, ferry service nyc, Hurricane Sandy, ikea, ikea brooklyn, labor day, mayor bloomberg, memorial day, nyc ferry, pier 11, Red Hook, van brunt street

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

As New Yorkers, we often take clean water for granted, but there’s a lot of money and effort being applied behind the scenes to make sure we have access to it. Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Carter H. Strickland, Jr. outlined the $20 billion dollars that the city has invested in its water system over the last decade, detailing upgrades to water mains and pipes, city dams, treatment plants, newly constructed sewer lines and other vital infrastructure projects. The officials also went over the work they are doing to ensure that the Gowanus Canal water quality upgrade project would also be completed by the end of the year, despite flooding and other damage from Hurricane Sandy.

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Post tags: Climate Central, Commissioner Carter H. Strickland jr, department of environmental protection, gowanus canal, gowanus canal treatment plant, green infrastructure, Hurricane Sandy, mayor michael bloomberg, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, new york drinking water, new york drinking water safety, nyc treatment facilities, safe drinking water, sewage water supply nyc

Rendering via Howard Hughes Corp.

Popular tourist destination South Street Seaport will be recovering from the damage it suffered during Hurricane Sandy with exciting new summer programming and shipping container shops. Developer Howard Hughes Corp. and NYC partnered together to bring visitors back to the area beginning Memorial Day weekend with a new season of fun attractions called See/Change. The plan includes a summer full of concerts, artisanal foods and happy hour evenings inside two-story shipping containers.

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Post tags: brooklyn brewery, brooklyn flea, Howard Hughes Corp, Hurricane Sandy, jonathan butler, nyc summer concerts, Pier 17, sea change south street seaport, seaport museum, shipping container mall, shipping container restaurant, shipping container retail boutique, South Street SEaport

The Environmental Protection Agency announced recently that they will provide over $500 million in grants and low-interest loans to the state of New York and state of New Jersey to improve wastewater and drinking water facilities ravaged by Hurricane Sandy. The funds will be awarded as grants to the states for both the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs. In addition to improving statewide clean water systems, the funds will provide 6,000 short-term construction jobs collectively.

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Post tags: Bob Perciasepe, clean water, drinking water state revolving fund, Environmental Protection Agency, epa, green infrastructure, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Sandy Relief, nj wastewater, nyc wastewater, sand dunes, sandy damaged waterways, sandy relief, sandy relief efforts, storm runoff systems, stormwater runoff

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