The Council Will Hold Oversight Hearings to Examine the City’s Performance During and After Hurricane Sandy

City Hall, NY – Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Council Member Leroy Comrie, Council Member Sara González, Council Member Eric Ulrich, Council Member Jimmy Oddo and Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo today announced a package of bills to strengthen New York City’s infrastructure to better prepare for severe storms.

“Climate change is an irrefutable reality, and New York City must be better prepared when the next storm strikes,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “If we want to protect our neighborhoods and prevent future devastation, we must act now. Our bills will expand flood protections and examine placing certain infrastructure underground to keep New Yorkers and our City safe during weather emergencies.”

The proposed bills would:

• Study the Feasibility of Relocating Power Lines Underground
As power outages in the days and weeks following Sandy’s landfall showed, overhead power lines are particularly susceptible to damage during extreme storms. The Council Committee on Consumer Affairs will examine a bill that would require the Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability to conduct a study over the next six months on the feasibility of placing power lines underground. The study will review recent power outages in New York City and include a list of areas that would most benefit by relocating power lines underground.

• Adopt FEMA’s Advisory Base Flood Elevation Maps
When 14 feet of water surged into New York Harbor, areas outside of the City’s FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) flooded, demonstrating that the FIRM is out of date. Legislation proposed by Council Members Erich Ulrich and Jimmy Oddo would adopt the new FEMA flood advisory maps, expected to be released this week, and would expand the areas that must adhere to flood proofing requirements in the City’s Building Code.

• Strengthen Flood Proofing Requirements for Buildings in Vulnerable Areas
Legislation proposed by Council Member Sara González would bring the City’s Building Code in line with national and state flood construction requirements. The bill would raise elevation requirements for buildings in flood zones as well as their boilers and other critical equipment. The bill would also establish more restrictive flood construction standards for buildings in Coastal A-Zones, which are areas that may suffer not only flooding but flooding from the intensity of coastal waves.

• Strengthen Flood Proofing Requirements for Health Care Facilities
Sponsored by Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, this bill would bring the elevation requirements for healthcare facilities, and their boilers and critical equipment, in line with national and state flood constuction requirements.

Starting in January, the Council will hold a seven-week-long series of oversight hearings in over 20 Council Committees to assess the City’s storm planning, management and recovery efforts related to public safety, transportation, housing, health services and more.

“If we are going to be thorough and truly forward-looking, the City’s recovery must include an examination of what did and did not work in the days and hours leading up to Sandy’s landfall, and in its aftermath – from the Rockaways to Red Hook; from Midland Beach to the South Street Seaport,” continued Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “The more lessons we take away from this storm, the better prepared we will be for the next one.”

The series of hearings will include the following:

Disaster Management
Committees on Public Safety, Fire, Health, Aging, Mental Health/Disabilities, General Welfare
Monday, January 14th
10:00 am
Invited to testify: Office of Emergency Management (OEM); Deputy Mayor Caswell Holloway; FDNY; NYPD; Department of Homeless Services (DHS); NYC Department of Health and Mental Health (DOHMH); State Department of Health (NYSDOH)
Hearing focus:
Assessment of OEM’s coastal storm disaster plan, the city’s evacuation plan, public information and communication, logistics and emergency response efforts

NYCHA Emergency Planning and Response
Committee on Public Housing
Wednesday, January 16th
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)
Hearing focus:
Timing and reasons for major decisions, disaster preparedness, evacuation plan, housing evacuated residents, restoration of utilities and communication with residents

Assessing and Improving Public Utility Risk Mitigation Measures
Committees on Consumer Affairs, Technology, Lower Manhattan Redevelopment
Friday, January 18th
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: Con Ed; Verizon; Comcast; Time Warner; Mayor’s Office of Operations; New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT); OEM
Hearing focus:
Examining the effect of Hurricane Sandy on the City’s power and communications network, potential preemptive measures that could have reduced the impact and resulted in faster service restoration and mitigation of future risks

How Did 911, 311 and Emergency Alerts Perform?
Committees on Public Safety, Fire, Technology
Tuesday, January 22nd
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: DoITT; Deputy Mayor Caswell Holloway; FDNY; NYPD
Hearing focus:
The performance of 311 and 911 before, during and after the storm, the function of Notify NYC and the amount of people it reached, the performance of the Personal Localized Alert Network (PLAN), which was used in the City for the first time

Emergency Preparedness and Response at the City’s Healthcare Facilities
Committees on Health, Mental Health, Aging
Thursday, January 24th
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: Health and Hospitals Corporation; OEM; Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH); New York State Department of Health; Greater New York Hospitals Association; Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs
Hearing focus:
Disaster preparedness and risk mitigation at hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and mental health facilities; reasons for generator failures; evacuation plan and implementation; continuity of care; and case management

 
Shelter Management
Committees on Health, Aging, Mental Health/Disabilities, General Welfare
Wednesday, January 30th
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs; DHS; DOH, Housing Preservation and Development (HPD); NYSDOH
Hearing focus:
Availability, capacity, management and staffing of shelters

MTA’s Response and the Long-term Impact on the City’s Public Transportation System
Committee on Transportation
Thursday, January 31st
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: Metropolitan Transit Authority; OEM
Hearing focus:
Closure and recovery plans for public transportation; timing for announcements regarding service suspension and suspension of MTA fares; current state of service and timeline for recovery

Impact on the City’s Roads, Bridges, Tunnels and Airports
Committee on Transportation
Tuesday, February 5th
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: Department of Transportation (DOT); Port Authority; OEM; Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC)
Hearing focus:
Closure and recovery plans for roads, airports, bridges and tunnels; when to use a zone fare system for taxis; impact of the storm on the Port Authority’s major capital projects

Managing the City’s Housing Needs in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy
Committee on Housing and Buildings
Thursday, February 7th
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: Department of Buildings (DOB); HPD
Hearing focus:
Identifying vacant housing and assisting with relocations for displaced populations; identifying and responding to unsound buildings; assisting homeowners and landlords in applying for loans and grants

 
Restoring and Growing the City’s Small Businesses
Committees on Small Business and Economic Development
Monday, February 11th
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: Department of Small Business Services; New York City’s Economic Development Corporation; Department of Consumer Affairs; Small Business Administration; Deputy Mayor Robert Steel, NYSDOL
Hearing focus:
Impact of the storm on small businesses and local, state and federal support and outreach strategies for small business owners

Post-Storm Cleanup and the Effects on the City’s Health and Infrastructure
Committees on Sanitation, Parks, Health, Environmental Protection
Wednesday, February 13th
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: Department of Sanitation (DSNY), Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), DOHMH, OEM, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Hearing focus:
Effect of contaminated water on buildings and neighborhoods; mold issues and how they affect cleanup efforts; response to fallen trees and debris; coordination and protection of volunteers; and management of DSNY’s clean-up efforts

Storm-related Impact on Schools and Students
Committee on Education
Tuesday, February 26th
1:00 pm
Invited to testify: Department of Education (DOE)
Hearing focus:
DOE’s storm recovery plans, including relocation plans for damaged schools and its implementation; and academic supports for students and families that have been displaced

Rebuilding the City’s Infrastructure
Committees on Environmental Protection, Finance, Land Use, Waterfronts, Housing and Buildings, Transportation
To be determined
Invited to testify: DEP; City Planning; Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability; Port Authority; EDC; OEM; Deputy Mayor Caswell Holloway; DOB; Army Corp of Engineers
Hearing focus:
Assessment of long-term damage to the City’s infrastructure and timeline for reconstruction; and examination of possible methods of preparing New York City and minimizing damage from future storms
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