City Island Rising to record future fl ooding episodes
BY JASON COHEN
A non-profi t environmental
group is working with City
Island to curb fl ooding by having
citizens document images
to help professionals identify
the problem areas.
On Thursday, March 12,
Helen Chang of the Community
Flood Watch Project,
which is part of the Science
and Resilience Institute at
Jamaica Bay- New York Sea
Grant spoke at the City Island
Rising meeting about the work
her organization is doing to
benefi t City Island.
“We are trying to utilize
your knowledge,” Chang said
to the attendees. “You guys
are here 24/7 and know where
those hot spots are.”
The project uses citizen science
to report fl ooding events
in the Jamaica Bay watershed.
By using photographs
and reports collected by community
members, researchers
can visualize how high
tides might look in the future
due to sea level rise, as well as
improve the science and computer
models of fl ooding.
Chang explained that fl ooding
doesn’t just occur during a
storm, but can take place on a
NEW CARD
DESIGN!
City Island Rising’s John Doyle and Helen Chang of the New York Sea Grant speak at the City Island Rising meeting
BRONX TIMES R 6 EPORTER, MARCH 20-26, 2020 BTR
on March 12. Schneps Media Jason cohen
beautiful clear blue and sunny
day or due to tides or offshore
winds. She said that since
most people today have smart
phones, capturing the fl ooding
should be easy.
“We know that climate
change is here and one of the
aspects of climate change
is sea level rising,” Chang
stated.
According to the New York
Sea Grant, the national annual
frequency of high tide
fl ooding reached fi ve days in
2018, tying a historic record
set in 2015 and by 2030, longterm
projections show a national
frequency of seven to 14
days of high tide fl ooding.
The partnership with City
Island Rising began in December
and they are slowly collecting
data and determining
what parts of the community
need help.
“We’ve been able to see
some of the City Island photos
through the help of John
Doyle, the president of City Island
Rising and everyone else
and help them verify their
numbers if it’s related to a
storm,” Chang said.
She noted the documentation
has helped the national
weather service as well.
“It’s really exciting to see
their work getting used,” she
said. “It’s really a great exchange
between scientist experts
and the community.”
Chang also praised the
members of City Island Rising.
“The project is really
growing and wouldn’t have
been possible without working
with community partners
like City Island Rising,” she
commented. “The more people
that we recruit and participate
the more robust information
we fi nd out there.”
Doyle noted that communities
that have-well documented
information of where
fl ooding takes place would
likely receive more funding
than those who don’t.
“Having everybody become
data collectors and using
our friends in the media here
is going to be a tremendous
source,” Doyle said. “We will
be documenting these things
day in, and day out. Knowing
who the real smart people are
and bringing them the documentation
makes it really well
represented when this goes
forward. This is a tremendous
partnership for advocacy.”