TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2014 • 54 City Seeking Solutions To Stem Rising Tide Of Flood Insurance Rates; Will Fund Studies -CONTINUED FROM PG. 17- • improving storm sewers; for Traffic News And Changes -CONTINUED FROM PG. 18- crews to conduct bridge maintenance. Exit Ramp Closed Near Whitestone Br. The Third Avenue exit on the northbound approach to the Whitestone Bridge is closed to all traffic as part of a $109 million reconstruction project. Separate car and truck detours will be in place while the exit ramp is closed. Signs will be in place and traffic agents will be on hand when the detours begin. The closure is expected to remain in place for approximately two years. Passenger vehicles driving from the northbound Cross Island Parkway will have to exit at Utopia Parkway (exit 34); those driving from the northbound Whitestone Expressway will need to exit past the 20th Avenue exit and merge onto the Cross Island Parkway. All commercial vehicles must exit the Whitestone Expressway at 20th Avenue (exit 15). For additional closures, visit the city DOT’s website at www.nyc.gov/dot or call 311. Tax Credit Expansion Has Benefits -CONTINUED FROM PG. 17- • raise an estimated 40,000 New York households out of poverty; and • increase the total benefit to poor and working class families in New York City to over $2.9 billion per year when combined with State and city EITC programs. More than 890,000 New York City residents file for Federal, State and City EITC annually and the program can be credited with pulling 70,000 households out of poverty in 2012, according to estimates by the City Comptroller’s office. However, despite the enormous success of the EITC, many lowincome New Yorkers remain ineligible for benefits. Childless adults are only eligible if they earn below $14,340 a year—the equivalent of $7.17 an hour at a fulltime job. As a result, a childless adult working full-time at the minimum wage does not receive any benefits. President Obama’s 2015 Executive Budget would extend the EITC to a larger group of Americans, including lowering the age floor to 21 years old and raising the age ceiling from 65 to 67 years. The plan also calls for doubling the maximum childless worker credit to over $1,000 and increasing the income credit cap for childless individuals to $18,070. “For far too long, the success of the EITC has been out of reach for thousands of low-income New Yorkers,” Stringer concluded. “When maintaining a full-time job no longer provides sufficient means for escaping poverty, it is imperative we embrace proposals like this expansion, to support our hardworking residents who have watched the cost of living soar as their wages have stagnated.” Learn The History Of Our Neighborhood! VISIT OUR ARCHIVES ONLINE AT www.timesnewsweekly.com and Monday, May 19, through Friday, May 23, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Riders can transfer between Canarsiebound L trains at Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues to continue their trip. It was noted that L trains to Canarsie will operate every 12 minutes. More Disruptions Affect The 7 Line Flushing-bound 7 trains will operate express service between Queensboro Plaza and Mets-Willets Point on Thursday, May 15, and Friday, May 16, from 10:15 a.m. until 3 p.m. These trains will continue to stop at Woodside-61st Street and Junction Boulevard. For service to the 33rd Street, 40th Street, 46th Street, 52nd Street, 69th Street, 74th Street, 82nd Street, 90th Street, 103rd Street and 111th Street stations, take the 7 train to Woodside- 61st Street, Junction Boulevard or Mets-Willets Point, then transfer to a Manhattan-bound 7 train. For service from these stations, take the 7 train to Junction Boulevard, Woodside-61st Street or Queensboro Plaza, then transfer to a Flushing-bound 7 train. Additionally, Flushing-bound 7 trains will skip the 82nd Street, 90th Street, 103rd Street and 111th Street stations on Monday, May 19, through Thursday, May 22, from 10:15 a.m. until 3 p.m. For service to these stations, take the 7 train to Junction Boulevard or Mets-Willets Point, then transfer to a Manhattan-bound 7 train. For service from these stations, take the 7 train to Junction Boulevard or 74th Street, then transfer to a Flushing-bound 7 train. Station Renewal Comes To A Line The Ozone Park/Far Rockawaybound platform at the 88th Street station and the Ozone Park-bound platform at the 101st Street station on the A line were closed on Monday, May 12, and will remain shut for the next three months as part of an ongoing station renewal project. For service to the 88th Street station, take the A train to Rockaway Boulevard, then transfer to a Manhattan-bound A train. For service to the 101st Street station, take a Lefferts Boulevard/Ozone Parkbound A train to 111th Street, then transfer to a Manhattan-bound A train. For service from these stations, take the A train to either Rockaway Boulevard or 80th Street, then transfer to an Ozone Park-bound or a Far Rockaway-bound A train. Additionally, Ozone Park-bound A trains will skip the 111th Street station this weekend, from 11:45 p.m. Friday, May 16, until 5 a.m. Monday, May 19. For service to this station, take the A train to Lefferts Boulevard, then transfer to a Manhattan-bound A train. For service from this station, take the A train to Rockaway Boulevard, then transfer to an Ozone Park-bound A train; or the Q112 bus during days and evenings along Liberty Avenue. Local E Service In F.H. & Briarwood Manhattan-bound E trains will make local stops at Van Wyck Boulevard and 75th Avenue stations at all times from 5 a.m. Monday, May 19, through 11:59 p.m. Friday, May 23. Riders are advised to allow for additional travel time. F Train To Manhattan Is A Late Night Local Manhattan-bound F trains will run local service between Roosevelt Avenue and 21st Street-Queensbridge on Friday, May 15, and Monday, May 20, through Friday, May 23, from 12:01 to 5 a.m. Riders are advised to allow for additional travel time. For a complete list of service changes and last-minute updates, visit the MTA’s website at www.mta.info or call 511. Transit News And Changes -CONTINUED FROM PG. 18- Homes with federally-backed mortgages will be required to purchase flood insurance when the FIRMs are finalized. For a home newly mapped into the floodplain, a $500 annual premium could easily rise over time to $5,000 or even $10,000 for the same amount of coverage. This increase in flood insurance premiums directly impacts neighborhood stability and housing affordability, especially for working and middle class New Yorkers. The impact will hit especially hard for the 20 percent of households in the floodplain that are living at or below the federal poverty line. “Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers along the city’s 520 miles of coastline face significant increases in their flood insurance rates— especially at a time when many can least afford it. Yet again and again, we see the impact of flooding on our communities,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Through these studies, the city will work to ensure that FEMA’s flood insurance program remains available and affordable for all New Yorkers.” “Flood insurance is a key component of risk management and works in concert with other risk reduction measures, such as coastal protection and building upgrades,” added Daniel Zarrilli, director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency. “This new work will provide vital data and analysis to inform the city’s efforts to keep flood insurance available and affordable in our coastal neighborhoods and will help educate New Yorkers on the changes happening in the flood insurance marketplace.” “We want to encourage people to purchase flood insurance, understand their risks, and mitigate risk,” said Roy E. Wright, deputy associate administrator for mitigation at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “We look forward to reviewing New York City’s results and working toward our shared goals of affordable flood insurance and reducing the risks and consequences of flooding nationwide.” The three RFPs that are being released by the city, through the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), are: • Consumer education on flood risk, maps, and insurance (RFP released May 2)—The campaign aims to educate residents (especially those newly mapped into the floodplain) on exposure to flood risk, insurance policy coverage, and resources available for assistance. The competitive RFP seeks a consultant to run an educational campaign outlining these risks, changes to the flood map, and resulting impacts to residents. • Affordability study on multifamily flood insurance (RFP released May 6)—The study will assess the impacts of flood insurance on mixed use and multifamily buildings, which represent a significant portion of the city’s housing stock and reflect the unique urban challenges the city faces in addressing flood insurance requirements. The competitive RFP seeks a consultant to: 1) design a sampling approach to study buildings across a mix of types and attributes; 2) conduct a survey to get coverage, take-up, and premium data; and 3) engage with the insurance industry to get data on coverage to supplement the survey. • Affordability study on 1-4 family flood insurance (RFP to be released May 12)— The study will build upon prior city work to assess the impacts of flood insurance on 1-4 family homes. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the primary source of insurance for these homes, yet only 55 percent in the current FEMA floodplain have flood insurance, and—among those with federally-backed mortgages who are required to get flood insurance—only 65 percent do. The competitive RFP seeks a consultant to collect and analyze critical missing data (like addresslevel elevation), assess the economic impact of increased insurance rates on individuals and at-risk neighborhoods, and assess options to reduce risk for 1-4 family homes. “Storms such as Hurricane Sandy and last week’s rain further illustrate the toll that flooding can take on communities throughout New York City,” said Rep. Grace Meng. “I applaud Mayor de Blasio’s efforts to keep flood insurance affordable, and for seeking to better educate New Yorkers about the risks, coverage and resources associated with flooding.” “Affordable flood insurance is vital to preparing our city for future disasters and we must ensure families and homeowners impacted by Sandy are not hit again—this time by a flood of rising insurance premiums,” added Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez. “These studies will help ensure New Yorkers can obtain coverage at affordable premiums.” “This is an important step, which should bring greater predictability— especially for homeowners, as well as the city, as we push forward with rebuilding,” Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said. “Our neighborhoods need to be rebuilt in a smarter, safer, and more resilient manner, and the potential information from the study would further inform crucial decisions which must be made. The announcement of studies concerning flood insurance affordability and consumer education is a major step toward protecting residents from costly insurance premiums, which could ultimately force them from their communities.” “Hurricane Sandy was an abrupt wakeup call about the need for flood insurance,” said State Sen. Michael Gianaris. “The more affordable we can make flood insurance and the more education we can provide, the more we help people rebuild and prepare for the future.” “The risk of skyrocketing insurance rates is the dark cloud that still plagues our community,” said Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder. “Instead of waiting for the federal government to act, we must take a proactive approach and create a system that is sustainable and will provide the coverage and protection that our families need.” As noted, the announcement complements major ongoing investments by the city and its partners to start the process of protecting its 520 miles of coastline, including: • beach replenishment and dune construction, with more than 1.2 million cubic yards of sand added to Coney Island, Staten Island, and the Rockaways in the past year, and another 2.9 million cubic yards to be placed in the Rockaways in 2014; • improving drainage of lowlying neighborhoods by investing in the city’s Bluebelt natural storm water management system in Staten Island and Queens; and: example, the first of five planned sewer projects in Coney Island is under construction, and six storm sewer projects have advanced in Brooklyn near Fresh Creek. Furthermore, the city recently announced funding for $100 million in roadway and drainage upgrades in low-lying areas of the East Shore of Staten Island. These are just a few examples of the progress outlined in the April 2014 PlaNYC Progress Report, which details the city’s resiliency and sustainability efforts, and is available at www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030 downloads/pdf/140422_PlaNYCPReport_ FINAL_Web.pdf.
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