Make Red Hook A Stronger, Healthier, More Resilient Neighborhood!
The Red Hook New York Rising Community Reconstruction Plan has been published, documenting the 8 month community driven resiliency planning process. Please take the time to read through it. We hope that this provides a foundation for the future transormation of Red Hook to a sustainable, resilient waterfront community.
***
Greetings Friends and Neighbors,
On Wednesday April 23rd Gita Nandan and Danelle Johnson and several other members of the Red Hook Committee of Governor Cuomo’s NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program attended the final Conference in Albany, NY. While there they presented two of Red Hook’s resiliency projects at the conference, and stole the show. Speaking to hundreds of attendees, representing 50 NYRCR Communities across New York State, Gita and Danelle shared Red Hook’s unique challenges and strengths, highlighting innovative approaches to improving the resiliency of the Red Hook Houses. Their presentation is in Part 2 of the conference videos, see link.
With the first phase of the NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program coming to an end, the Red Hook Planning Committee will be holding a final community engagement event to share with the community the contents of the Final Community Reconstruction Plan, the recommendations, and to discuss next steps for implementation.
***
Watch and share our videos!
First Public Meeting Video
Second Public Meeting Video,
created by the Digital Stewards of Red Hook Initiative
***
The final proposals for the Rebuilding by Design Competition were released and presented on April 3rd. You can see them here and read more about them here.
***
Two exciting announcements from the Governor’s office!
Red Hook Flood Protection: To protect the low-lying neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn, the State is developing a $200 million partnership with New York City to construct a comprehensive flood management system – the 1st of its kind in the nation – in the community.
Read more in the press release, here.
+
Governor Cuomo Announces a $210 Million Initial Capitalization to
Jump Start New York Green Bank that is in partnership with NYSERDA
(New York State Energy Research and Development Authority).
Its focus on climate change relates to our alternative energy issues for Red Hook as potential funding sources.
Read more in the press release, here.
For more information on the NY Green Bank initiative, please visit: http://www.governor.ny.gov/NYGreenBank
The NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program (CRP) is helping communities impacted by Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and Superstorm Sandy to rebuild and become more resilient through community-driven plans that consider current damage, future threats to community assets, and the community’s economic future. Funding made possible through Governor Cuomo has allocated $25 million to the 8-month process. Red Hook is one of 102 communities selected throughout the state. The ultimate goal of the process is to have a plan that lays the groundwork for identifying strategies, a time-table and implementable capital projects that will help transform Red Hook to a more sustainable neighborhood addressing the economy, the environment and our social fabric.
The success of this process is contingent on you, as a resident of Red Hook. Such deep transformation takes hard work, and requires all of us to roll up our sleeves and come together and have a shared vision. We hope that as a resident of Red Hook you will participate, provide your input and engage in the process.
Red Hook will be receiving Community Block Development Grant funding towards a capital project(s). One of the immediate outcomes of this process will be to identify what capital project is appropriate, and has the most impact for our community to support the Community Reconstruction Plan. While $3 million has been allocated, there is potential additional funding to be sought after. The vision is that this plan also have much greater and wider goals than the allocated funding so that the community can work towards the goals of this plan cohesively.
The planning process will take us through a series of steps over an 8 month time frame, and will be led by a group of community planners, in conjunction with a Red Hook Community Committee.
The planning process is organized around these 7 stages :
1. organize team and process
2. map out the assets of Red Hook
3. determine the associated risk assessment
4. identify the needs and opportunities of the neighborhood
5. engage in a regional planning process
6. develop strategies for action and investment
7. complete the plan and identify potential capital projects for implementation that support the action steps
To understand more about the process and it’s goals, please see the following presentation and guidance document.
and websites :
http://stormrecovery.ny.gov/community-reconstruction-program
http://stormrecovery.ny.gov/nyrcr/community/red-hook
Please feel free to email redhookcrzp@gmail.com with any questions, and one of the co-chairs will get back to you.
Want to receive our monthly updates? Email redhookcrzp@gmail.com to be placed on the mailing list.
Red Hook NY Rising Community Reconstruction Planning Committee 
Dear RH Rising.
Thank you for holding the first Public meeting on 10-15. I look forward to strong consensus from the entire community for protection from storm surge (elevated greenways, flood-gates, sea-wall?) as well as re-engineered Combined Sewer Systems that will not get over-capacitated from heavy rain events.
Between the City, State and Federal entities, funding can be found which will protect Public Housing, the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, private business and our other assets from surge and rainwater events.
Please keep focused on the big picture: protecting the entire community.
I agree with Stephen – I want to understand if this is the program that will be working on implementing the SIRR report’s recommendations, if resiliency is the main objective. While resiliency in terms of community organization is important, storm water management and infrastructure protections are the community resources that require the most funded support. organizational work such as Ian Marvy mentioned, communication networks and peer-to-peer organizing and support can be accomplished with local collaboration and need not use up valuable monetary resources and consulting companies. Let’s use these funds to build up our hard structure resources, and volunteer and organize to help one another.
I fully agree with Tim and Stephen’s comments and hope that the meeting on 11/19 will be more focused as many neighbors have expressed confusion and lack of direction at the last community-wide meeting. As far as “assets” go, it isn’t clear why, for the relatively small foot-print Red Hook comprises , the focus would be on this or that relative asset such as the pool, Visitation Church or Fairway which are undeniable assets but no more so than the people who utilize them. While NYCHA, Port Authority, etc., are clearly in need of resiliency, Red Hook generally is the single asset which the SIRR plan has already addressed in the Brooklyn/Queens Waterfront Chapter. If NY Rising is meant to focus on other improvements/protections, I hope this will be made clear so that we have real direction as to how to offer constructive input. So, thank you for enabling us to offer this input towards the fortification of our community at large: An established, widely utilized and permanent informational hub to announce meetings, resources, emergency protocol, etc., would enable greater communication and input generally.
As long-time residents of Red Hook, over the course of thirty years, we have deeply experienced the changes that have occurred in our community. Following Superstorm Sandy, we have seen neighbors more than willing to remain in Red Hook by doggedly rebuilding. We have seen our businesses renovate, restore and and reopen, bringing back the vibrancy that evokes the spirit of our neighborhood. We have further witnessed new or planned residential construction that follows required elevation codes. All this means to us is that people truly want to live in Red Hook.
But in order for people to have a future here, we need a comfort zone – a level of defense that will ensure this future. It is our heart-felt belief that proposed coastal protection efforts can provide this sense of security. However, a basic band-aid plan would not be nearly sufficient to stem the tide! Isaura and Michael Horenstein Richards Street – emphatically – Red Hook
Dear RH Rising,
May I suggest some possible, obvious & basic, by no means complete, guidelines for Integrated Flood Protection [IFP]:
1. use of clean NYC harbor material so that FEMA does not consider that flood water is displaced.
2. that whatever is built is FEMA approvable / FEMA pre-approved.
3. the system can be built higher, at a later date, should that be necessary.
4. RH Rising to make a clear statement that it is understood that IFP requires NYC to properly maintain local CSO’s so storm surge does not flood through the Combined Sewer System as well as to ensure that there is adequate drainage through existing CSS.
5. that IFP is fast-tracked as best as possible, so as to maintain the entire community and infrastructure of Red Hook, and by extension Brooklyn and NYC.
Thank you.
Thank you Stephen for your well thought out compiled list. This is a really good foundation to build upon. Does this mean that you are willing to be on the Coastal Protections Guidelines Sub-Committee? – Gita
Dear Gita,
Thank you for the invitation. I accept your offer.
Sincerely,
Stephen Kondaks