LEARN FROM YOUR NEIGHBORS
Some folks in the city have been dealing with flooding for a long time, and have advice about what has helped them – from flood pumps to landlord negotiations. Earlier this year neighbors from across the city shared the advice you’ll find below.
- Check out what neighbors across the city have shared so far.
- Watch in-depth conversations from the October 2022 Sandy +10 conference reflecting on lessons learned since 2012.
- And, add your advice + experience here.
IMMEDIATE
PRE-STORM PREP
- Clear street drains before a storm
- Move cars from flood zone (some blocks within the neighborhood are MUCH worse than others)
- Don’t park on corners because they tend to flood.
- When we have rain events, try not to run your water, which adds more to our Combined Sewer System. Keep street drains clear of debris, and keep important things off the ground in low-lying areas.
- Keep valuables off the ground
- Evacuate. “I am in a flood zone. That is the only thing I would recommend to neighbors. There is NO solution when you choose to live in a flood zone.”
BIGGER INVESTMENTS
TO PREP YOUR HOME
- Individual homeowners have created more porous backyards, with gravel, drains, rain barrels, etc. to help catch and slowly disperse rainwater
- Adding sump pumps to basements, building French drains in the backyard, cleaning the roof drains to prevent leaf buildup, waterproofing exterior brick to prevent leakage.
- Seal street cellar door with tape.
- Use an inflatable door dam.
- Replace hot water infrastructure to be off the ground
- Preventive maintenance – reinforcing foundation, fixing leaky areas instead of having to fix later.
- Use metal shelving to store basement items off the ground
- Reinforce and waterproof the basement wall, install a drain in the yard linked to the sewer, install a french drain under the basement floor on the uphill side of the basement.
CITY INFRASTRUCTURE + RESILIENCE EFFORTS
- More bioswales!
- Fewer vehicles in our city to help the air quality and lessen climate impacts. Improve public transit.
- A sea wall with cisterns, duck bill drains, raising the road bed, and most of all rebuilding the Jamaica Bay wetlands.
- Natural storm resilience is best. Man made barriers are no solution. Wetlands, grasslands, mashes are 90% gone, developed, or filled in and this is the natural means in which NY has been inhabitable by first native people and ancestors. Since, developers have encroached and sprawling urban areas have compromised the ability to recover from storms.
- Upgrade NYC’s Sewer System Capacity
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