One Brooklyn
March 16, 2021
Brooklyn, NY – Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams amplified a recommendation on a proposed Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) application by the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) to improve flood resiliency measures throughout Brooklyn’s coastal areas. Small homes from Red Hook in and extending from Sea Gate/Coney Island to Spring Creek, including other southern Brooklyn neighborhoods such as much of Brighton, Gerritsen, Manhattan, and Plumb beaches; Canarsie; Mill Basin, and Sheepshead Bay, would be most affected. Noting the financial duress many Brooklynites continue to face during the COVID-19 pandemic, Borough President Adams in his recommendation urges the City to provide financial assistance to homeowners with properties in flood zones, to defray the costs of affording mandatory flood insurance or funding resiliency improvements to their properties.
“We know that climate change will make coastal flooding events more frequent and severe, and that areas like Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach, Canarsie, and others are at particular risk. At the same time, the cost of flood insurance premiums or resiliency measures can be prohibitively expensive for some homeowners, who might be forced to dip into their savings, refinance their mortgages, or take out a loan just to cover the exorbitant expense. So many families are facing a financially precarious future due to COVID-19 and the accompanying economic fallout, and I believe it would be unfair to add to their burden. That’s why any change to the zoning in these areas must be coupled with a commitment by the City to provide assistance to homeowners residing in flood zones,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
On January 5, 2021, the Brooklyn Borough Board adopted a resolution regarding Zoning for Coastal Flooding Resiliency. The resolution called on the Administration and City Council to help those households that would otherwise be paying more than 30 percent of their household income on additional housing costs to pay for mandatory flood insurance, or alternative refinancing or secondary mortgages to fund the rebuilding or elevating of their homes, through the provision of financial assistance for homeowners to make such improvements. The assistance could take the form of low-cost loans, real estate tax abatements or exemptions, and other financial mechanisms. Households earning up to 250 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) would be eligible for such assistance. Borough President Adams echoed those calls in his recommendation to DCP.
Brooklynites who are interested in learning if they fall within the flood zone risk boundaries can visit this link for more information. The DCP vote will take place tomorrow.
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