BY SEAN EGAN | For many Chelsea residents and business owners, Hurricane Sandy was an eye-opener to nearby dangers — and a wake-up call to prepare for future disasters. Now, through the work of the Department of City Planning (DCP) and the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), the city is fostering efforts to ensure that New Yorkers are more prepared than ever before for emergency situations. Through newly released studies and initiatives, as well as public presentations on resiliency, the city seems determined to educate its citizens on how to deal with storms, and their aftermath.
At a recent meeting of Community Board 4’s Chelsea Land Use Committee, DCP representatives presented the findings of an intensive study of West Chelsea, which examined the ways in which the area is vulnerable to flooding, and made preparedness recommendations. Representative Karolina Hall noted that this study was part of the Department’s larger Resilient Neighborhoods initiative, and that its findings (along with those of the other selected neighborhoods) could then be used as examples citywide.
Chelsea, as it turns out, is unique in many respects in terms of issues arisen by its flood vulnerability — the exact risk of which is outlined in a number of charts contained in the report. The kind of architecture found in the neighborhood (buildings that butt together, buildings with shallow foundations, row houses) make those structures more likely to be damaged in the event of a flood — especially since they are in an area that is more prone to flooding. Furthermore, special zoning districts and the age of the buildings can make it difficult to try to update infrastructure or retrofit buildings to conform to new flood-prevention techniques.
In addition, the West Chelsea area (from approximately 12th Ave. to 10th Ave., btw. W. 14th & W. 29th Sts., and Ninth to 10th Aves., btw. W. 14th & W. 18th Sts.) has an unusually high number of commercial use buildings, art galleries, and mixed-use buildings — making the challenges they face, and the solutions they can implement, different than other areas.
The report outlines a number of solutions, which residents/business owners can use to determine how to appropriately prepare for flooding in their building. There are two major ways to retrofit a building to resist flooding: dry floodproofing and wet floodproofing.
Wet floodproofing involves the installation of specialized vents, which allow water to permeate and exit a space freely (they can often be contained in AC units, or match décor). Dry floodproofing prevents water penetration entirely. One common method of this involves installing metallic, collapsible “flood shields” around a building. Elevating critical structures when possible is also advised.
Details about how and where, exactly, these measures can be applied to comply with building codes can be found in the guide, which Hall confirmed could be accessed online at the end of the presentation.
On Mon., May 23, a workshop was held jointly by DCP and SBS at the Pace Gallery (530 W. 25th St., btw. 10th & 11th Aves.) — an appropriate location for a session tailored to the unique issues that face owners of fine art galleries during floods. Amritha Mahesh from DCP took the floor to present their “Resilient Art Spaces” guide, whose creation was inspired by flood-prone West Chelsea having highest concentration of galleries in the city.
The steps Mahesh outlined included many common sense strategies to minimize damage and expedite recovery. She advised gallery owners to first and foremost identify what is most at risk, and most valuable, in their galleries. Beyond the obviously valuable art — which is recommended to be elevated, easily transportable during hurricane season, and to have secure storage facilities — Mahesh encouraged owners to make sure their computers and records were also secure, as they are crucial to day-to-day operations, as well as dealing with insurance companies post-flood (damaged documents were a common issue after Sandy).
She also urged owners to talk with their landlords about the kinds of insurance that apply to their buildings, and informed them about wet and dry floodproofing. The whole report can also be accessed online, through the aforementioned link.
The second part of the gathering was led by Benjamin Newman of SBS, delivering a presentation on the Department’s Business Continuity Plan, a kind of strategy guide designed to help small business owners (gallery owners included) prepare for worst-case-scenario situations, and allow them to get back on their feet as quickly as possible. A packet of worksheets that constituted the Continuity Plan was provided at the meeting, to help identify the specific needs unique to one’s business.
Firstly, Newman asked the assembled to consider the so-called “main activities” of one’s business — stuff required to operate — and write out the steps involved, to have in place in case of emergency. Other considerations flowed from this starting point, including constructing lists of important resources and ways to contact employees, vendors, and partners in the event of an emergency. Like Mahesh, he also stressed the need to protect important records, and advocated using cloud storage.
On the last, and most anticipated aspect of the presentation — insurance — Newman outlined the different forms it could take, and urged business owners to defer to their brokers and make sure they understand exactly what they’re being covered for before emergencies strike. “You get what you pay for, and what you pay for is in the fine print,” he asserted.
Click here for SBS prep resources, and click here to fill out your own continuity plan worksheets.
