NEWSLETTER FOR JUNE--THANKS TO NATALIE GRANT!!
President’s Message
This month's Civic meeting will be held on Thursday, June 25th at 7 PM at the VFW Hall. It will be the last Civic meeting until September!
The 17th Road Park looks great after a beautification event last Monday. NYC Parks brought roses, plants, mulch and tools, along with workers, and local residents came out to volunteer their time and effort to bring some much needed "color" to our park. Also in attendance and helping out were the American Littoral Society's Restoration Corp's who were a big help in digging the dozens of pits for the plants. All told, over one hundred roses and daisy bushes were planted, along with a spruce tree. It has really "greened" up the park! Once the roses start to bloom it will really be an impressive site and the Civic Association wants to thank the new Parks Administrator for Rockaway and Broad Channel, Portia Dyrenforthe, for reaching out and organizing the event.
Speaking of "Green Events", the Civic Association will see a presentation by the National Parks Service on their plans for the North and South Gardens, at the Wildlife Refuge, now that they have received a $500,000 grant to improve these areas. The areas have been in need of attention for years with the invasive vines that have taken over much of the area. These vines kill off all of the natural vegetation and NPS will discuss their plans for removing these vines as well as their efforts to improve the experience in these areas with new plants and trees. Locals have been pushing the NPS to take a more active role in this area and we are pleased that the new Superintendent,Jennifer Neresian, has heard this request and is acting on it.
After disturbing reports, most notable in the 60 minutes series, of wide spread fraud in the National Flood Insurance Agency regarding Insurance companies INTENTIONALLY underpaying flood damaged residents for their damaged homes, FEMA has reopened all Flood Insurance Claims. Many residents are confused as to what this means for them or how to proceed if you feel that you were cheated by this massive scam. The Civic meeting will see a second presentation by William Kelly of the law firm McCarthy/Kelly. Mr. Kelly will give a background to the history on this fraud and the decision by FEMA to take this unprecedented step of re-opening all flood claims and will also give residents advice on how they can proceed. It is highly recommended that anyone who is convinced that they were affected by this fraud sit in and listen to this presentation.
Build it Back update - The critical "Special Regulations for Neighborhood Recovery Text Amendment" that this Civic Association was heavily involved in pushing for has passed the Planning Commission and has been sent to the City Council for adoption. This is a critical zoning change that will make it much easier for residents to rebuild or elevate particularly if your home does not conform to early city maps, ( i.e. Sanborn atlas maps), which had been creating huge delays. This text should resolve those issues and allow residents to move forward.
In addition Build it Back has released a deadline to ensure that all homeowners can move forward into a program pathway this year. Build it Back is setting a deadline for homeowners to complete their applications. By June 30, 2015:
• Applicants must submit all documents for eligibility determination; and
• Applicants pending a damage assessment must schedule one with Build it Back.
Build it Back states "we are currently reaching out to these applicants to notify them of the deadline. If they are interested in continuing, we will have field staff available throughout the month of June providing assistance and free counseling. We will also send out final notices to all homeowners currently marked as withdrawn (a population verified through our recent outreach campaign) to notify them that they will officially leave the program if they do not complete their applications by June 30."
A Build it Back Rep will be at the meeting for any questions.
Quote of the Month – “The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter..” -- Mark Twain
Respectfully submitted,
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