Hoboken to Hold Sandy Recovery Tour

(via press release—City of Hoboken)
Next Thursday, October 29, 2015 will mark the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy impacting the region and causing widespread flooding in the City of Hoboken. Hoboken residents are invited to attend a guided bus tour on Sunday, October 25 that will be led by Rebuild by Design Citizens Advisory Group co-chair Carter Craft and will feature experts discussing what happened three years ago and steps being taken to prevent another disaster, including a new flood pump, resiliency parks, and a $230 million flood resiliency plan. The free tour will take place from 1:30pm to 3:00pm, however space is limited so reservations are required. To RSVP and for additional details, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2412006.

“Whether it’s new parks that provide open space while soaking up stormwater, coastal protection that also improves access to the river, or a microgrid that will keep the lights on during all kinds of emergencies, we are creating a Hoboken that is not only more flood-resilient, but also a better place to live,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “I’m proud of how far we’ve come since Sandy, and I thank the City Council and our team  working on these efforts for moving these projects forward.”

This weekend, Mayor Dawn Zimmer will join a bipartisan group of more than 30 mayors and local officials to raise awareness that coastal flooding and sea level rise due to climate change demands more attention from leaders at all levels of government. She is part of a delegation of elected local leaders from coastal states attending the Rising Tides Summit in New Hampshire on October 23-25 to express concern over the rapidly increasing impacts of coastal flooding/sea level rise and ensure that national leaders are more responsive to the issue. With more than 123 million Americans living in coastal shoreline counties, sea level rise has become a national concern.

As part of the City of Hoboken’s post-Sandy resiliency efforts, the City has developed Resilient Buildings Design Guidelines, meant to simplify and consolidate information on building within Hoboken’s floodplain. This week, the New Jersey Association for Floodplain Management awarded the City of Hoboken the 2015 Outstanding Floodplain Management Award for the design guidelines, the first of its kind in New Jersey. For residents, the guidelines include recommendations on materials that are flood resistant and step-by-step guidance on how to receive approvals. For designers and builders, the guidelines provide a summarization of various codes and best practices to enhance Hoboken’s neighborhoods and reinforce a pedestrian friendly streetscape. The City Council will consider adopting the guidelines at tonight’s Council meeting.

The effort to develop the guidelines was spearheaded by Ann Holtzman, the City’s Flood Plain Administrator, along with consultant Princeton Hydro, which prepared the document, and Principal Planner Caleb Stratton, who managed the process.