In addition to
site visits, background research, best practices research, and the community
charrette, the studio also conducted an East Shore Community Survey. The survey was available during site visits,
distributed at the community charrette, and was available online for those who
could not attend.
The survey
asked residents the following questions:
1.
What neighborhood do you live in?
2.
What is your connection to the East Shore of Staten Island?
o Homeowner
o Renter
o Small business owner
o I work in the area
3.
In a scale from 1-5 (1 being least vulnerable and 5 being most
vulnerable) how vulnerable is your home
to flooding? ____
a.
Approximately how far are you from the
water front? _________________
4. Are you familiar with evacuation routes in your area?
o Yes
o No
5.
Did you evacuate during Sandy? (If not, please check ‘no,’ and skip to
question 6).
o Yes
o No
a.
If so, did you evacuate outside of
Staten Island?
o Yes
o No
b.
Where did you evacuate to?
o City run shelter
o Family/friend
o Other
o ___________________
.
c. What means of transportation did you
use to evacuate? _________________
6.
Would you evacuate in the event of
another hurricane?
o
Yes
o
No
7.
What is the extent of the damage to
your home? (Scale 1-5, 1=No Damage 5=Severely Damaged) ____
a. Describe the extent of your damages if you had them
___________________________________________________________________
8.
Did the Department of Buildings tag
your home?
o Yes
o No
a.
If yes, did you feel that it was tagged
correctly?
o Yes
o No
9.
If you were displaced from your home, how long
were you displaced for? ________
a.
If you are still displaced, what is
your current situation?
_______________________________________________________________
10.
Which of the following programs are you
familiar with? (select all that apply)
o Recreate New York Smart Home Buyout Program
o New York City’s Build it Back Program
o Loan and Grant Services for Small Business
11.
Do you feel well informed by City,
State, and Federal agencies involved in the repair/rebuilding process?
o Yes
o No
a.
If no, what could the government do to
keep you more informed? Please explain.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
12.
Are you interested in participating in
the Recreate New York Smart Home Buyout Program?
o Yes
o No
a.
If you are interested in the buyout
program, where are you located? __________
13.
What three changes, if any, does your
neighborhood need to make in order to respond better to flooding?
Survey Results:
The majority of survey respondents were residents of New
Dorp Beach. Over 80% were homeowners,
and on a scale of 1-5 rating how vulnerable respondents’ homes are to flooding
the average response was unsurprisingly a 4.7/5. Over 80% of respondents were familiar with
evacuation routes prior to Hurricane Sandy, but only just under half actually
evacuated for the hurricane. Of the 47%
that did evacuate, the majority stayed on Staten Island with a family member or
friend. Just over 80% would evacuate in
the event of another large storm or hurricane, which is a
surprisingly low percentage given the danger and devastation faced during
Sandy.
When asked to rate the level of damage to their homes on a
scale of 1-5, with 1 having no damage and 5 being severely damaged or
destroyed, the response average was a 4.2/5.
Descriptions of the damage and devastation respondents faced
were as follows:
“5 feet of water in house .. Everything was down
to ground zero. Floor walls electric all were under 5 feet of water. Everything
has to be gutted.”
“Six and a half feet of water on first floor,
ten feet around the house.”
“Water was 1 foot from the ceiling on the first
floor. All contents lost, home had to be gutted, electrical replaced.”
“Basement and first floor totaled.”
“Destroyed - nothing left.”
“House was condemned - red tag. House was
leaning with collapsed foundation.”
“2nd floor flooded.”
“All three floors were flooded.”
“Entire first floor and bungalow on property.”
“First floor fully damaged, second floor 70%
damaged.”
“Crawl space and whole first floor. Lost all my
personal property.”
“40 inches of water in a ranch style house, 2/3
to 3/4 of house very damaged.”
Just over
93% of respondents said their homes were tagged by the Department of Buildings,
85% of them felt that they were tagged correctly. The most disturbing statistic, given that
it’s been more than a year since Sandy hit, was that slightly over half of our
respondents are still displaced from their homes, some permanently so.
Most
respondents were aware of at least two of the City and State’s post Sandy
programs, but only about 30% felt well informed by city, state and federal
agencies after the hurricane. Some
suggestions for how communication from agencies could be improved were:
“Update on eligibility for government's
programs.”
“Federal, state and city should coordinate with
one another and make sure their employees/representatives receive comprehensive
training because depending on who you spoke with you a got a different answer
to the same question.”
“Hire the right people and direct them the right
way - experienced people with knowledge of the problems and issues in the
area.”
and…
“They could actually help.”
Not
surprisingly given the level of destruction and the risk associated with future
storms, 80% of the people who responded when asked about the buyout program
were indeed interested in being bought out.
The most common themes when asked what changes need to made to these
neighborhoods to better respond to future flooding were sea walls, berms,
increasing wetlands and coastal plantings, improved sewer infrastructure and
raising all homes to a safe height.
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