Public Hearing Information:

Friday, May 11, 2012

2:00 PM

Department of City Planning,  Spector Hall, 22 Reade Street, New York, NY

SWIM is preparing a comment letter focused on the following major concerns:

Gaps in reporting: There are SSMP initiatives not reported under any other plans.

SSMP milestones beyond 2010: There are several initiatives with milestone dates beyond 2010, as well as many initiatives that warrant updated milestones.

Geographic coverage: The SSMP is a plan for the whole city while the GI Plan is only for CSO areas and the PlaNYC is predominantly focused on the CSO areas as well.

Leadership and coordination role of the Office of the Long Term Planning and Sustainability: The OLTPS has been the lead agency in the implementation of the SSMP, which spans many different city agencies.  Such a role for the OLTPS should be preserved.

LL5 requires report and revision: The intent of the Law was to update the SSMP every four years because we understood the sustainable stormwater management to be an emerging field with new technologies and data.  2012 is the first year for the plan update and we believe an update is still relevant particularly given all the progress made by the City to date.

We are in favor of eliminating redundancy.  We also support the City agencies, particularly the OLTPS, wanting to focus their resources on implementing the projects.  However, we still believe the overlap between the SSMP and other plans are not complete and we think a simplified report that covers those not reported under other plans is still necessary.   We will post our comment letter as soon as it is finalized.  In the mean time, plan on attending the hearing or submit your own comment to the Commission!

You can send your comments to: ReportsandBoards@cityhall.nyc.gov

Adopted in 2009, the bylaw required the environmentally friendly roofs on residential, commercial and institutional buildings starting in 2010. Now, with the addition of industrial developments, all new buildings with a minimum Gross Floor Area of 2,000 square meters will be required to devote 20-60 percent of Available Roof Space to vegetation.”

Check out the full article here!

“One year after the release of Vision 2020: NYC Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, City Planning Commissioner Amanda M. Burden is expected to launch public review next week for revisions to New York City’s Waterfront Revitalization Program (WRP) that will advance the long-term sustainability goals and other priorities laid out in Vision 2020.

   The WRP is the City’s Coastal Zone Management Program, which guides agency reviews of projects proposed within the city’s mapped coastal zone to ensure that they balance numerous interests for the waterfront. Next week, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes, notably in the area of sustainability and climate resilience planning, interagency review of permitting to preserve and enhance maritime infrastructure, and support of the working waterfront.  

The plan will be referred for review by 48 affected community boards and all borough presidents and all borough boards. Next week, visit nyc.gov/WRP for more details on the proposed WRP revisions or for further information on the public review process.”

Who’s in the March S.W.I.M. SPOTLIGHT?

The NYC Empire Dragon Boat Team!

Women of the Empire Dragon Boat Team participate in the Oyster Project!

The women of the Empire Dragon Boat Team are an extraordinary group of cancer survivors, who have been plowing through NYC waterways and promoting active lifestyles since 2009.

They are in our S.W.I.M.spotlight for their recent participation in the Oyster Project; an effort initiated by the NY/NJ Baykeeper organization to rebuild NYC’s oyster reefs. To date, they have introduced 500 baby oysters to the Flushing Bay which will help sequester harmful toxins out of our waterways and enhance the overall health of the tidal ecosystem.

Not only is the Empire Dragon Boat Team committed to this important effort, they deserve the spotlight for being a remarkable support system that gives women who are recovering from cancer, an important physical outlet. In the literal sense, the Empire Dragon Boat Team helps women strength the muscles that are too often compromised by lumpectomies. And in many ways, rowing helps to strengthen the spirit of these women and enable them to continue the fight against cancer, one “stroke” at a time.

 Cheers to the Empire Dragon Boat Team who are in the S.W.I.M. spotlight for their inspiration and efforts towards bioremediation of the bay!

For more information on the women of the NYC Empire Dragon Boat Team check out their homepage here!

Leif Percifield of Parsons the New School of Design and Kate Zidar from Newtown Creek Alliance will be speaking about their CSO public notification projects. Leif will be presenting DontFlushMe, a project designed to encourage water conservation before and during CSO events. Kate is presenting Weather in the Watershed, a project to install weather stations on public sites to monitor rainfall and predict CSO activity.

Thursday March 22, 3:00 to 5:00PM
Hudson River Foundation
17 Battery Place, 9th Floor, New York, NY

Please RSVP to swimmablenyc@gmail.com - space is limited!

Now, it’s turning to schoolyards.

 The city’s Department of Environmental Protection is developing a plan with the Trust for Public Land, a national not-for-profit group, to build as many as 10 “green” playgrounds, designed to capture the first inch of rain in every storm—keeping the water from pouring into the city’s sewer system and inundating wastewater treatment plants.”

For the full article, click here!