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Mayor Michael Bloomberg came to Fresh Meadows this week to announce the progress of the Flood Mitigation Task Force-a comprehensive program set up during his administration to address flooding in Queens following damaging downpours last summer.

“There is no one size fits all strategy that will fit all communities, but for the first time we have a plan including emergency response procedures,” Mayor Bloomberg said.
On the heels of last year’s floods, The Mayor’s office designed the task force to develop an emergency flood response plan, develop an outreach and education plan and create a storm water mitigation study area report.

Bloomberg came to the Queens Water Maintenance Yard on Fresh Meadow Lane to announce the progress the task force has made thus far. He was joined by the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations Jeffrey Kay, the Commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management Joe Bruno and DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd at the event, which also marked the beginning of flood season in New York City.

“Today’s very rainy weather reminds us that the next six months will be New York City’s flood season,” Bloomberg said.

He characterized the City’s emergency response to floods as “similar to the snow response plan,” and went on describe the coordinated response to flash floods that will be followed from now on. The objective of this part of the plan contains detailed protocols to lessen a flood’s effect on residents and destruction of property.

The Outreach and Education Plan aims to educate residents about the dangers of flooding. It encompasses the creation of outreach materials and the distribution of such information.

These educational materials are designed to empower residents to protect themselves and their property in the event of heavy rains. Towards this end, the Office of Emergency Management and Department of Environmental Protection have created a pamphlet available in eight languages advising New Yorkers of what to do before, during and after a severe flood.

Concerning the need for the comprehensive plan to address flooding in Queens and beyond, DEP commissioner Emily Lloyd praised the cooperation of several city agencies working toward the same goal.

“There were three enormous storms last year and they may have been a sign of climate change,” said Emily Lloyd, Commissioner of DEP. “We decided to create a new plan for future storms to get agencies to work together and have info exchange with the Office of Emergency Management.”
The third and last effort of the task force is the compilation of the Storm Water Mitigation Study Area report which was created to examine flood prone areas and develop mitigation strategies.

“The key to all plans is the operational planning and agencies getting together,” Bruno said. Bruno went on to mention specific measures that will be taken in the event a flood situation occurs.

After an inch of rain has fallen the emergency procedures go into effect with DEP holding crews over to work, The Department of Traffic being alerted and sanitation mobilizing to clear sewers that could contribute to a more severe situation.

However, all this planning amounts to a lot of hot air without action, as Mayor Bloomberg pointed out.
“It’s easy to have announcements, the difficult thing is delivering on them,” he said.