By Madina Toure
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be hosting a public forum to obtain feedback from Rockaway residents for the long-delayed Rockaway Reformulation Study at the urging of state Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Ozone Park) and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).
At the forum, which will be held April 22, the Army Corps of Engineers plans to provide an update on the study, which will determine the solution for long-term erosion control and coastal protection projects along the Atlantic Coast, between East Rockaway Inlet, Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay. The study dates back to 2003.
The forum will consist of informational posters and a poster board session to engage residents in a conversation, said Chris Gardner, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers. Experts will be on hand to answer questions as well.
“We don’t have all the answers yet, but we want to go out and provide an update,” Gardner said. “We’ll be going out, providing an update, making ourselves available to chat with the public.”
Goldfeder said the study has been delayed over the last 10 to 12 years due to funding issues and “bureaucratic holdups.”
It was not until Hurricane Sandy occurred in 2012 that people began to realize that residents of Rockaway need better protections, Goldfeder said.
“The reformulation study has taken way too long and it’s about time the community gets a chance to weigh in on some of the protection options,” he said.
Although the study first started as a protective measure in the 1960s, it was reformulated by the state Department of Conservation in 2003 to become the current reformulation study. The study area includes the Rockaway Peninsula and the communities surrounding Jamaica Bay.
Since then it has faced numerous delays in funding and implementation. But Schumer secured full federal funding in the Sandy Supplemental Appropriation of 2013 to complete the reformulation study and construction of the preferred alternative.
The Army Corps has said it intends to provide public forums for residents to review suggested project alternatives, but meetings had not been scheduled since Hurricane Sandy struck, according to Goldfeder and Schumer.
The superstorm ravaged the Rockaways, especially Breezy Point and Belle Harbor, as well as Broad Channel. Some parts of southern Queens were hit hard as well.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced that it is in the process of reviewing flood damage claims filed by homeowners affected by the hurricane. Goldfeder has proposed a New York Flood Insurance Association that would hold private insurance companies accountable and remove FEMA from the process.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
