superpedestrian.com

Superpedestrian, Inc is a venture-backed company operating out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Our diverse team is developing lightweight electric vehicles with integrated online platforms, finding new ways to connect people with their environment. Founded in late 2012 by Assaf Biderman, Associate Director at MIT's SENSEable City Lab, Superpedestrian seeks to provide new forms of human-powered mobility for cities. Ultimately, our vision is to offer an improved quality of living to everybody.

The Copenhagen Wheel was initially developed at MIT's SENSEable City Lab as a research project, sponsored by the Mayor of Copenhagen. It has won multiple design awards and been reviewed in over 1,000 media publications, including BBC, Wired and the New York Times - not to mention a glamourous acting debut during a whole season of TV series Weeds. Most importantly, Superpedestrian has been receiving daily requests for pre-orders - over 14,000 messages to date.

ncfpd.umn.edu - April 4, 2014

Webinar - Community Resilience and Impacts of Interdependent Infrastructure Disruptions as Experienced from Hurricane Sandy (One hour long)

Presented By: 
Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H.
Chairman, Global Resilience Inititatives
Executive Director, Health Initiatives Foundation, Inc. 

Facilitated By:
John T. Hoffman, Col., USA, Ret.
Senior Research Fellow, National Center for Food Protection and Defense

Under the dynamic conditions of rapid climate change and broader global changes, resilience and sustainability are not being achieved through traditional emergency management and humanitarian approaches alone. While community-based resilience networks are now beginning to emerge in a race to stabilize New York City's coastal communities significantly impacted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, many impacted neighborhoods are still trending toward greater vulnerability plaguing recovery and preparedness for the next wave of potentially larger storms.

nyc.gov

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection offers a grant program for private property owners in combined sewer areas of New York City. The minimum requirement is to manage 1” of stormwater runoff from the contributing impervious area. If selected, DEP will provide funds for the design and construction of the green infrastructure system. Eligible projects include blue roofs, rain gardens, green roofs, porous pavement and rainwater harvesting on private property in combined sewer areas.

Private property owners in the combined sewer areas of all five boroughs of New York City are eligible to apply.   This year, for the first time, DEP will accept applications in both the spring and the fall, and applicants will have the opportunity to review conceptual ideas with DEP engineers prior to submitting their application.  More information on the program and the online application can be found on DEP’s website.   The fall due date is October 21, 2014.

Many of these old concrete pilings, which date back to the 1920s, will be demolished to make way for new pilings and a new Rockaway boardwalk. Construction on the first section from Beach 86th St. to Beach 97th St. starts this week. These pilings were the only signs left when Hurricane Sandy destroyed large sections of the Rockaway boardwalk in 2012.  Debbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News

Remnants of Hurricane Sandy ravaged boardwalk will be removed during construction

nydailynews.com - by Lisa L. Colangelo - April 21, 2014

Construction is slated to start this week to rebuild the Rockaway boardwalk from Beach 86th to Beach 97th Street — a stretch that was destroyed in 2012 by Hurricane Sandy.

Crews will fence off the area and start demolishing some of the concrete piles as early as Monday, and the first section could be completed by Memorial Day 2015, First Deputy Parks Commissioner Liam Kavanagh told The News.

“We’re trying to get the project done as quickly as possible,” said Kavanagh.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

nycedc.com

 

Submission Deadline - April 11, 2014 at 4:00 pm

New York City Economic Development Corporation (“NYCEDC”) is seeking qualified firms to construct boardwalks, dunes and other protective measures along 4.7 miles of shoreline in the Rockaways (the “Project”) through this supplemental Request for Qualifications (“SRFQ”). 

On September 23, 2013, NYCEDC issued a Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”) for the provision of construction contractor services for the Project.  This RFQ does NOT replace, cancel or otherwise modify the status of those prequalified contractors selected under the original RFQ. The purpose of this RFQ is to seek qualified contractors for additional trades and to increase the overall number of prequalified contractors for the Project.

submitted by Seth Golbey

On Tuesday, March 25^th from 5pm-8pm, and Saturday, March 29^th from 11am-2pm, we will be doing a citywide door knocking campaign to the Build It Back applicants who have been unresponsive to our numerous outreach attempts.  If these applicants do not reply to our requests, we cannot move their applications forward, which will prevent them from receiving Build It Back assistance.  This is why this outreach campaign is so important. 

Charlie Aidinoff from our office, is coordinating this outreach project.  If you and or your staff are able to provide volunteers for Tuesday, March 25^th and/or Saturday, March 29^th, please let Charlie know your availability so he can coordinate your outreach area(s).  Charlie can also be reached at 917-584-8950.

Thank you in advance for all your assistance with this outreach.

Andrew Olsen
Senior Advisor of Outreach, Brooklyn
Mayor's Housing Recovery Office
250 Broadway, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10007
(o) (212) 615-8069
(f) (212) 615-8328
***@***.***

                                            CLICK HERE - FAR ROCKAWAY RESILIENCE CENTER

                                              CLICK HERE - ROCKVILLE RESILIENCE CENTER

rebuildbydesign.org

Far Rockaway Resilience Center

The Resilience Center of mixed commercial uses, housing, and job training will shelter Rockaways residents in times of need. Satellites will retrofit existing multi-family housing units for inhabitants to shelter in place safely, with floodproof levels, raised community centers, and uninterruptible services.

Manuel Sanchez takes in the view of his flooded home and property on September 14, 2013 in La Salle, Colorado. Photographer: Marc Piscotty/Getty Images

businessweek.com- by James Rowley - March 4, 2014

The U.S. House passed legislation trimming premiums for government-sponsored flood insurance

The measure would limit premium increases to 18 percent per policy or 15 percent of an average of premiums in a particular flood zone.

The House bill, H.R. 3370, must be reconciled with legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate that House Republican leaders said would roll back too many of the 2012 law’s changes. The Senate bill is S. 1926.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Image: A fruit juice cafe in Road Town, Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. Many Caribbean islands are turning to sustainable energy. Photographs: Jenny Bates

theguardian.com - John Vidal - February 10th, 2014

Aruba in the southern Caribbean has 107,000 people, a lot of wind and sun and, until very recently, one very big problem. Despite the trade winds and sunshine, it was spending more than 16% of its economy on importing 6,500 barrels of diesel fuel a day to generate electricity. People were furious at the tripling of energy prices in 10 years and the resulting spiralling costs of imported water and food.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Credit: dakine kane/flickr

greentechmedia.com - by Bobby Magill - October 31, 2013

New York City’s Rockaway Peninsula took the brunt of Hurricane Sandy when the storm blew ashore a year ago, leaving the Rockaways in Queens devastated from flooding and 34,000 without electricity for weeks.

In the ensuing twelve months, the city has suggested many ways to make itself more able to withstand such storms. As part of New York City’s climate change response plan, “A Stronger, More Resilient New York,” issued earlier this year, one of the city’s suggestions to help the Rockaways survive the next hurricane is for the peninsula to become the site of a microgrid pilot project that will help keep the lights on at hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure during and after a storm.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)