Shuttered Peninsula Hospital in Rockaway could be transformed into senior housing under one proposal by a non-profit group.  Debbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News

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

The shuttered Peninsula Hospital building has caught the eye of a nonprofit group that wants to transform it into housing for veterans and senior citizens.

But Rockaway residents, who haven’t given up hope the hospital will reopen as another medical facility, are wary of the plan.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

From: NYC OEM <***@***.***>
Date: January 22, 2014 at 2:09:24 PM CST
Subject: Update - Weather - Bitter Cold - Low Temperatures and Wind Chills (Citywide)

Wed Jan 22 14:57:45 2014 
STATUS: Open - Active 
PROGNOSIS: Monitoring 
Weather-Cold/Snow 
Citywide  1/21- 1/24

(OEM Weather Distribution List)

SYNOPSIS

Intensifying low pressure well south of long island will move farther out to sea through tonight as weak high pressure builds from the west.  A weakening Alberta Clipper will move through on Thursday . . . followed by a high pressure ridge building in through the end of the week.  Another Alberta Clipper low will pass late Saturday . . . reinforcing the cold air across the area.  Unsettled weather is possible during the beginning of next week. 

TEMPERATURES

Today: cold; high around 15°F with wind chill values as low as 13 below (-13°F); lows around 6°F with wind chill values as low as 5 to 10 below (-5°F to -10°F). 

Thursday: cold; highs in the lower 20s with wind chill values as low as 8 below (-8°F) in the morning; lows around 9°F with wind chill values as low as 8 below (-8°F) after midnight. 

Photo: Dennis Clark

nypost.com - by Susan Edelman - January 12, 2014

This principal runs a school of “no.”

Students at PS 106 in Far Rockaway, Queens, have gotten no math or reading and writing books for the rigorous Common Core curriculum, whistleblowers say.

The 234 kids get no gym or art classes. Instead, they watch movies every day.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Johanna Dominique in her apartment on the Rockaway Peninsula. A water stain that appeared when Hurricane Sandy hit, persists across her repaired ceiling. Ángel Franco/The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Sarah Maslin Nir - January 13, 2014

The buildings are offset by the Atlantic, a pastiche of warm tones and cool grays, jutting balconies overlooking tranquil landscaped gardens and million-dollar views. The apartment complex is in the Arverne section of the Rockaway Peninsula; it looks as if it could be Boca Raton, Fla.

But in this cluster of buildings, looks are often deceiving.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Projects Statewide to Strengthen New York’s Communities Against Extreme Weather

governor.ny.gov - Andrew M. Cuomo - Governor - January 7, 2014

insurancejournal.com - by Andrew G. Simpson - January 7, 2014

The U.S. Senate is expected to take a key vote soon on a bill that would delay some of the flood insurance rate hikes triggered by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. . .

. . . The procedural vote on S.1846 was originally planned for Wednesday, but the Senate is still dealing with an extension of federal unemployment benefits, delaying consideration of the flood bill. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a major advocate for the bill, told USA Today that  “next week is more realistic” for any vote on the flood bill.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

nyc.gov

OEM OFFERS COLD WEATHER SAFETY TIPS

Seniors, infants, the homeless, and those with chronic medical conditions are at increased risk of health problems from the cold

January 2, 2014 — With a significant snow storm and temperatures expected to be dangerously cold beginning today through Saturday, the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene remind New Yorkers to protect themselves and help others who may be at increased risk of health problems. Homeless individuals not in shelters, people working outdoors, and those in homes or apartments with inadequate heat are most likely to be exposed to dangerous cold. Seniors, infants, people with chronic cardiovascular or lung conditions, people using alcohol or drugs and people with cognitive impairments such as from dementia, serious mental illness or developmental disability are at increased risk.

New Yorkers should take the following precautions: 

Watch how geothermal heat pumps heat and cool buildings by concentrating the naturally existing heat contained within the earth -- a clean, reliable, and renewable source of energy.

energy.gov - June 24, 2012

Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), sometimes referred to as GeoExchange, earth-coupled, ground-source, or water-source heat pumps, have been in use since the late 1940s. They use the constant temperature of the earth as the exchange medium instead of the outside air temperature. This allows the system to reach fairly high efficiencies (300% to 600%) on the coldest winter nights, compared to 175% to 250% for air-source heat pumps on cool days.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

bge.apogee.net

An open-loop, ground-water heat pump, uses a surface or underground water source (such as a lake, river, or well) as the heat source and sink. Well water designs are the most common and seem to be the most cost effective. The well supplies both domestic water and water for the heat pump. Approximately three gallons per minute of well water are needed per ton of cooling capacity.

Ground water source open-loop heat pumps use the same concept as the ground coupled units - for example, in the Midwest the temperature of the earth near the surface and the water in it (aquifer) is typically around 55°F. Water is taken from the ground or surface water (pond, lake, etc.), circulated to the individual heat pumps and the returned to the ground via a disposal well, returned to the lake or pond, or where permitted discharged into a stream or river.

When more units are heating than cooling the circulating water temperature drops prior to disposal. Conversely, when more units are cooling than heating, the circulating water is warmed prior to disposal.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

gigaom.com - by Kevin C. Tofel - November 7, 2012

After 4 days without power thanks to Hurricane Sandy, something arrived today that will help keep my mobile devices fully charged and connected to the web. I backed a Fenix ReadySet on Kickstarter, which is a large battery that charges with an included solar panel.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

http://www.fenixintl.com/

Areas that are expected to be in a 100-year flood zone in the 2020s and 2050s as sea levels rise from global warming, according to new projections by the NYPCC

The city's climate adaptation projects should be devised to handle conditions far worse than even the most severe sea level rise estimates, scientists say.

insideclimatenews.org - by Katherine Bagley and Maria Gallucci- June 20, 2013

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to protect New York City from future superstorm Sandys and other climate-related threats is the most ambitious and scientifically accurate plan of its kind in the world. But as global warming intensifies and sea levels rise, even this strategy may not be enough to flood-proof the city for very long, experts say.

The new map could put twice as many homes in the flood zone and raise premiums for many homeowners.

propublica.org - by Al Shaw - June 12, 2013

. . . while Sandy’s water has long receded and the bulldozers have left, a residual effect for homeowners along the city’s coastline still lurks quietly beneath the surface. It comes in the form of a July 2012 law called the Biggert-Waters Act, which will end subsidized rates for property owners who are remapped into more severe flood zones, increasing their flood insurance premiums 20 percent a year until they reach market rates, and will apply those higher rates for newly purchased property.

The potential increases, which proponents say are necessary to sustain the National Flood Insurance Program, are not widely understood by residents, and may be catching them unprepared.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Biggert-Waters Act - Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012