Technical Memo Outline

Rising Sea Levels and Their Effects on Housing and Relief in Queens

Maureen B. Nelson 

Department of English, City College of New York

ENGL 21003: Writing for the Sciences

Professor Caitlin Geoghan

April 13, 2022

  1. What is the issue and the problem?
    1. The sea levels are rising in NYC, especially in Rockaway/Broad Channel and the South

Queens region

  1. Global warming
    1. Climate change-related issues 
      1. More rain 
      1. More hurricanes
      1. Glaziers melting 
      1. Warmer earth
      1. Flooding 
    1. Rising sea levels= decrease in buying houses in the area
      1. More flooding due to global warming 
        1. Price of housing increase 
        1. Moving in decrease 
      1. Government should take better action
        1. More protective measures 
        1. Prevention focus because we know how global warming is affecting us 
  2. Why is this issue important?
    1. Bring light on an issue not discussed enough. Explaining the real impact of how the rising sea levels affect local NYC communities.  
      1. Housing data
        1. Decrease – Increases relationship in housing sales and moving on a scale of hurricanes and flooding.  
  3. Demographics of area and storm history
    1. Describe how the region is surrounded by water
    1. Hurricanes before and after 
    1. Black → White → Hispanic 
  4. A deep dive 
    1. Rising sea level
      1. More flooding
        1. Rain 
        1. Hurricane 
        1. Low land level 
      1. Not enough preventative measures 
        1. Government has the fund to help 
        1. Areas need more barriers and resources 
        1. More systems, departments, or policies to help those affected 
        1. More community outreach 
    1. Housing 
      1. It is decreasing since Hurricane Sandy  (a) Fewer people are moving into the area 

(b) Avoiding flooding maybe?

  • Housing prices are increasing 
    • The different types of housing available in the area
      • Single-family
      • Double homes
      • Condos
      • Apartments 
      • POCs and low-income people are affected 
        • They’re lived in the area for a while but now they must pay more than they’re making 
    • Local ecosystems are being affected by rising sea levels
      • Organisms along the coast and other preservation places are being affected 
        • Fluctuations of sea levels and climate change 
  • Health Concerns for the Community
    • Low Income and POC people 
      • Are not making as much money and must pay more for housing 
        • Takes money away from getting repairs from damages from climate changes i.e.

hurricanes, flooding

  • What is the water doing to the people
    • People could drown
      • Flood waters can carry diseases or organisms foreign to the area 
  • Summary and Conclusion
    • Rising sea levels = decrease in housing 
      • POC and low income in Rockaway/Broad Chanel pay more
        • Affects them being about to stay
        • Easy to leave harder to stay because of potential damages due to rising sea levels
    • The government is not doing enough
      • Reallocate the money to where it counts
        • Too many homes are damaged or lost. Put up barriers or something to reduce flooding
        • Trust the science. They know what global warming is and how it affects communities. So do something about it 
      • Listen to the community
        • Have townhalls and find out what the people need
          • Look into the increase in housing 
          • Maybe more insurance policies should be made available for damage repair (b) Have more resources in place so that they can also help themselves 
  • Appendix 
    • Figures
      • Map 
      • Figures from research
    • Tables
      • Demographic hubbub
      • Community health profile for Rockaway  

References

The best neighborhoods in Far Rockaway, NY by home value. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2022, from https://bestneighborhood.org/best-neighborhoods-far-rockaway-ny/ 

Binder, S. B., Baker, C. K., & Barile, J. P. (2015). Rebuild or relocate? resilience and postdisaster decision-making after Hurricane Sandy. American Journal of Community

Psychology, 56(1-2), 180–196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-015-9727-x 

Flooding leaves Queens businesses up the creek; Owners join with local politicians to call for investigation, long-term solution. (2007, August 20). Crain’s New York Business, 23(34),

25. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A167973091/BIC?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-

BIC&xid=14e7fc13

Gornitz, V., Couch, S., & Hartig, E. K. (2001). Impacts of sea level rise in the New York City metropolitan area. Global and Planetary Change, 32(1), 61–88.

https://doi.org/10.1016/s0921-8181(01)00150-3

Guclu, H., Kumar, S., Galloway, D., Krauland, M., Sood, R., Bocour, A., Hershey, T. B., van Nostrand, E., & Potter, M. (2016). An agent-based model for addressing the impact of a disaster on access to Primary Care Services. Disaster Medicine and Public Health

Preparedness, 10(3), 386–393. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2016.44 

National Geographic Risings – NY Sea Grant | Welcome. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://seagrant.sunysb.edu/media/sandy12/NationalGeographic-RisingSeas0613-

Web.pdf 

New York neighborhood data profiles. NYU Furman Center. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://furmancenter.org/neighborhoods/ 

New York City Community Health Profiles. Community Health Profiles – NYC Health. (2018). Retrieved May 16, 2022, from https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/data/datapublications/profiles.page#qn 

NYC communities battle flooding. Danielle Cruz’s Portfolio. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://danielle-cruz.format.com/nyc-communities-battle-flooding 

Ortega, F., & Taṣpınar, S. (2018). Rising sea levels and sinking property values: Hurricane Sandy and New York’s housing market. Journal of Urban Economics, 106, 81–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2018.06.005 

Polanco, H. (n.d.). Observation of saltwater marsh resiliency to sea level rise in Jamaica Bay,

Long Island’s oyster and Great South Bay: 1995 to 2020. CUNY Academic Works.

Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/780/  

Queens: The brand residents don’t buy. Queens The Brand Residents Don’t Buy RSS. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2022, from https://macaulay.cuny.edu/seminars/maskovsky10/articles/h/i/s/History_of_The_Rockaw ays_847d.html 

Rockaway/Broad Channel Neighborhood Profile. NYU Furman Center. (n.d.). Retrieved March

28, 2022, from https://furmancenter.org/neighborhoods/view/rockaway-broad-channel