Vandervoort Avenue in East Williamsburg during Hurricane Sandy

Federal officials have spent the last six weeks working with New York City officials to redraw maps and expand flood zones that haven’t been changed since 1983. And the boundaries have nowhere to go but farther inland. Last month, Mayor Bloomberg emphasized that two-thirds of the homes battered by Sandy were beyond evacuation zones, with neighborhoods that had never flooded before, such as Gerritsen Beach and East Williamsburg, seeing significant amounts of water…. [more]

Hurricane Irene may cause serious damage to New York City buildings, Bloomberg News reported, as it threatens to bring strong winds and surging floodwaters.

Irene could be “a once-in-a-lifetime event if it goes according to the forecast,” said Jim Rosenbluth, managing director for crisis management at Cushman & Wakefield. Basements and lower levels of buildings close to the shore “would absolutely be at risk,” he said.

Lower Manhattan will be particularly prone to flooding if it creates a storm surge that pushes through the Verrazano Narrows, said Frank Edwards of Colliers International. That could also result in flooding along the Brooklyn shore, he said…. [more]