After the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, Miranda Massie searched online for the climate museum she thought she’d read about — the institution that could help her understand and reflect on what happened and move forward in community. Discovering this museum was a figment of her imagination, she decided to create it. [Read more…] about The Climate Museum Marks Ten Years
Hurricane Sandy
The Impacts of ‘Superstorm Sandy’
One of the most extreme examples highlighted in the New York State Comptroller’s recent report on the increase of severe weather, was the October 29, 2012 landfall of Hurricane Sandy.
Sandy is an example of how the impacts of climate change act as “threat magnifiers,” and in the case of Sandy produce unprecedented damage to infrastructure and economic disruption. [Read more…] about The Impacts of ‘Superstorm Sandy’
NY Severe Weather Events Increasing, Costs Soaring
A new report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found the frequency of severe weather in the state is growing, taking a toll on New York’s residents, property and economy.
“Extreme weather events are happening more and more often and inflicting financial and emotional stress on New Yorkers from loss of life to property destruction,” DiNapoli said. [Read more…] about NY Severe Weather Events Increasing, Costs Soaring
State Parks History In the New Millennium
Over the past 25 years New York State Parks saw great diversity in its leadership. Following the resignation of Orin Lehman in 1993, the agency spent 26 years with women leading the charge in preserving New York’s public lands.
At the start of this era, Commissioner Bernadette Castro was well into her tenure as the head of the agency, working to expand the park system’s footprint. In the mid-2000s, leadership would change several times with Commissioner Carol Ash assuming the role in 2006 and Commissioner Rose Harvey rising to the role just four years later. [Read more…] about State Parks History In the New Millennium
Coastal Green Infrastructure: The Staten Island Living Breakwaters Project
Living Breakwaters is a coastal green infrastructure project consisting of 2,400 linear feet of near-shore breakwaters — partially submerged structures built of stone and ecologically-enhanced concrete – currently being constructed off the southern coast of Staten Island.
The breakwaters are designed to reduce the impact of climate-intensified weather events on the low-lying coastal community of Tottenville, which experienced some of the most damaging waves in the region and tragic loss of life during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. [Read more…] about Coastal Green Infrastructure: The Staten Island Living Breakwaters Project
16 Storm Damaged Historic Sites Sharing $6.2M
Governor Cuomo announced more than $6.2 million in grant awards to help 16 historically significant properties repair severe damage from Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
The projects are the second round of funding under the program. Last year, more than $5 million was awarded to 14 historically significant properties that suffered severe damage from Superstorm Sandy. [Read more…] about 16 Storm Damaged Historic Sites Sharing $6.2M
Lessons From New York’s History of Resilience
The recent revival of “Evacuation Day” – November 25, 1783, the day British military forces left New York City at the end of the Revolution – is a reminder of New York City’s resilience. The city had been occupied for several years but soon after the British left and New Yorkers got control of their city, it began a recovery and remarkable upward trajectory.
“Resilience” is an often-used term these days. Andrew Zoli and Annmarie Healy’s 2012 book Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back summarized recent scholarship and help popularize the term. [Read more…] about Lessons From New York’s History of Resilience
Resilience and History: 2 Years After Superstorm Sandy
Since 2013 the Rockefeller Foundation has been celebrating its 100th Anniversary with a focus on resilience, a theme devised to match its mission of global engagement with big problems. Judith Rodin, the president of Rockefeller Foundation has even found time to write a whole book, The Resilience Dividend: Being Strong in a World Where Things Go Wrong. Mayor de Blasio has an Office of Resilience and Recovery run by Daniel Zarrilli, and New York has won a place in the 100 Resilient Cities Project which is trying to build stronger urban systems to resist catastrophes before they happen. But the waters are rising, and New York has been drenched again and again. Can human actions defy the cycle of damage and the predictions of future devastation proclaimed with every conference on climate change and disaster’s aftermath? [Read more…] about Resilience and History: 2 Years After Superstorm Sandy
CultureAID Connects NYC Orgs During Disasters
The recent two year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy serves as a reminder of how vulnerable cultural organizations can be when confronted by natural disasters.
CultureAID (Culture Active in Disasters) was established to keep New York City’s arts and cultural communities better connected in time of disaster – whether natural or manmade. The network is a volunteer-based communication system, designed to systematize messages about preparedness as well as recovery-related information and resources. [Read more…] about CultureAID Connects NYC Orgs During Disasters
Working the Waters: Maritime Culture of Long Island
Long Island Traditions will present “Working the Waters: Maritime Culture of Long Island” in collaboration with the NY Marine Trades Association “Tobay Boat Show” in Massapequa, New York on September 26 through September 28, 2014. “Working the Waters: Maritime Culture of Long Island” will present to the public first-hand accounts about the contemporary and historic traditions of commercial and recreational fishermen, the factors affecting these traditions and their future on Long Island in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and the decline of the bays.
The program is the culminating event of ongoing documentation by Long Island Traditions folklorist and executive director Nancy Solomon. Since 1987 Solomon has been documenting the culture and traditions of Long Island maritime tradition bearers, ranging from decoy carvers and driftwood painters to trap builders, boat model makers and net menders. [Read more…] about Working the Waters: Maritime Culture of Long Island
Cultural Groups Keep Helping After Sandy
When Hurricane Sandy hit New York, it revealed the constructive role cultural groups can play as community hubs and service providers, particularly in troubling times. Many cultural organizations responded to this terrible storm by helping out in ways big and small, from distributing emergency resources, to extending hours, to acting as gathering places where people could hear the news and plug in their cell phones. In doing so, these local libraries, museums, and cultural institutions showed their importance as community anchors at a time when New Yorkers needed it most.
At the same time, Sandy’s waters didn’t discriminate, and many cultural organizations across the city were affected: libraries lost collections, historic sites were compromised, and museums were forced to close their doors for extensive clean up. [Read more…] about Cultural Groups Keep Helping After Sandy
Volunteer Now For “I Love My Park Day” on May 4th
Volunteers can now sign up for the second annual “I Love My Park Day” on May 4th – a statewide effort to help clean up and beautify New York’s state parks and historical sites. At last year’s event, thousands of New Yorkers pitched in to paint, plant, clean, build, and make repairs across the state.
This year’s volunteer effort is especially important as many of our parks are still recovering from damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. New York’s parks are one of our state’s most treasured assets, and this event helps ensure that New Yorkers and visitors to our state can continue to enjoy and appreciate New York’s natural beauty. To find an event near you and sign up, click here.
Connecting History And Public Policy
Four recent developments remind us of the opportunities to tie history to other initiatives here in New York. Doing that successfully will continue to require leadership, persistence, and imagination.
*New York pride…and history? The New York State Economic Development Corporation is running ads in business journals to attract businesses to the state. The ads link to the Development Corporation’s Web Site. The ads say, among other things: [Read more…] about Connecting History And Public Policy
Sink or Swim? Post-Sandy Waterfront Restoration
[Read more…] about Sink or Swim? Post-Sandy Waterfront Restoration
Another Storm of the Century:
What Are Your Historical Responsibilities?
New York has been hit with another storm of the century (8 days, 2 hours, 25 minutes without power for me). I have lived through so many storms of the century that I must be challenging Methuselah for the longest-lived human being. Maybe it is time for the phrase “storm of the century” to be bid a not-so-fond farewell to be replaced by something more appropriate if less grandiose, like “storm of the year”! [Read more…] about Another Storm of the Century:
What Are Your Historical Responsibilities?
Sandy Update: The South Street Seaport Mess
As downtown Manhattan assesses damage, more specifics are being reported, especially in low-lying Zone A. The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY), which is running the South Street Seaport Museum ,says that the storm surge waters soaked drawers of metal type in the Bowne and Co., Stationers. [Read more…] about Sandy Update: The South Street Seaport Mess
Sandy Damage Along Historic Waterfront, Islands
Hurricane Sandy’s damage to historic areas was concentrated along the waterfronts, islands and harbor in the New York area. Information is quite sparse at present, since power is still lacking in many places, and officials have not made damage assessment tours. [Read more…] about Sandy Damage Along Historic Waterfront, Islands
Kathleen Hulser: Hurricane Sandy And The NYC Waterfront
As New Yorkers still struggle without power in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, it plunges us right into the heart of a discussion about the historic waterfront. Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Vision for the 21st Century, proclaimed in 2002, the crumbling infrastructure along the Manhattan and Brooklyn waterfront that once served the port of New York should be harnessed for a variety of development schemes. [Read more…] about Kathleen Hulser: Hurricane Sandy And The NYC Waterfront