NOVEMBER 13, 2013

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MAYOR TO DISCUSS FINDINGS OF FLOODING TASK FORCE

Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo will hold a press conference on Monday, November 18 at 1 pm in Council Chambers at City Hall, 420 Broadway to discuss the recommendations of the Kingston Waterfront Flooding Task Force. “The task force’s work is a major step toward creating a secure prosperous waterfront and will help us develop programs and projects to ensure the vitality of the waterfront as well as the safety of residents and businesses,” Mayor Gallo said.

Mayor Gallo appointed the task force in December 2012 to study and recommend actions in response to the severe flooding on the Rondout and Hudson waterfront during storms Irene, Lee and Sandy. The task force was comprised of business, residential and institutional property owners in the flood-risk area, as well as city officials and representatives from other government agencies.

The task force was led by a consulting team from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Scenic Hudson and Catalysis Adaptation Partners. The City’s Conservation Advisory Council, the Office of Economic Development & Strategic Partnerships and Planning Department convened the community-driven process, which was facilitated by the Consensus Building Institute.

The group used and test-piloted a variety of tools to assess flooding risks and vulnerabilities, evaluate adaptation options, and prepare general and neighborhood-specific recommendations. The process was funded in part by the NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Whitney Foundation and Sean Eldridge.

“I applaud the task force members for their efforts and Mayor Gallo for his vision in initiating this process to proactively address the dangers posed by sea-level rise and increasing risk of extreme precipitation. DEC provided both funding and staff expertise to support this effort, and we are hopeful that more communities will look to Kingston as an example of visionary planning to meet climate change challenges,” said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens.

"Kingston, like other riverfront communities, depends on the Hudson River as a social, recreational and economic life-line. Scenic Hudson commends the City and the task force members for their groundbreaking work to identify real world solutions to guide the City's relationship with the river in the new era of sea level rise and storm surge. We were honored to be able to support the effort and look forward to collaborating in the future to implement the task force's recommendations," said Steve Rosenberg, Sr. Vice President, Scenic Hudson, Inc.

The report can be found here.

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