REMARKS
Councilman Chris Banks opens hearing on NYCHA weatherproofing and extreme weather preparedness
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3 min
Councilman Chris Banks, chair of the Committee on Public Housing, opens a hearing on NYCHA's efforts to weatherproof and prepare for extreme weather events. He emphasizes the importance of this issue in light of past events like Superstorm Sandy and more recent storms, highlighting the need for proactive measures to ensure the resilience of NYCHA buildings.
- The committee seeks information on NYCHA's work in upgrading and repairing buildings, both for recovery from past events and preparation for future ones.
- Concerns are raised about NYCHA's responsiveness to weather-related damages, such as flood damage and heating outages.
- The hearing will cover both traditional public housing and developments converted under the RAD/PACT program.
Chris Banks
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I'm calling this meeting to order.
0:00:36
Good morning, everyone.
0:00:37
I am councilman Chris Banks, the chair of the Committee on Public Housing, and I'm glad to be joined by my colleagues, now that they'll be here in a few.
0:00:48
The extreme weather is now a fact of life, and we must plan to prepare to keep us all safe.
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For New Yorkers, and especially NYCHA residents, this was particularly evidenced during the super storm during Superstorm Sandy, which caused untold devastation in our city and laid the bare the clear need for securing our infrastructure against the efforts of extreme weather.
0:01:13
100 of NYCHA developments across the city were impacted by Sandy, causing terrible damage to the homes and livelihoods of NYCHA residents.
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NYCHA received $3,000,000,000 in recovery funds after super storm stand Sandy.
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But more recent extreme weather events such as hurricane Ida, tropical storm Isaiah, have highlighted, the need to take proactive measures to ensure the weather resiliency of NYCHA buildings.
0:01:47
As such, this committee is interested in hearing about NYCHA's work in the upgrading, repairing its, buildings to to to better prepare future weather events, as well as the work that has been done to recover from the efforts of Superstorm Sandy Sandy.
0:02:06
We are also interested in learning about about the steps being taken to ready NYCHA's residents and buildings for future weather events that are likely to be more frequent, unpredictable, and greater in magnitude due to climate change.
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This includes NYCHA's residents residents in traditional public housing as well as developments that have been converted to the PAC RAD program.
0:02:30
I'm also I'm I'm also intent on and hearing about NYCHA's responsiveness, in the event of weather related damages, especially as I have heard many complaints from my constituents on incidents like flood damage, heating outages, going unaddressed for far too long before NYCHA's is able to successfully remediate this situation.
0:02:57
The hearing will be an important opportunity to take stock of what NYCHA has accomplished thus far and rather rather weatherizing its buildings as well as, what more they could be doing now into into the future.
0:03:13
I look forward to hearing from everyone gathered here today on the various aspects making up this, precedent and pressing issue.
0:03:22
I would like to thank my staff, Michael, along with, public housing staff, Jose, Connor, Sierra, Dan, Nicholas, Reese, and Charles for all the work they've put into this hearing.
0:03:37
We will, first hear from the pre panel made up of NYCHA residents, and, we'll have them come on up.
