![]() Richards wants the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to increase its catch basin maintenance cycle, especially in mapped flood zones. Returning to the theme of improved flood-control maintenance, Mr. Looking to the future, he vigorously rejects the vision of a New York retreating from its waterfront, instead, wanting its nearly 500-mile long shoreline to be made resilient and sustainable. Since he also sits on the City Council's Recovery/Resilience Committee, he expects to work on speeding up assistance for residents still hurting from their Sandy losses. #Donovan richards update#He authored a Sandy funding-tracker bill, with an informational update due in April 2014. And speaking about taking action on indoor air quality, could a bill to ban indoor residential smoking be in the offing?įurther, Council Member Richards wants to make sure that Sandy-recovery money is spent wisely, well and accountably. He also anticipates conducting oversight hearings on NYCHA's continued use of #6 heating oil, since it is exempt from the mandatory phase out of this dirtiest home heating energy source clearly, this has citywide implications. He intends to hold hearings to obtain air-monitoring results linked to these boilers but also expresses real concern that, at present, his district has only two such monitors. Richards is determined to cut the cost of this toll on the environmental justice communities in harm's way when Sandy came ashore. This means on-going temporary relief efforts could be adding to Sandy's human toll and Mr. The pollution from diesel-fired boilers harms both outdoor and indoor air quality and tiny diesel fuel particles get breathed deep into residents' lungs, posing added health risks. Richards energetically praised the PlaNYC A Stronger, More Resilient New York report issued in 2013 as a 430-page roadmap to creating urban systems for the entire City capable of meeting 21st century challenges.ĭelving deeper into the impacts of flooding and a climate-changed future that promises more severe storms, higher sea levels and inundation, the Council Member highlighted the air-pollution created by flooded boilers that have lead to siting "temporary" diesel-powered building boilers at New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) building complexes, three of them located in his district, still in use almost a year and a half after Sandy. In his assessment, the City could have had more infrastructure in place, knowing how vulnerable to flooding this part of town was. Richards, he emphasized seeing first-hand when Sandy hit just how ill-equipped local sewer and storm water controls were in low-lying southeast Queens, a neighborhood with chronic flooding problems. ![]() He spoke at length about how these concerns interface with the environmental and climate needs of the entire City now that he will be leading environmental legislative and oversight initiatives.Īs a perfect example of how district-level and citywide issues can interact for Mr. With his new citywide responsibilities, our discussion started at his plans for representing his southeast Queens constituents, with their Sandy recovery and resilient infrastructure needs along with their concerns about the health impacts of air pollution. ![]() I caught up with Council Member Richards in March to find out about his vision, the mission and a legislative agenda for his committee. Talk about being fast-forwarded into the center of urban climate change and resilience politics! In January 2014, his Council colleagues tapped him to become Chair of the Environmental Protection Committee. ![]() Shortly after Superstorm Sandy wreaked its havoc on New York, Donovan Richards won a special City Council election to represent the super-soaked residents of southeast Queens. Torchlight Meet Donovan Richards: NYC's New Environmental Protection Chairperson By: Nancy Anderson, Ph.D. ![]()
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