SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS

START WITH ASSESSING THE RISK TO YOUR OWN PROPERTY/COMMUNITY

“It’s important to know that the number and cost of weather and climate disasters are increasing in the United States due to a combination of increased exposure [more assets at risk], vulnerability [where we build, how we build], and that climate change is increasing the frequency of some types of extremes that lead to billion-dollar disasters,” NOAA’s Adam Smith said.

“A lot of development has taken place in vulnerable areas along the coasts, the wildland urban interface or in river floodplains. 

Vulnerability is especially high where building codes are insufficient for reducing damage from extreme events. 

Better understanding of the risks for weather and climate-influenced hazards is becoming increasingly important.”

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS

START WITH ASSESSING THE RISK TO YOUR OWN PROPERTY/COMMUNITY

NOAA's Adam Smith acknowledges that adaptation investments in the billions can be intimidating both for taxpayers and the elected/appointed officials who spend their revenue. 

But doing nothing comes at a much more staggering cost.

“Studying where to raise and harden coastal infrastructure is an investment that will likely pay future dividends to the communities who benefit from such investments,” he said.

“In addition to Miami’s efforts, other cities including New York and Boston are working to elevate and harden coastal infrastructure to storms and sea level rise.”

Smith said it’s plausible that climate change may affect growth patterns in areas that are repeatedly impacted by costly events such as flooding or wildfires.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS

START WITH ASSESSING THE RISK TO YOUR OWN PROPERTY/COMMUNITY

Adam Smith, of NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, spoke at the summit. He encouraged individual homebuyers, sellers, builders and community leaders to understand the risk to their individual properties and the communities they live in.

“To counter the growing risk of flooding there is a proliferation of public- and private-sector research tools that can help pinpoint current and projected future flood risk. 

These tools are also at increasingly finer scales and many are free to help inform decisions and investments moving forward,” he said.

“2021 was another year in a series of years where we had a high frequency, high cost, and large diversity of extreme events that affect people’s lives and livelihoods. 

It is concerning because it hints that the high activity of recent years is becoming the new normal. 

However, we can reduce our exposure and vulnerabilities to some aspects of these extreme events with forethought and planning,” Smith said.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS

START WITH ASSESSING THE RISK TO YOUR OWN PROPERTY/COMMUNITY

Climate change is not limited to the coastal southeast, desert southwest or wildfire-prone west coast. 

Hurricanes landing farther north, snow bomb cyclones crushing the entire northeast, shoreline erosion and flooding along the Great Lakes, deadly power outages in Texas and other climate change-driven events make this a national problem.

Scientists, insurers, planners, economists, researchers, developers, think tanks, government agencies and professional associations — sometimes at odds over policy — are largely on the same page on climate change. 

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® shined a light on the impact on residential and commercial property during its Sustainability Summit in December 2021.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS

START WITH ASSESSING THE RISK TO YOUR OWN PROPERTY/COMMUNITY

Climate impact spans far beyond coastal areas.

Sustainability, resiliency, climate change, sea level rise, adaptation, infrastructure, hardening the system, storm events, frequent flooding, global warming, heat islands, drought, wildfires: 21st century life can be overwhelming.

The alphabet soup of scientific phrases can be off-putting and the doom and disaster predictions can encourage one to put down the antennas and let someone else worry about the issues.

Unfortunately, the impact of climate change — whether measured by danger to humans or negative impact on the economy in the tens of billions — cannot be ignored.

OUTDOOR LIFTS NEVER WORK

THESE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE FLORIDA –               

OR ANY OTHER STATE’S – BUILDING CODE

They require a key and it gets lost. 

They put people with disabilities at the mercy of a never answered call button. 

They create dependency and shame. 

This abomination is at a recently-opened luxury waterfront multifamily complex.

The location, close to transit, jobs and mixed-use, is ideal for people with disabilities.

But lazy architects, planners, building departments and more -- have made hundreds of units off limits to all people with disabilities.

Wheelchair users are fiercely independent—when they aren’t blocked by barriers.

A FILTHY, LOATHSOME POX ON AN OTHERWISE DIVERSE AND VIBRANT JACKSON HEIGHTS, QUEENS, NEW YORK

THE ELMHURST HOTEL HOSTS PROSTITUTION

AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE

Access to a train into Manhattan and points I was working in throughout Queens was a major factor in enduring the trash at the no-tell motel

I worried the whole time during that last half day in the city – and was shocked that the bag was in the closet upon my return.

For dealing with noise at all hours, cigarette stench, most electrical outlets broken, unsecure bag storage, entering my room against my clear wishes and above all else – the fear for safety from the overt, vulgar and constant prostitution – 

I am owed 50% of what I paid as a refund.

Booking.com Please send a secret shopper to this property. 

When you see it is more brothel than hotel, you will hopefully stop doing business with it – so legitimate travelers, especially families with children, will NEVER be subjected to my experience.

When I escaped the hell hole that is the Elmhurst Hotel, I sent direct emails to: the Queens Borough President, New York City Councilmember for this district, two senior staff members of that councilmember and two senior police officers at the precinct in which the hotel is located.

My note was honest, earnest, brief and to the point.

To date, only the police precinct has pledged to look into my dire warning.

Disgracefully, none of the other leaders/professionals or their assistants have had the common courtesy to phone or email me to know they are lifting a finger to address this cesspool that will kill tourism and investment.