Investigate the overlap of the revised FEMA floodplains and park scarcity in New York City and look to identify areas that can help mitigate each issue. The motivation for this project starts with New York State’s buyout program that is meant to target at risk homes for flooding and reclaim the land as open space. This open space can then be used for either parkland or as an extension of existing wetland restoration projects to increase both biodiversity and livability for residents.

1. Flooding, Public Parks, & Marshes
| Daniel Cazap | Paul Cho | Joe McLaughlin | Radu Stancut |
Christopher Tull
Spatial Analytics
Final Project
5.13.2015

2. In response to the unforeseen damages from Hurricane
Sandy, New York State announced a program pursuant to
which the State would purchase highly vulnerable properties,
tear down existing structures, and convert such properties
into permanent open space.
Resiliency Initiative

3. Can we create a tool to help
New York State find groupings
of “at risk” properties that
qualify for its Smart Home
Buyout Program?
Problem Statement

4. ● Program budget limited to $171 million
● Absence of data about individual housing units that sustained damage
● Real world constraints and externalities
(Resident consent, property proximity)
Constraints

5. NYC Floodplain
from ‘FEMA’
Building ‘Basemap’: Floodplain

6. Building Age
Lot Type
Land Usage
Number of Floors
Proximity Code
Owner
Before 1983
Waterfront, Island, or
Submerged
Vacancy
Detached Housing
One and Two Story Homes
+
City, State, Federal
Observed Attributes

7. Wetlands in New York State
from ‘National Wetlands Inventory’
Clip ‘Wetlands’ for
New York City
Building ‘Basemap’: Wetlands [Marshes]

8. Waterfront Parks
+ PAWS (Publicly Accessible Waterfront Spaces)
+ Parks
Building ‘Basemap’: Parks

9. Site Selection: Criteria
Identify high-risk properties:
● Far from existing parks
○ Provide recreation space
○ Improve park equity
● Near existing wetlands
○ Minimize habitat fragmentation
○ Promote species diversity
Lehtinen, R. M., Galatowitsch, S. M., & Tester, J. R. (1999). Consequences of habitat loss
and fragmentation for wetland amphibian assemblages.Wetlands, 19(1), 1-12.

10. Site Selection: Result
> 1700 ft. from a park
AND
< 1000 ft. from a wetland

11. Region of Interest:
Hamilton Beach, Queens
● High-risk, single-family
homes
● Next to existing wetland
● Relatively inexpensive
land ($26.6M based on
Zillow zestimates)

12. Constructed wetlands

13. Industrial Synergy?

14. Identified by Both Tools
Parks and Marshland Proximity Tool Factory Proximity Tool

15. Income Considerations

16. Density Considerations

17. Conclusions & Next Steps
➢ Floods are real and costly risks faced by many NY’ers; Paid for by all.
➢ Limited Green Space
➢ Marshes Mitigate Industrial Runoff
➢ An opportunity for synergy
➢ The real world is messier than this analysis, especially when dealing with people’s homes.

18. Thank you / Q & A