Remember Sandy? Developers don’t. According to Localize.city, twelve percent of New York apartments that are under contruction or have recently completed contruction are in flood zones.
The worst culprits are the new buildings in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Long Island City:
More than 3,500 new apartments have been built in flood-prone parts of Williamsburg and Greenpoint since Hurricane Sandy struck New York City in 2012, according to the real estate site Localize.city.
Development has since boomed in the area, with more than 3,590 units going up in northern Brooklyn and almost 2,000 in Long Island City, despite federal data that shows these neighborhoods are most likely to flood.
“At least one out of every eight new units expected to open in New York City over the next four years will sit in a serious flood zone,” Localize.city data scientist Idan Richman said. “Ninety-seven percent of the new buildings under construction in the floodplain are in areas that were inundated during Sandy.”
Analysts also noted, “In terms of sheer numbers of new units, three waterfront neighborhoods — Long Island City, Williamsburg and Greenpoint — have the lion’s share….”
Localize.city discovered 21,450 new units in areas deemed risky by FEMA in its 2015 Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map, and that almost half of new units will be situated in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Long Island City.
Of course, everybody knew this before the development began, but you can’t slow down “progress.” In fact, the plots that currently house The Greenpoint and Greenpoint Landing were flooded during Sandy. Ugh.
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