Developing a Community Hazard Mitigation Plan for Long Island City

New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) is the agency responsible for coordinating citywide emergency planning and response, including the development of NYC’s Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) which lists different events (emergencies, disasters, or hazards) that could harm the city and explains what City agencies are doing to reduce their impact. The Capstone Team worked with NYCEM to develop a neighborhood-specific HMP for Long Island City (LIC), Queens, identifying recommendations to mitigate future hazards. This work is critical because emergency preparedness and mitigation efforts within LIC are highly fragmented, leaving the neighborhood unnecessarily vulnerable to both natural and non-natural disasters.
The Capstone Team combined desktop research on best practices for hazard mitigation with stakeholder interviews and community input from residents, business owners, and neighborhood organizations, on LIC’s existing assets, needs, and opportunities. The Team utilized these insights, coupled with a geospatial hazard analysis to identify priority hazards; developed HMP recommendations, and local planning tools, including an asset map and process guide.
The final recommendations focused on communication and education; land use; infrastructure investment; and stakeholder coordination.