Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Roosevelt Island Hurricane Insurance?


Via Brownstoner, New York magazine has an article about insurance companies dropping home insurance coverage or raising fees on Brooklyn properties. According to the article:

“[The letter] alluded to Hurricane Katrina and said they’re unable to carry the risk of living in coastal areas,”
and
New York is certainly not immune to hurricanes. Ours is a coastal island city, and even if you’re a half-mile inland and can’t see the water, that’s a small distinction to a swirling storm a thousand miles wide.
Also,
According to the Climate Institute, a nonprofit environmental group, the city is “quite vulnerable” to hurricanes and nor’easters, thanks in part to “the area’s nearly 1,500 miles of coastline, and that four out of five boroughs are islands.”
How does this impact Roosevelt Island? We are certainly surrounded by water. I recall a Roosevelt Island Town Hall Meeting several years ago that included a presentation on flood protection insurance. The Main Street Wire has an article about preparation for a hurricane and briefly mentions the issue of insurance here.

3 comments :

RI 360 said...

The concern now is now whether Allstate and other carriers will begin dropping renters and coop coverage for their Roosevelt Island policy holders. Myself included. I'm glad you posted on this as I was thinking about it when I saw that piece. Now the hope is they, the carriers, see this and realize where we are and drop us.

RI 360 said...

Sorry last line should read "DONT see this"

Anonymous said...

I've been reading and thinking about emergency plans for the Island. Do we really have plans? If we do shouldn't we know what they are? For instance, starting with the Tram, do we have a real plan for rescue? Will the Fire Department be able to use ladders, do we have crane co's on call? Thw airlines will soon be subject to rules on how long they can kep passengers in planes on the tarmac? Do we have rules like that or can people be kept stranded indefinitely? What about flooding? What about the disabled? Can I find out?