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New York Sea Grant Coastal Resilience Law Fellows Program

Flood Remediation in the Outer Boroughs of NYC
https://arcg.is/1DTzqq

The purpose of this guide is to help connect New Yorkers residing in the outer boroughs with the flood remediation resources available to them.





Canarsie Resilient - Mapping Resilience on Jamaica Bay
https://arcg.is/0K0zXz

The need for this story map, by Connor Atlas Lie-Spahn, New York Sea Grant 2020 Law and Policy Fellow, grew out of conversations with residents and activists in Canarsie, Brooklyn, about coastal resilience. 

A recurrent theme in these conversations was the use of publicly-owned outdoor spaces in Canarsie—spaces the community itself, ultimately, has the right, and the responsibility, to decide how to use. Community members consistently expressed that these publicly-held spaces are a key tool for resilience in the face of climate change, sea level rise, economic challenges, and, most recently, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But although these valuable lands are publicly held, a complex network of city, state, and federal agencies, statutes, and regulations governs them, making it difficult for community members to know how to exercise their rights. 

This required a streamlined, transparent source to access this otherwise scattered and incomplete information, helping to answer key questions necessary for community resilience actions: (1) What entities have jurisdictional authority over the lands? (2) What forms of resilience might this authority enable or disallow?

This story map brings together information about the agencies, statutes, and regulations in a straightforward and accessible format.





The Lower Scajaquada Creek - Empowering Communities Through Historical and Legal Analysis
https://arcg.is/04mCDi

This story map, by NYSG 2020 Law and Policy Fellow Nicholas Pistory, provides community members with an understanding of the history and laws that relate to the Scajaquada Creek area. The Scajaquada Creek is important because of its potential for revitalization. 

With recent revitalization along other waterways in Buffalo, such as the Buffalo River, the Scajaquada Creek could be the next location of local waterway revitalization. This project hopes to empower community members to have a voice in future projects that affect the Scajaquada Creek area. 

This story map has a few key focal points: (1) A history of the Scajaquada Creek; (2) A discussion of laws affecting the Scajaquada Creek - specifically, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, and the Buffalo Green Code; and, finally (3) A discussion of some of the past revitalization projects and potential for future projects along the Scajaquada Creek.