NEWS & MEDIA

BY AIDAN GRAHAM

Southern Brooklyn is expecting a flood of cash!

New York State will soon spend big bucks to protect flood-prone communities in Brooklyn. The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery launched a multi-million dollar effort on April 23 to prevent power failures during future extreme weather events in low-rise New York City neighborhoods.

“With severe weather events becoming more frequent, we have to be prepared and ensure our first responders and essential facilities are prepared for power outages,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul at a press conference for the announcement. “These upgrades are part of our continued efforts to rebuild and address the needs of storm-damaged communities.”

Phase one of the three-part effort – officially named the Solar Power and Battery Backup Power Program – which was spawned in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene, will begin later this year with a $980,400 investment in community facilities in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Of those phase-one funds, $265,331 will be earmarked for upgrades to the Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance Corps in Southeast Brooklyn,

and $159,801 will be allocated to Birch Family Services residential facility in Canarsie, which provides supervised residential care for individuals with disabilities, according to the Governor’s office.

The cash will go toward retrofitting critical buildings in vulnerable communities with solar panel systems and energy storage units, which would provide access to electricity in the event of flooding, according to a representative with Solar One, a clean energy company tasked with carrying out the project.

“When Superstorm Sandy devastated the traditional power supply of New York City, hundreds of solar installations in the city could not be utilized because they did not have the ability to store energy,” said Angelica Ramdhari. “We are excited to provide reliable backup power to underserved, low-lying communities through solar power coupled with energy storage systems.”

Phase-two of the project will focus on improving the energy systems in four Brooklyn Public Library facilities, and phase-three will retrofit several more community facilities across southern Brooklyn, according to the project’s head.

“The Solar Power and Battery Backup Power Program embodies the overwhelming desire of NY Rising Community Reconstruction Planning Committees to apply lessons learned from recent storms and, in the process, to cultivate more sustainable communities that will benefit generations of New Yorkers to come,” said Emily Thompson.

By S. Rodriguez

The three-part effort will help flood-prone neighborhoods across NYC withstand future extreme weather events. The launch of the project was developed after the effects of superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

Phase one of the program, which is set to begin during the Fall of 2019, will invest more than $980,400 to equip four community facilities in Brooklyn and the Bronx with upgrades designed to ensure continuous access to power and maintain services in the event of an electrical grid failure.

“As part of our efforts to strengthen New York’s energy infrastructure and improve storm resiliency, we are investing in solar power and energy storage at key sites in flood-prone areas around the city,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “With extreme weather events becoming more frequent, we have to be prepared and ensure our first responders and essential facilities are prepared for power outages. These upgrades are part of our continued efforts to rebuild and address the needs of storm-damaged communities.”

Birch Family Services residential facility in Canarsie and Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance Corp in Flatlands will be the two Brooklyn community facilities with access to the power program. Throggs Neck Volunteer Ambulance Corp and the Villa Maria Academy in the Bronx will be the other two facilities.

“This especially resonates with me, having lived through Sandy. Lieutenant Governor said about seven years ago she didn’t think there would be an office like this, eight years ago we never even thought there was going to be a Hurricane Sandy. Nevertheless, Mother Nature caught up with us and I want to thank the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and the administration for not forgetting Brooklyn,” said Maisel. “I’m just happy to see go into effect and hopefully we never have to use it.”

The backup batteries will be powered by solar energy, which will be accessed from the solar panels provided by the GOSR’s program.

“When Superstorm Sandy devastated the traditional power supply of New York City, the hundreds of solar installations in the city could not be utilized because they did not have the ability to store energy. We are excited to provide reliable backup power to underserved, low-lying communities through solar power coupled with energy storage systems,” said Angelica Ramdhari, Director of Resilient Solar at Solar One.

Phase Two of the project will provide four Brooklyn Public Library sites with solar panels and battery backup. Phase Three will equip several more community facilities with solar panels and battery backup across Southern Brooklyn. No specific locations have been announced as of yet.

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FVAC was proud to host a press conference that announced the funding for a project to install solar panels and large capacity storage batteries at the Corps.
The ‘backside’ part of the work has been ongoing for a while, with Sal working with Solar1, a company that will do the necessary engineering and installation work.
The announcement today, attended by NYS Lt Governor Kathy Hockul, Councilman Alan Maisel and representatives from State Senator Persaud’s office, was coordinated by the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, which is providing the funding. This effort, started after Super Storm Sandy, aims to help vital neighborhood services maintain operations in the case of power failures or other disasters. FVAC is one of two VACs in the city to receive this type of system.
Representatives of the press (NY1 and News12) also attended, as well as our own Steve Solomonson, who took many great photos.
Thanks to the members who took the time to come down and help prepare the base for all the visitors (we had planned to be outdoors, but the rain caused a move to the Training Center):
Sal Caruso, Billy Engel, Rachel Freier, Rachel Halpert

 Photos by Steve Solomonson

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These Flatlands heroes seek helping hands.

Do-gooders who serve on an area ambulance team are looking for locals to join their ranks and help save their neighbors’ lives. Leaders of the Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance Corps are putting out a call for more emergency-medical technicians and dispatchers, roles that offer a glimpse at what a group spokesman called the exciting and challenging world of first responders.

“We’re especially looking for young people who want to get into a career of emergency services, and it’s a great stepping stone for that,” said Joe Auerbach. “It’s definitely an interesting career with a lot of challenges.”

The corps is looking for certified emergency-medical technicians and paramedics, as well as anyone over the age of 18 without previous training or experience willing to work as a dispatcher at their headquarters at the corner of Avenue N and Schenectady Avenue, according to Auerbach, a 34-year veteran of the crew.

The more than four-decade-old organization will also host emergency-medical technician classes in January for any locals looking to gain a life-saving skill set, he said.

The ambulances roam Flatlands as well as Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Marine Park, and areas surrounding Floyd Bennett Field, a region Auerbach said is generally bounded by Jamaica Bay, Ralph Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, and the cross-borough, freight-train train tracks between those two avenues.

The volunteers currently work mostly evening shifts from Sunday to Friday, and bringing just a handful more into the fold will go a long way to ensuring the crew is staffed at all times, according to the spokesman.

“If we get two or three people that will stay with the organization and commit to two or three shifts a month, that would be a lot,” he said.

The posts are not paid, but they offer several perks in addition to the priceless benefit of helping to save a life, Auerbach said.

“You get a lot of satisfaction, it’s a way to give back to the community, and you can pick up management skills along the way,” he said.

Anyone eager to join the Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance Corps can find out more information on its website at www.fvac.org or by calling (718) 338–0434.

Thank you to author Kevin Duggan for featuring our ambulance corps, and highlighting our need for more volunteers.

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 It has been a long standing Thanksgiving weekend tradition that

FVAC and New York Blood Center partner to run a Blood Drive.

The day was a success and for both NY Blood  Center &  FVAC

We  had many donations,  both Red and Green

Blood donations to stock the blood bank.

Money donations to help Fund FVAC.

Thank You to  the community who donated to both great causes .

If you are interested in donating blood Click Here

If you are interested in supporting FVAC  Click Here

Photos by Steve Solomonson

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By Todd Maisel Brooklyn Daily Eagle

A Mill Basin woman was injured last night after she said her vehicle was struck by an unknown car as she was traveling on Mill Avenue near Strickland Avenue in Mill Basin, causing her to go out of control and strike a parked SUV.

Police from the 63rd Precinct found the woman, in her 50’s with facial injuries, standing outside her 2017 Cadillac after it struck a parked Mercedes Benz SUV next to Lindower Park, forcing the Mercedes into a tree. The impact caused the fuel tank of the Mercedes Benz to rupture and spill gasoline into the street.

Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance crews treated the woman, who asked not to be identified, for facial injuries, but the injuries were not considered serious. She said she did not remember what kind of vehicle hit her as she drove along Mill Avenue to her home in Mill Basin and she complained of disorientation.

Both cars suffered severe damage from the impact. The crash was under investigation by the 63rd Precinct.

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