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The 2012 Stories That Will Matter Most in 2013
We're not saying these are the best, worst, most popular, or happiest stories. But we think these 10 are the most likely to still be on our minds next year.
A Q&A on Post-Sandy Aid
FEMA. Occupy. SBA. The Brooklyn Recovery Fund. Red Cross. Rapid Repairs. Here are some quick facts about ways to get help after Hurricane Sandy.
Post-Sandy Canarsie: Help & Hold-Ups
Some residents say they've gotten help from FEMA and the mayor's office. But others wonder why disaster food stamps and other aid haven't arrived.
After Sandy: Waiting—Together—-in Gerritsen Beach
Federal and city agencies are on the scene in the close-knit and severely damaged community. But residents say they're still frustrated with how long it's taking to get help.
Institutions Hit Hard in Manhattan Beach
Hurricane Sandy's impact is often understood through the lens of homeowners or renters. In places like Manhattan Beach, schools and religious institutions are also picking up the pieces.
Everything Flows to Sea Gate
The comfortable seaside community on the western end of Coney Island suffered a lot of damage in the storm—from water that rushed in, then lingered.
Church Sees Aid Demand Taper—to 1,000 Families a Day
The Coney Island Gospel Assembly has become a hub for families seeking food and other aid after Sandy, which forced supermarkets to close in an area that already had high poverty.
Red Hook: Aid's Not Enough
Business owners in the hard-hit neighborhood say FEMA assistance is doing little to help firms reopen and rebuild. Some public housing residents say they're still not getting reliable power.
Shop-owners Seek 1-Stop Shopping for Sandy Relief
In Sheepshead Bay, government agencies are offering an array of assistance to storm-struck businesses. The question is whether owners in need can access the right aid in time to save their firms.
Hungry For Customers or Aid, Rockaways Businesses Struggle
By some estimates, two thirds of businesses on the peninsula are still closed after Hurricane Sandy. Some of those that are operating are suffering because their customer base has been displaced.
Warm-Water Fish Invade New York City's Waters
Fishers in Long Island Sound are seeing species that normally swim far to the south. Dramatically warmer waters are challenging both the fishing industry and the regulatory system that governs it.
Why the City's Flood Maps Got It Wrong
The city's evacuation zone maps used 2003 data. Some federal maps may have predicted a wider area of flooding. But scientists also made Sandy storm-surge predictions that were dwarfed when the tropical system rolled in.
After Flood, Brighton's Latinos Struggle in Shadows
A growing if largely invisible community hard-hit by Sandy faces a unique challenge: Undocumented immigrants must get help to fix illegal apartments.
Reeling Before the Storm, Rockaways Complex Eyes Rescue
Ocean Village lost power after Sandy. But danger and deprivation were nothing new to its 1,000-plus residents, who hope a new owner and $110 million in public financing change the tide.
Grassroots Groups Have Taken Over Sandy Relief
From Gerritsen to Coney, trusted local organizations and ad-hoc operations have stepped into a void left by overstretched city departments and low-profile federal agencies.
Bruised Yet Bustling, Brighton Goes On
In Brighton Beach, the normal patterns of life have returned amid piles of sand and the smell of rot.
Homeless Before Sandy, Uprooted By Storm
With stores closed and the subway shuttered, the shelters Dennis Williams usually counts on when the weather gets bad weren't an option.
Stripping Down Not For a Marathon, But For Sandy
Dozens of runners donated the clothing they would have abandoned at the starting line of the cancelled New York City Marathon to victims of the superstorm.
In Storm-Battered Coney, a Trickle of Relief Faces a Deluge of Damage
A quick look at Coney Island suggests the neighborhood weathered Sandy well—the Wonder Wheel is still standing, after all. But a look inside businesses or into the eyes of residents tells a different story.
Confused and Frustrated in Line for 'Obama Gas'
When the crowd in Crown Heights learned the free gas was made possible by FEMA , some laughed and chanted, "Obama gas! Obama gas!" But if time is money, the wait wasn't free.
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Rockaway Businesses Still Treading Water Post-Sandy - Jarrett Murphy
Some 60 percent were still closed four or five months after the storm, thanks to long-standing challenges of economics and geography that hampered an already difficult recovery.
City Limits Honored for Sandy, Hospitals Coverage - Jarrett Murphy
Congratulations to our two Ippies honorees, Ruth Ford and Batya Ungar-Sargon.
A Grassroots Plan for Surviving Superstorms - Jarrett Murphy
A coalition of environmental and community groups has put together their wish-list for how New York City, the Empire and Garden states and the federal government should implement the lessons of Sandy.
Sandy Surge Covered A Sixth of the City - Jarrett Murphy
And it affected more renters than homeowners, and a disproportionately high number of low-income people.
New York City Eyeing Wider Use of Biodiesel - Jack Curran
If you're in New York City as you read this, chances are you're being heated by oil that includes biodiesel. Soon, all city vehicles—and maybe private ones, too—might be mandated to use the same fuel.
Who Voted Against Sandy Funding? - Jarrett Murphy
One hundred seventy-nine Republicans and a lone Democrat did.
Reporter's Notebook: Red Hook - Candace Amos
Just minutes before we arrived, an elderly woman living on the second floor tumbled down the stairs, back first, after tripping over her cane while bringing groceries into her apartment.
City Closes Parks, Beaches Ahead of Storm - Jarrett Murphy
Not much rain is expected, but high winds will hit hurricane-weakened trees and push seawater toward areas eroded by Sandy.
Post-Sandy Housing Crisis: 4 Years Ago, NYC Asked 'What If?' - Jarrett Murphy
In 2008 the city solicited designs for temporary housing for 38,000 households uprooted from a coastal neighborhood by hurricane flooding. Now New York may confront a very similar, and very real, scenario.
Find Your Post-Sandy Voting Site - Jarrett Murphy
Dozens of polling sites across the boroughs have been relocated.
Photo Call: Sandy, Through Your Eyes - Jarrett Murphy
Send us your pictures of how the aftermath of Sandy looked in your neighborhood.
Why NYC Is So Vulnerable to Hurricanes - Jarrett Murphy
When you think cities and hurricanes, Miami gets the college football team and New Orleans the mixed drink, but New York City is considered unusually vulnerable.
City Limits Magazines’ Archive Now All Digital, Accessible - City Limits
With a grant from the New York Community Trust, our 36-year archive is now digital (and fully accessible for free) online.
National Reporting Project Finds Flaws in Brownfields Program - Jarrett Murphy
The EPA program is dogged by funding shortages and a lack of oversight that puts lower-income communities at a disadvantage in obtaining federal support, an investigation found.
Heart Attacks Are Biggest Threat to Firefighters - Jarrett Murphy
In the department's first line-of-duty death in more than two years, the FDNY lost a 17-year veteran to what appeared to be a heart attack at the scene of a warehouse fire in Brooklyn.
Hope for Relief from Flooding in Southeast Queens - Karen Loew
After months of pressure from residents of an area plagued by poor drainage and rising groundwater, the city recently announced a set of measures to keep Southeast Queens dry—or at least drier—this spring and summer.
Hope, Hesitation as Waste-to-Energy Gets New Look - Jarrett Murphy
Amid coverage of what Mayor Bloomberg said in his annual address about schools, cops and wages, the mayor's reference to a once-controversial notion—"the possibility of cleanly converting trash into renewable energy"—passed all but unnoticed.
Is NYC Going Solo on Solitary Confinement? - Jarrett Murphy
A report questions whether increasing the number of solitary cells in the city's jails is a wise move. Our weekly round-up of policy reports also looks at new findings on climate change, living wages and community colleges.
Survey: NYers Satisfied, But Some More than Others - Jarrett Murphy
The Municipal Arts Society's second annual survey finds that most New Yorkers like their city, their neighborhood and their public services. But happiness was tightly tied to annual income and borough of residence.
Energy Nonprofits Chilled by Obama Budget Move - Milesska Contreras
The White House wants to cut a weatherization program by billions, saying lower fuel costs justify the move. But nonprofits that do the insulation work fear for their clients—and their employees.
EVENTS
The Life-Work Balancing Act: Broadening the Conversation About Our Workplaces
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
05:30p - 08:00p
Justice For All: Appleseed at 20
Thursday, June 20, 2013
6:00p - 9:00p
Sacred Earth Community: An Interfaith Panel Exploring Economic and Environmental Sustainability
Sunday, June 23, 2013
2:00p - 4:00p
CONVERSATIONS/OPINONS
Soda Ban: Hate it Now, Love it Later
Like the smoking ban, the trans-fat ban and requirements to post calorie counts, Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to ban large sodas makes good sense but faces opposition. As with the others, this writer argues, good sense will eventually prevail.
Community Developers Must Help Green NYC
To both reach PlaNYC’s ambitious goals–and to exceed them in those in areas where PlaNYC fell short –community-based organizations must be essential partners.
NYC Needs Paid Sick Days, Not Lame Excuses
Thousands of New Yorkers face an impossible choice when they get sick: Go to work and get yourself and others sicker, or stay home and risk losing pay or your post.
Feds' Green Could Be Even Greener
Federal weatherization funding can be used to address not only the energy efficiency of buildings but also their financial sustainability, resident health and safety, all while upgrading green skills for workers.
Let's Streamline the Weatherization Process
While the establishment of programs like Green Jobs Green New York has certainly helped scale up programs that use weatherization to attack a set of urban ills, there remains work to be done.
MULTIMEDIA
Criminalizing Communities: NYPD Abuse of Vulnerable Populations
Report says NYPD tactics and attitudes unjustly target blacks, Latinos, gays, transgender people, vendors and sex workers.
Homes Underwater: Forebearance Alternatives for Sandy-Affected Homeowners
A report by Franklin Romeo and Jennifer Ching of (Queens Legal Services and Legal Services NYC) explores foreclosure risks in neighborhoods hit hard by Sandy and finds that some of the steps taken by banks in the wake of the storm "[create] a situation where a homeowner is likely to fall into a mortgage delinquency."
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CITY LIMITS EVENTS
Defining Brooklyn Launch
City Limits celebrates the launch of its March 2011 issue: Defining Brooklyn.The 35th Anniversary Celebration
City Limits celebrates its 35th Anniversary at BMCC in Tribeca.Brooklyn Bureau Launch
The Brooklyn Bureau launch as part of Social Media Week 2012.Tackling Poverty
The Tackling Poverty Series at Galapagos Art Space in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn.Tackling Poverty (Manhattan)
City Limits & the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness
