REVISED DRAFT Integrated Hurricane Sandy General Reevaluation Report and Environmental Impact Statement. Atlantic Coast of New York

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1 REVISED DRAFT Integrated Hurricane Sandy General Reevaluation Report and Environmental Impact Statement Atlantic Coast of New York East Rockaway Inlet to Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay Appendix G Public Engagement August 2018

2 Table of Contents 1.0 Notice of Intent Public Engagement Meetings Stakeholder Group Letters and Responses Agency Letters and Responses Public Comments... 7

3 1.0 Notice of Intent A Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for East Rockaway Inlet to Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay Reformulation Study was issued on April 2, 2015 in the Federal Register (Volume 80, Number 63). The NOI also invited public comment on the scope of the issues and alternatives to be addressed in the draft EIS. Input was received through public meetings with both oral and written comments being provided and written comments were also submitted and considered throughout the study process. 2.0 Public Engagement Meetings Two types of public engagement are required through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The study team must hold a NEPA Scoping meeting to obtain public input on the scope of the study and to help gather local expertise that can be woven into the study, as well a public meeting during the public review period of the Draft Integrated Report. During the public review period, the study team meets with stakeholders and members of the public to solicit comments on the Tentatively Selected Plan prior to the agency decision on whether or not to finalize the recommendation. The Rockaway study team held additional public meetings throughout the scoping process and the Feasibility Study. Local elected officials also facilitated a number of public meetings where they requested and obtained participation from the Rockaway study team members in order to further the public engagement on this study. NEPA Scoping Meetings NEPA scoping occurred between April and June Three NEPA scoping meetings were held. The first occurred on April 22, 2015 at the Knights of Columbus 333 Beach 90 th Street Rockaway Beach. The second was on April 29, 2015 at Floyd Bennett Field 50 Aviator Road (Ryan Visitor Center, Floyd Bennett Field). The final NEPA scoping meeting was held on June 24, 2015 at Challenge Prep Charter Academy, 704 Hartman Lane, Far Rockaway. Public Meetings There were seven public meetings held to obtain feedback on the alternatives under consideration. Originally, five were scheduled, but two additional ones were subsequently held. The original five took place on October 1 st, 5 th, 13 th, 20 th, and 25 th in 2016 and the two additional meeting took place on November 9 and 16, The Wednesday October 5,, 2016 meeting was held in Brooklyn at Kingsborough College, 2001 Oriental Blvd, Room C124, Brooklyn. 165 people attended and 23 comments were received after this meeting. The Thursday October 13, 2016 meeting was held in Rockaway Beach, at Knights of Columbus 333 Beach 90th Street Rockaway Beach. 77 people attended and 20 comments were submitted.

4 The Wednesday October 19, 2016 meeting was held in Queens, at Knights of Columbus Lefferts Blvd, South Ozone Park. Two people signed in and 5 comments were submitted. The Thursday October 20, 2016 meeting was held in Rockaway Park, PS 114, 400 Beach 135th Street. 120 people attended this meeting and 70 comments were received. The Tuesday October 25, 2016 meeting was held in Far Rockaway, Queens at Macedonia Baptist Church, 330 Beach 67th street, Arverne. 55 people attended and 19 comments were submitted. Two additional meetings were held on November 16, 2016 for the Jamaica Bay Task Force and on November 9, 2016 at CB 13. Some of the common concerns expressed during public scoping meetings included the sense of urgency to move forward to construction of a risk management feature. Some expressed concerns about the coordination among multiple agencies addressing CSRM issues. Other concerns included maintaining access to the water, preserving views, and balancing CSRM with environmental impacts. Specifically, there were some concerns on how public access would be handled in the project area. The public had concerns about Jamaica Bay flushing times (as in, how the water circulates within the bay and flushes pollutants out, as well as circulates oxygen within the bay). People were concerned about a potential bathtub effect if circulation were to be limited by a storm surge barrier. Other concerns centered around sea level rise and wildlife that inhabit Jamaica Bay. There was concern about internal flooding from the sewer system in front of homes since the water table is so high in some areas and the sewer relies on gravity drainage. Additionally, the length of the construction period and when it would commence were also concerns. The type of barrier and how high the seawalls would be along the interior of Jamaica bay were identified as concerns. Lastly, the effect that this project will have on flood insurance for homeowners was a concern. Many people asked for more groins between 123 Street and 149 Street.

5 3.0 Stakeholder Group Letters and Responses Stakeholder group letters received during the feasibility study were considered and incorporated into the study process, as appropriate. The full comments and written responses from USACE are under development and will be posted to the project website by September 14, Rockaway-Inlet-to-Rockaway-inlet-Rockaway-Beach/

6 4.0 Agency Letters and Responses Agency letters received during the feasibility study were considered and incorporated into the study process, as appropriate. The full comments and written responses from USACE are under development and will be posted to the project website by September 14, Rockaway-Inlet-to-Rockaway-inlet-Rockaway-Beach/

7 5.0 Public Comments Public comments received during the feasibility study were considered and incorporated into the study process, as appropriate. The full comments and written responses from USACE are under development and will be posted to the project website by September 14, Rockaway-Inlet-to-Rockaway-inlet-Rockaway-Beach/