Int 1054-2013

Be it enacted by the Council as follows: Section 1. Chapter 1 of title 30 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 30-106 to read as follows: § 30-106 Community recovery plan. The commissioner shall develop or update, no later than December first, two thousand thirteen, a community recovery plan to be utilized before, during and after coastal storms and other severe weather and natural disaster events. Such plan shall specify steps that the office, along with relevant agencies and other partners, shall take in preparation for, during and immediately after such events. Such plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following features, provided that nothing herein shall be construed to interfere with the ability of agencies responding to an emergency to implement plans, modify plans, or take steps not described in any written plan, in a manner appropriate to circumstances particular to that emergency event: a. the establishment of community recovery directors and deputy recovery directors or other such similar positions for each of the five boroughs, where appropriate for the geographic impact of the emergency event, including: (1) the criteria for how such directors, deputies or other such similar positions are chosen; and (2) a description of the basic duties and responsibilities of such directors, deputies or other such similar positions including, but not limited to: the timing of deployment in the field following such events; how such director and deputies or other such similar positions will be responsible to act as the main points of contact for providing general services and fulfilling the most critical needs of individuals in impacted areas; how such director, deputies or other such similar positions will work with federal and state representatives to assist impacted individuals with access to emergency disaster benefits; and how such director, deputies or other such similar positions will work with community based organizations, service providers and volunteers in recovery assistance operations; b. a description of ways to leverage the participation of community based organizations, service providers, and volunteers with the goal of commencing a unified recovery assistance operation as rapidly as possible; c. a description of ways to leverage federal and state resources in an expedited manner to provide that resources from all levels of government become available as soon as practicable after such events take place; d. the creation of a uniform information sharing and distribution plan to be used by each community recovery director to properly inform residents, elected officials and the press about the services available through the community recovery director and his or her team on the ground, and ways to contact community recovery personnel; e. the establishment of field recovery offices in or near affected communities as soon as practicable after such events take place; f. a description of how the administrative and functional items necessary for immediate and successful operation of field recovery offices will be established; and g. an information dissemination strategy that identifies and utilizes major hubs and distribution centers, including partnering with non-city distribution sites, to share information about services available to clients, elected officials, and press, and that requires that to the extent practicable, all public communications, written or otherwise, are available in the most commonly spoken languages of affected communities. §2. This local law shall take effect immediately. RCC/CJG 7/16/2013 10:44pm 7/17/2013