Water, water, everywhere

Irene Drenches City

Winds Just Bluster,

Nature Lends a Hand.

Mayor Back in Groove

Today we enjoy the calm after the storm. The sky is clear and we have a pleasant breeze. It is a perfect day to go outside and breathe air that is cleaner than usual. You can also leave your apartment windows open.

The contrast, of course, is with last week, when Hurricane Irene dropped millions of gallons of water over the Eastern Seaboard, starting with Puerto Rico, and heading north to Canada, finally dissipating over Quebec. Hurricanes have no regard for political boundaries. Landfalls slow them down but do not stop them.

Fortunately, Irene turned into a tropical storm as it approached New York City, and we were spared the worst of the winds, which would have inflicted enormous damage on property and probably would have killed many people, as tornadoes frequently do.

This column tends to view significant events, including natural disasters, in terms of their political effect, if any, and the competence of public agencies and officials in dealing with crisis.

In that regard the Bloomberg and the Cuomo administrations did very well. It is possible that the Mayor's good work was, in part, based on his determination to avoid another fiasco like the late December blizzard in 2010 which was not anticipated and not responded to promptly by city officials, some of whom were out of town. There is nothing wrong with the mayor's learning from that experience, and in fact it is a credit to him that he did.

There was one change in the lineup, Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith, who lived in Washington, D.C., and became, somewhat unfairly, the official scapegoat for all that went wrong in the city's response to the blizzard, was replaced by Cas Holloway, who had been Mayor Bloomberg's Commissioner of Environmental Protection. Holloway lives in Brooklyn Heights, and had served years in the mayor's office, and before that, in the Department of Parks & Recreation, a well-known incubator of young talent (e.g. Adrian Benepe, Ed Skyler and Bradley Tusk).

The city had the advantage of five days' notice that Hurricane Irene was headed our way, and used the time wisely to make arrangements as to how to deal with the approaching storm. The mass evacuation of nursing home residents turned out not to have been necessary, but anyone who remembers senior citizens drowning in their beds in New Orleans during Katrina did not want to see a repeat of that tragic scenario.

HISTORICAL CATASTROPHES

The death toll from Katrina was 1,836, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in the United States since the Johnstown, PA, flood in May 1889, where an estimated 2,200 people died, mostly by drowning. That tragedy was caused by the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam on Lake Conemaugh, which released twenty million tons of water which raced 14 miles downstream to reach Johnstown. The worst natural disaster in United States history was the Galveston flood of September 1900, which killed an estimated 8,000 people. The multiple attacks on 9-11-2001 killed nearly 3,000 people, but that was a man-made tragedy and not a natural disaster. Outside this country, the Haitian earthquake of January 2010 resulted in 316,000 deaths, more than a hundred times as many as died at the World Trade Center.

As of this afternoon, just one death in New York City has been attributed to the storm, which is the result of good luck, sound planning, and fine work by first responders. The men and women who worked to achieve this result deserve praise for their efforts. We hope they suffer no after-effects from their work.

This hurricane was extensively covered by the media, particularly television, which had great visuals of surging waves. Reporters and cameramen were placed in different neighborhoods and showed the extent of the flooding, which never seemed to be as deep as their descriptions. Winds are less visible on TV, but one could see reporters trying to stand up straight while they spoke, with gusts occasionally pushing them around.

Mayor Bloomberg had periodic press conferences to report on developments, which is what Mayor Giuliani did after the 9-11 terror attack. Governor Cuomo called out 2000 National Guard troops, deployed them in flooded areas, visited upstate counties, praised local officials and showed himself to be deeply involved, with State Operations Director Howard Glaser coordinating the state's response, where flash floods upstate endangered lives, with people trapped in motels by rising waters.

After 9/11, candidate Andrew Cuomo got into trouble for saying that all Governor Pataki did was hold Mayor Giuliani's coat. This year Governor Cuomo spoke wisely and to the point, telling what the state was doing, and saying nothing negative about anyone. By highlighting the hurricane's effect in Long Island and upstate counties in the Hudson valley, he avoided Mayor Bloomberg's turf and showed that he was ready for prime time. Good.

Even President Obama got into the act, speaking live for a few minutes at 5 p.m. Friday about federal assistance in the disaster area, and how all levels of government were working together. He also mentioned ways people could prepare for impending hurricanes. It was somewhat reassuring to know that he cared about us New Yorkers.

In another first for natural disasters, we received e-mails all day from miscellaneous elected officials, district leaders, city councilmembers and even one aspirant to a Queens Assembly seat, advising their constituents how to deal with the winds and the flood. These messages were harmless, and might even be helpful if one had no other source of information as to what to do in the event of a hurricane, or were watching TV for the first time.

These e-mailings were evidence of the maxim, "It's an ill wind that blows no good", because the raging hurricane provided an opportunity for the politicians to send mailings to their constituents at the expense of the State or City of New York. Watch for the next rainstorm, and see whether we are advised to carry umbrellas.

We defend the city from accusations of over-reacting, which were implicit in some questions from skeptics in the press. For the next hurricane, we can do fewer evacuations, but it is important periodically to test emergency management situations, and Irene was an excellent occasion to find out what works and what doesn't.

I think of the two men on the beach in Florida talking about what had brought them there. One man said he had a candy store which burned to the ground after a serious fire. The other fellow said that he had a clothing store, which had been blown away by a tornado. The first man expressed surprise, and asked his companion, "Tell me, how do you make a tornado?"

Since we cannot make tornadoes or hurricanes, we should use the ones that God sends us to learn all we can as to how to deal with them, and minimize the loss of life and property. It is not wrong for a disaster to be a test of public officials, they are elected in part to protect us, and a crisis gives them the chance to show what they can, or cannot do.

President Bush looking out the window of Air Force One flying over New Orleans after Katrina six years ago was not a helpful image, and his words on the ground to his FEMA chief, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," reverberated to his discomfort. It is remarkable what the elected class has learned since then.

We wish that hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and forest fires do not threaten our State. If they do come, we depend on our public officials to lead our response. There is also a great deal that individuals can do, and they should be more prepared for disasters than they are today.

We have lived for over a half century under the threat of weapons of mass destruction. With nuclear proliferation under way, with unstable regimes in some countries, and others led by psychotics, the world is a dangerous place, whether or not it is warming (and it probably is). The more people can do to provide practical protection for themselves and their families, the better their outcome may turn out to be, as my mother used to say, "if anything happens."

Live 19 Months Longer

Mayoral Bill Bans Smoking

In City Parks and Beaches

Mayor Bloomberg this afternoon signed a local law that would prohibit smoking in city parks and beaches.

The bill was approved by the City Council on February 2, twenty days ago. The Council vote was 36 in favor and 12 opposed. 3 members were excused. In the municipal legislature, that is considered a close vote on a controversial issue. On most questions put before the Council, fewer than a handful of members differ from the majority, which usually represents the views of the Speaker (Christine Quinn). Many bills are approved without dissent, any problems either having been resolved in committee or vanishing in thin air.

None of the naysayers on the Council appeared at the public hearing and signing ceremony, nor did any tobacco lobbyists or libertarians, although all were welcome to attend. Speaker Quinn was not present either, although she often attends hearings on legislation. She deserves credit for its passage, although she may not want to dwell on it. Nonetheless, some people will live longer because of this legislation.

Under the City Charter, a public hearing is required before the Mayor signs or vetoes a bill. As a result of the opponents' failure to show up, the hearing was more a pep rally for the bill than an argument over its merits. The mayor spoke first, followed by the two relevant commissioners, Dr. Thomas M. Farley of Health and Mental Health, and Adrian Benepe of Parks. Then came the lead sponsor of the bill, Councilmember Gale Brewer, followed by the chairs of the Health Committee, Maria del Carmen Arroyo, and the Parks Committee, Melissa Mark-Viverito.

The Council vote was as follows, for those of you who know some of them as individuals:

Yes: Quinn, Carmen Arroyo, Brewer, Cabrera, Chin, Comrie, Crowley, Dickens, Dromm, Eugene, Ferreras, Foster, Garodnick, Gennaro, Gentile, Gonzalez, Greenfield, James, Koo, Koppell, Koslowitz, Lappin, Levin, Mark-Viverito, Nelson, Recchia, Reyna, Rodriguez, Rose, Seabrook, Vacca, Vallone, Van Bramer, Vann, Weprin, Wills

No: Dilan, Fidler, Halloran, Ignizio, Jackson, Lander, Mealy, Mendez, Oddo, Sanders, Ulrich, Williams

Excused: Barron, Palma, Rivera

Four of the twelve No votes came from the five Republicans on the Council, with Peter Koo of Flushing the sole Republican supporter of the bill.

This blogger attended the hearing in support of the bill, but that was hardly necessary. The first local law to restrict smoking was adopted by the Council in 1988, although it had been introduced by a number of sponsors, including the Councilmember-at-large from Manhattan, more than five years earlier. It was written to complement the Clean Indoor Air Act which Assemblyman Pete Grannis carried for many years in the State Legislature until it passed in 1989. After thirty-two years in the Assembly, Grannis was appointed State Commissioner of Environmental Conservation, serving in the Spitzer and Paterson terms. He was recently appointed First Deputy Comptroller under Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

The principal argument for the bill is that it will prolong people's lives if they are not exposed to the toxic brew of second-hand smoke. That is smoke which has already passed through someone else’s respiratory tract and is being recycled just for you. It is now considered scientific fact that the tar and nicotine in smoke is poisonous, and especially damaging to children, asthmatics or people with weak lungs. Both Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Farley said smoking was the largest preventable cause of death in the City of New York, and presumably our city is not alone.

When this witness pointed out that smoking killed many more people than gunshot wounds (now simply listed as GSW by local hospitals), but deaths from smoking were quiet and often not reported on or attributed to tobacco, Mayor Bloomberg added that smoking deaths (often from lung cancer) were usually far more painful and prolonged than deaths from gunfire.

Commissioner Benepe spoke of park employees' unpleasant and repetitive labors of picking cigarette butts out of beach sand, where the smokers have hidden them for aesthetic reasons. A child (or even an adult) should be able to run his fingers through sand without having to deal with burnt tobacco, paper and ashes.

As to woodlands, how many acres of forest land out west have been destroyed by fires started by carelessly discarded cigarettes landing in piles of leaves and eventually setting them ablaze? Those fires kill people as well as animals.

Popular parks like Central Park contain rows of benches, and people sit in relative proximity. The closer people are to each other, the greater the likelihood of their involuntarily breathing someone else's second-hand smoke.

The new law will go into effect ninety days from today, which is May 23. Enforcement will be left to the Parks Enforcement Patrol, in addition to posted signs and social pressures, since it is not likely to be considered a police priority. That should not stop cops, at least, from issuing warnings to violators. Fines will start at $50, which is modest compared to the $115 cost of a ticket for double parking in much of Manhattan. The bill is not intended primarily as a revenue raiser, but as an effort at behavior modification.

Another bill dealing with the conduct of park users was the Leichter-Lehner Pooper Scooper Law of 1978, which requires dog owners (or walkers) to clean up after their pets poop in the park. People now carry plastic bags, which they deftly fill with their dogs' waste. Not everyone is compliant, but many people do obey the law, and the problem has been substantially reduced, at least in some neighborhoods.

The Clean Outdoor Air Act, as the Brewer bill might be called, will probably have a salutary effect on public health. The life expectancy of New Yorkers has increased by 19 months during the Bloomberg era, which is noted for public health initiatives (e.g. campaigns against salt, smoking and trans fats). There may be fewer guilty pleasures, but if cleaner air keeps you or a loved one from the ravages of lung cancer or other tobacco-related diseases, it is probably worth it.

DIGRESSION: If what you are looking for is assisted suicide, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was released in 2007 at the age of 78, but the rigid terms of his parole prevent him from treating senior citizens, the disabled, or advocating euthanasia. Kevorkian was allowed to run for Congress in Michigan, which he did in 2008, receiving 2.6% of the vote. Last year, he was portrayed in the HBO film "You Don't Know Jack" by Al Pacino, who won Golden Globe and Emmy awards for his portrayal of the beleaguered physician. When you smoke, you are doing to yourself what Dr. Kevorkian is now forbidden to do. END

In reality, other measures to influence behavior, originally regarded as unenforceable, have had success. The requirement to wear seat belts in cars, helmets when riding motorcycles, the bans on cell-phone use while driving - all encountered skepticism but gradually gained public acceptance with the passage of time, public service announcements and the coming of age of a new generation. Some of these changes are works in progress.

The tired argument - "You can't change human behavior" - was used against laws prohibiting racism and promoting gay rights too. But persistent effort does result in behavioral change, not always and not completely. But if it saves lives and promotes public health and well being, it's worth trying, and to its credit, New York City has become a leader in public health.

Our last Health Commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden, is now head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a Federal agency based in Atlanta, GA. Mayor Bloomberg's first Housing Commissioner, Sean Donovan, is now secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. We have probably contributed more Federal officials than any other city except Chicago. Rule 10 - "I wonder why."