The Queens Resilience Network works to strengthen the borough’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies and climate-related disasters. Convened by the NYC Preparedness & Recovery Institute (PRI) in partnership with the Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation (RDRC), the Network brings together organizations and leaders from across Queens to improve coordination and support locally driven preparedness and response efforts.
The Network is guided by a Steering Committee of nearly 30 Queens-based leaders representing community organizations, civic associations, public agencies, disaster-response groups, health and social service providers, cultural institutions, and business and economic development organizations. Through a series of planning workshops earlier this year, the Steering Committee helped establish the Network’s values and governance structure, developed and refined potential project ideas, and selected the activities that would receive PRI funding. The process was designed to ensure that PRI’s work in Queens is shaped by local leaders.
The Steering Committee ultimately selected two projects for implementation: Queens Rain Ready and the Queens Resource Map, or Q-Map. PRI is investing a total of $60,000 in these projects, with funding going to community organizations and technical partners responsible for carrying out the work. PRI is also providing student fellows to support the Network’s activities and the development of the Queens Stoop Index, which will help identify neighborhood strengths, gaps, and priorities and guide future resilience investments across the borough.
Queens Rain Ready
Queens Rain Ready is testing practical, community-led ways to reduce stormwater flooding in three Queens neighborhoods.
- Focus: Stormwater flood preparedness and neighborhood-level mitigation
- Where: Woodside, Kissena, and Hollis
- Who is involved: Woodside on the Move, Kissena Synergy, Southeast Queens Residents Environmental Justice Coalition, youth volunteers, and additional technical partners
- What the project will do: Clean catch basins, plant native and water-absorbing plants, and connect property owners with green infrastructure opportunities
- PRI investment and support: $30,000, plus data, supplies, training, coordination, and support led by PRI Student Fellow Momo Hoshi.
- Intended outcome: Reduce immediate flood risks while strengthening local preparedness and community participation.
Q-Map: The Queens Resource Map
The Queens Resource Map, or Q-Map, will create a centralized, community-informed platform to help Queens residents find emergency resources and identify gaps in service coverage.
- Focus: Emergency resource access, coordination, and service gaps
- Where: Borough-wide
- Who is involved: BetaNYC, and other local partners.
- What the project will do: Map shelters, cooling centers, community organizations, response teams, trusted messengers, local needs, and gaps in coverage, with filters for resource type, language, and accessibility
- PRI investment and support: $30,000, plus outreach, partner coordination, data collection, and project support led by PRI Student Fellow Celeste Paerels.
- Intended outcome: Make it easier for Queens residents to find critical resources before, during, and after emergencies while identifying underserved areas.
Queens Stoop Index
The Queens Stoop Index is a community-informed tool for measuring neighborhood strengths, gaps, and priorities across Queens.
- Focus: Understanding and measuring resilience at the neighborhood level
- Where: Borough-wide
- Who is involved: PRI, student fellows, faculty advisors.
- What the project will do: Combine public data with community input on housing, infrastructure, local businesses, climate safety, access to services, community spaces, and relationships with government
- PRI investment and support: Research, survey development, data analysis, public maps and reports, with implementation support led by PRI Student Fellow Yvonne Xie.
- Intended outcome: A measure of borough-level resilience to guide more practical, equitable, and evidence-based preparedness investments across Queens.
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Queens Rain Ready, Q-Map, and the Queens Stoop Index are moving forward throughout the summer, with funding, student support, coordination, and evaluation from PRI. By the end of this year, PRI plans to share what the projects accomplished, what partners and communities learned, and how those findings will shape future investments through the Queens Resilience Network.
Questions about the Network or its projects can be sent to resiliencenetworks@pri.nyc.