Daily News from New York, New York • 483

PHONES KmBtrui (718) 699-7200 Fax '212)210-2231 Rons Cslrf ry 1-800-692-NEWS n5 A behind-the-scenes look atthe movers and shakers In Queens politics liii wua iiiiii I llMIMftaiMlomci I LJ Emergency response during the nor-'easter of 1992 was spotty, in part because of a lack of coordination between state, city and local emergency personnel, the Governor's Coastal Erosion Task Force has found. During the four-day storm, emergency workers had to deal with flooded streets and highways and widespread power outages while aiding the injured, helping stranded motorists and evacuating residents of flooded neighborhoods. In some areas, flooding blocked evacuation routes and emergency vehicles. "The challenge was met, but not without problems," the panel's draft report states. The panel's recommendations include: The stat Emergency Management Office should be the lead agency charged with improving overall emergency response.

Public funds should be used to elevate or protect critical evacuation routes in flood-prone areas. The state Department of Environmental Conservation should be the lead agency to deal with post-storm erosion problems. The state should create a critical erosion response team that would stockpile sand in flood zones and make arrangements for necessary equipment. n- i ILL TURIN BULL DAILY NEWS CLOSING IN: Looking west from Beach 27th the beach disappears in the distance, replaced by water. 0Od DIM DB (D(2M Don't cave, state to be told By PETE DONOHUE Daily News Staff Writer NO RETREAT.

NO SURRENDER. The state should take that get-tough stance in the fight with Mother Nature for the Rockaway peninsula, a task force is expected to recom mend next month. jsy tii. fat, Lfc iMHiif 4 THE WATER laps right up to the boardwalk at Beach 35th St. silliurnsuu.

daily news chamber estimates. "The beach is the lifeblood of the Rockaways," said Steven Lee Sal-peter, chamber first vice president. "The survival of our residential and business communities hinges on its protection, nourishment and replenishment." Gov. Cuomo established the task force last January to recommend short and long-term approaches to cope with the continuing damage to the city's coastline, as well as to the Long Island and Westchester shorelines. The impetus for the task force came from the nor'easter of December 1992.

High winds, pounding rain and powerful tides eroded beaches, flooded streets and destroyed more than 150 homes in the region. For New York State, damage was estimated at nearly $1 billion. The Rockaways were particularly hard hit In some areas Jamaica Bay and the ocean met. Some sections of the beach were reduced to razor-thin strips. In others, high tides now lap under the boardwalk.

The task force's draft report outlines three possible approaches. The weakest is a hands-off policy in which the state basically lets nature take its course. The strongest is a don't-give-an-inch policy for more developed and vulnerable regions like the But the Governor's Coastal Erosion Task Force also may recommend that shore residents in vulnerable coastal areas like the Rockaways reach into their pockets and pay more for the construction of dunes and other storm-protection measures. Real estate transfer taxes and other fees could be imposed, according to task force staffers. The task force's draft report on coastal strategies was the focus of a shoreline conference held last week in Rockaway Beach.

Business and community leaders seemed to rally behind two messages: Protect our battered beaches and communities but don't hit us with additional taxes. "The people who live in the Rockaways are hardworking, working-class said Rep. Charles Schumer (D-BrooklynQueens). "The additional fees that are being proposed are a terrible idea, and I would fight them tooth and nail." The 105,000 Rockaway residents, Schumer and others noted, are not the only ones who would benefit from improvements to the peninsula's storm defenses and beaches. About 6 million people flocked to this edge of the Atlantic Ocean last spring and summer, according to the Chamber of Commerce of the Rockaways.

Those visitors are critical to the local, economy. They shelled out more than $250 million last year to restaurants, hotels and other businesses, the Under the latter, the Rockaways and other populated at-risk regions would be given priority when it comes to getting funds, which are limited. Less developed areas like Fire Island would receive lower rankings. Robert Bendick, deputy commissioner of natural resources with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, said the task force views the Rockaway peninsula as an urbanized area. Bendick, who also serves as a task force staff member, said the panel was leaning toward the view that "retreat, or a migration backwards, would not be feasible." Bernard Blum, president of the Friends of Rockaway environmental group, suggested that the state concede defeat on at least one front: a 19-block stretch of beach running from Beach 20th to Beach 39th St.

The area has been bolstered several times with tons of sand that the relentless tides have reclaimed, he said. "It's a real, fantastic boondoggle," Blum said. The boardwalk should be pushed back at least 200 feet to conform with the natural high-tide mark, Blum said. The task force will not recommend specific projects for the Rockaways. But its expected no-retreat stance is in tune with a Army Corps of Engineers plan to place about 7 million cubic yards of sand roughly equal to 700,000 dump-truck loads on the beach from Beach 19th St.

to Jacob Riis Park. The $46 million price tag is to be split by the federal, state and city governments. Funding is not yet in place but the project, the first of its kind in the Rockaways since the late 1980s is scheduled to begin in the fall, according to the corps..