Resources for Indie Theater Companies and Venues Facing Floods and Climate Emergencies in New York
Preparing for a flood or weather-related emergency requires several steps that depend on your unique situation. Generally, you can begin by following these steps:
Assessing your individual risk. For example, if you have a physical location, you’ll want to check if it is located in a flood zone or hurricane evacuation zone.
Plan to protect. You’ll need a plan to protect your people in the event of an emergency. You’ll also need to protect any property, equipment, art, supplies, and any potential lost income.
Plan to preserve and recover. If your space is damaged in a flood, learn how to repair and restore it in an acute water emergency. You’ll also want to connect to resources to help you recover in the aftermath, including financial help, therapy, or legal help.
While the steps below might not capture all of your unique needs, we hope they serve as a guide to help you plan and prepare for a flood emergency.
Step 1: Are you in a flood zone or hurricane evacuation zone?
Hurricane Evacuation Zone Map - Find out if your studio, business, or nonprofit is located in a potential hurricane evacuation zone and, if so, how to prepare.
FloodHelpNY - Enter your address and find out your individual risk of flood.
Step 2: Do you have an emergency plan?
The City of New York has resources and guides to help you create an action plan in the event of a flood or other emergency:
New York City Emergency Planning 101 - Guide with downloadable PDF action plan, suggestions for continuity planning with template, and a self-assessment tool.
NYC Department of Small Business Services - Offers free workshops and webinars to help business owners prepare for emergencies, including town halls on flooding. Check their Eventbrite page for upcoming informational sessions.
NYC Emergency Management Flood Education - Guide with definition of flood types (flash flood vs. storm surge, for example) and offers steps for what to do before, during, and after a flood.
Step 3: Consider enrolling in city and government programs.
Business Preparedness and Resiliency Program (PREP) Risk Assessment and Grant Program - Businesses located in a flood risk area can get a city review of the physical location, business operations, and insurance needs and get personalized recommendations to help reduce risk. Eligible businesses can apply for a $5,000 grant to help make recommended changes.
Corporate Emergency Access System (CEAS) - CEAS is the only program recognized by the NYPD and NYC Emergency Management that allows emergency access to businesses. Enrollment in CEAS allows business owners and designated representatives to access business locations and retrieve equipment and records while access might otherwise be forbidden. Enroll in advance to be prepared for an emergency.
Notify NYC - Sign up to get emergency alerts in all of NYC or just your zip code.
Step 4: Consider making purchases to prepare.
Flood Protection Purchases - FloodHelpNY recommends considering waterproof portable storage, a portable generator, flood barriers, and a submersible water pump.
Check Your Insurance Coverage - In the event of a flood, you may want both flood insurance, which is often a separate policy from property insurance, and business interruption insurance, which protects you from lost income. FloodHelpNY has more information to learn about flood insurance.
Step 5: Learn about specific needs you may have for your business or venue.
National Coalition for Arts’ Preparedness and Emergency Response Tools and Resources (NCAPER) - Comprehensive library of free tools and resources with information and guidance on readiness and response needs of arts leaders. Includes links to downloadable PDF guides and links to partner resources.
Performing Arts Readiness Sample Emergency Plans - Sample downloadable emergency plans from arts organizations like dance companies and theaters.
Craft Emergency Relief Fund Resources - Downloadable PDF preparedness guides tailored to the needs of creative professionals, including studio safety, taking an inventory of an art studio, business insurance guide book, a craft artist’s emergency preparedness guide, and more.
dPlan|ArtsReady - Comprehensive online tool for emergency preparedness and response, designed for arts and cultural organizations. Offers a free customizable template and guides on risk management, crisis communication, and more. A paid plan of $59.40/year will provide guided risk assessment, action items management, cloud storage of your critical files, printable reports, and a library of templates and resources.
FEMA’s Guide for Salvaging Water-Damaged Family Valuables and Heirlooms - PDF fact sheet that has advice on preserving photographs, paintings, textiles, and more in the event of a flood or hurricane.
The Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative and the Heritage Emergency Task Force (HENTF) - Training and guides for preparing for emergencies, including a video on how to rescue soaked photographs, books, documents, and other valued items.
Galveston Historical Foundation DIY Recovery - Video guides on dealing with wet photographs and textiles.
National Heritage Responders - Serves the needs of cultural institutions and the public during emergencies and disasters through coordinated efforts with first responders, state agencies, vendors, and the public.
Step 6: Plan for recovery.
Floods and natural disasters are stressful. IndieSpace has guides created to help you find mental health professionals and other resources to help you cope during stressful times.
You may also need legal resources. Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) is a legal aid and education organization dedicated to New York artists and its arts and cultural organizations. IndieSpace also has a list of legal assistance resources.
Nest, in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund and with support from Etsy, developed the downloadable Responding to Climate Disasters: A Disaster Recovery Guidebook, a comprehensive guide to post-disaster resources available to creative entrepreneurs and small business owners.
These organizations also created a dashboard of federal agencies, nonprofits, foundations, and other disaster resilience and recovery resources to help US makers, home-based workers, and small businesses.