Swiss Chard, Radishes, Watermelon, Rutabaga … Gone for the Year

Instead of the usual spread of produce on their Prospect Park farmers market table, Evolutionary Organics, based in New Paltz, had these sad hand-drawn signs. Kira Kinney, who runs Evolutionary Organics, also handed out a flyer explaining her situation to her customers. Nineteen of her twenty-two acres are under water and much of her fall crop is lost.

Evolutionary Organics is particularly well-known for their delicious heirloom tomatoes. (I bought some on Saturday, and yep, they were delicious.) If you see Kira’s stand at the Union Square or Prospect Park farmers’ markets, pick up a batch. Click here for a great example of how to use them.

The Huffington Post on “What Will Happen to Upstate New York?” Post-Irene

A beautiful, elegiac, but not-very-sanguine piece on Upstate New York’s past, present and future appeared in today’s Huff Post. It’s penned by Barbara Gunn, Upstate native and current Middleburgh resident. Gunn really captures the aesthetic allure of Upstate, though she doesn’t really differentiate between what it means to live in Rhinebeck, say, versus Utica. Still, is it really so grim? And does Irene’s destruction offer any sort of opportunity?

Here’s hoping the Huff Post does a follow-up or rejoinder.

Photos of Margaretville, post-Irene

An Upstater reader sent us these photos, taking by his Margaretville-based friend Marty Rynearson. Should give a pretty clear sense of what folks are dealing with. Head over to Watershed Post for more info about volunteering, donations and other ways to help.

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Flood Insurance

Flickr/Edwin Martinez1

For those of you about to embark on home ownership, we wanted to pass on this nifty resource, since hurricane season is in full swing and we’ve seen what major storms can do to the Catskills. Floodsmart is a government site, the product of the National Floor Insurance Program, and it gives you a chance to find out the answers to questions like “how much could a flood cost me?” and has resources for condo-owners, homeowners and renters. (Actually, I have renters’ insurance, but I have no idea if it covers floods!)

In general, flood insurance premiums are based on the following factors:

• Year of building construction
• Building occupancy
• Number of floors
• The location of its contents
• Its flood risk (i.e. its flood zone)
• The location of the lowest floor in relation to the elevation requirement on the flood map (in newer buildings only)
• The deductible you choose and the amount of building and contents coverage

All this means that it might be wise to check the flood zone of a building you’re interested in. You might save yourself a significant amount of insurance money by selecting a home on slightly higher ground.

Map of Damaged and Washed-Out Roads in Upstate New York

Click here for a helpful, interactive crowd-sourced Google map of washouts and closures in Greene, Delaware, and Ulster Counties.