56 COURIER LIFE, MAY 24–30, 2019 M BR B G
BY SCOTT STRINGER
With more than 520 miles of
coastline, New York City sits
on the frontlines of climate
change.
More than six years ago,
our shores were slammed
by Superstorm Sandy, causing
17 percent of our city to
be fl ooded, costing an estimated
$14 billion in damages.
Homes were destroyed, businesses
were washed away, futures
were upended, and 54
New Yorkers lost their lives as
a result of the unprecedented
devastation the storm caused
across all fi ve boroughs —
particularly along the Brooklyn
shorefront.
Sandy was a one-in-260-
year storm. But as sea levels
rise and climate change accelerates,
our city could see more
ferocious storms as often as
every fi ve years. It’s happening
all across the country, including
in Houston, Texas,
which just experienced three
500-year fl oods within a threeyear
stretch.
Considering the latest climatic
trends, scientists now
estimate that Sandy-like fl ooding
could be a one-in-fi ve-year
event by mid-century in our
city. Climate change is an
emergency — and time is running
out.
The bottom line is that we
need to act faster because,
make no mistake, that taking
action is both a moral obligation
and a fi nancial imperative
to get ahead of tomorrow’s
storms. Any politician who
talks about 20-, 30-, or 50-year
plans to tackle this crisis isn’t
matching the urgency of the
moment.
That’s why my offi ce
sounded the alarm with a
new report, revealing that
our communities are still dangerously
exposed to future
storms. We found that of the
$14.7 billion New York City received
in federal funds to help
Sandy survivors rebuild and
to invest in resiliency — the
city had spent just 54 percent
as of March 2019.
Specifi cally, we have managed
to spend only 20 percent
of the FEMA dollars earmarked
for city hospitals, just
41 percent of the money to protect
NYCHA, and a meager 14
percent of the $470 million intended
for coastal resiliency
projects.
It’s understandable that
city projects take time and
federal red tape only makes
it more diffi cult to navigate
the myriad layers of bureaucracy,
but too much is at stake
to continue with our current
approach. We cannot afford to
kick this can down the road,
and we certainly can’t leave
this to another generation to
solve. The time for action is
now, because our shorefront
communities are a critical
piece of our overall economy.
My offi ce ran the numbers
and found that a staggering
$101.5 billion in property
value is located in the most
fl ood-vulnerable areas of our
city. That fi gure represents
growth of more than 73 percent
since 2010. And it’s New
Yorkers’ homes, businesses,
and entire life savings that
are on the line. Here in Brooklyn,
property values along the
fl oodplain are projected to
have increased nearly 40 percent
in the past decade alone.
If we don’t move fast to
protect our coast — and that
means all 520 miles of our
coast — then New Yorkers
will be at the mercy of the next
wave of disasters. Because
there’s no question that another
Sandy will come — and
we can’t be putting shovels in
the ground as the next storm
barrels toward us.
That’s why we need the city
to expedite resiliency projects
and create a comprehensive
citywide coastal resiliency
plan that doesn’t just plan for
2050 or 2030, but for right now.
There should be resiliency
retrofi t loans made available
for coastal communities and
opportunities for residents
to relocate. Substantive resources
and energy should be
devoted to optional neighborhood
based buyout programs
for areas of our city that aren’t
just vulnerable to superstorms
but are getting hit by
fl ooding events on a monthly
basis such as Canarsie, Coney
Island, and Gowanus. And we
should strengthen the Build
It Back framework so that we
have recovery programs that
are well prepared for the next
superstorm.
Every day I feel the urgency
of this battle when I look
at my two little boys, Max and
Miles, and think about what
kind of world they will grow
up in. They deserve a habitable
planet and an all-handson
deck approach. Every child
does, and so does every senior
who built up our city and saw
their life’s work washed away.
We need to create a more
resilient New York for generations
to come. Let’s take on
this crisis for them and for our
future with all of our might.
Scott M. Stringer is the New
York City Comptroller.
OPINION
$101 billion and our future on the line