Sandy exposed New York City's vulnerability to climate change—and officials are still grappling with the fallout.
in Manhattan experienced power outages, and medical professionals had to relocate patients so they could receive adequate care in the weeks following the storm.During the Sandy recovery effort, the MTA made significant system updates to prepare for future storms and flooding events, Jamie Torres-Springer, the president of MTA construction and development said during a committee meeting.over subway entrances to keep as much water out of the tracks as possible.
Resilience planning has come for NYC Housing Authority buildings, too. Though many recreational areas around public housing still flood to this day, there are plans to make the surrounding areas more flood resistant. The housing authority has invested over $2 billion out of $3.2 billion awarded to the buildings most affected by the 2012 storm.
“We know that in order to have an urban forest that thrives into the future, our plants and trees along the coast are going to need to be more tolerant of saltier soils and standing water,” Maxwell said. “We see that new forest canopy is beginning to come in and thrive.”Maxwell acknowledged that it may take years to see the full growth of the new salt- and flood-resistant greenery. But so far, the plants are thriving.
New York City is now dotted with flood wall projects that seek to protect its many shorelines. The city is working on erecting a $1.45 billion system of walls and floodgates to protect from future flooding and sea level rise. The system was established by the, and construction began in the fall of 2020 and will continue until 2026. The project also seeks to upgrade New York’s decades-old sewer system, so that it will have the capacity to manage especially heavy rainfall.
Other projects have focused on critical locations like hospitals, including the Bellevue Hospital campus in Manhattan. Workers broke ground on ain May, funded by FEMA. It will include an upgraded storm water pumping system to stop water from damaging the medical campus, as well as a flood wall that reach up to 12 feet high to protect the hospital from storm surge.