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Toward a Rainproof NYC
July 2022
During Hurricane Ida, New York City was caught off guard in its inability to handle intense and prolonged rainfall. Media and elected officials could not understand how NYC could deal with these issues. Against this backdrop, in July 2022, Rebuild by Design and One Architecture released a report, “Toward a Rainproof NYC. ” It demonstrates how systematically-implemented green solutions and infrastructure strategies can be less expensive and still beneficial in dealing with significant weather events.
Related Organizations: Rebuild by Design, One Architecture & Urbanism (One)
Resource Category: Solutions
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City of New York, New York: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan
December 19, 2021
In December 2021, the New York City Department of City Planning (NYCDCP) released its third Comprehensive Waterfront Plan (the Plan) that outlines a ten-year vision for the creation of a more equitable, more resilient, and healthier waterfront. The NYCDP developed the Plan in accordance with its climate justice principle to equitably distribute climate resources and construct resilient and sustainable environments for all across the city. Among other parts of the Plan, it presents opportunities for the city to proactively incorporate climate resiliency and adaptation into its processes for everyday decisionmaking and long-term planning.
Related Organizations: New York City Department of City Planning
Resource Category: Planning
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New York City Intro. 1600-2019: A Local Law to Amend the Administrative Code of the City of New York, in Relation to the Creation of a Citywide Climate Adaptation Plan
October 7, 2021
In October 2021, the City of New York passed a new law that requires the city to prepare a citywide adaptation plan by September 30, 2022 that covers all five of the city's boroughs. The plan must evaluate climate hazards, including extreme storms, sea-level rise, tidal flooding, extreme heat, extreme precipitation, extreme wind, wildfires, and "flooding surge events associated with a storm." In addition, the city must include recommendations to help increase local resilience and adapt development and infrastructure to climate hazards. Notably, Intro. 1600-2019 has a specific focus on equity. Specifically, in the plan, the city is required to "identify areas that are highly vulnerable to climate hazards to help determine where resiliency and adaptation measures should first be implemented" and "consider the potential impact on environmental justice areas."
Related Organizations: City of New York, New York
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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City of New York, New York: New York City (NYC) Rezoning Commitments Tracker
June 30, 2021
The New York City (NYC) Rezoning Commitments Tracker (Tracker) is an online tool that enables city residents to monitor the city’s progress in implementing several neighborhood-level comprehensive plans. The neighborhood plans, referred to generally as “rezonings,” include zoning code changes as well as city commitments to specific capital and programmatic investments. The tool can be used to both inform the city’s internal coordination and project management as well as provide external transparency for community members. The Tracker also serves to help users understand how zoning changes will manifest in tangible projects, translating the technical information from neighborhood rezoning plans into specific initiatives. Other local governments could consider developing and maintaining similar online tools to support and implement community-led decisionmaking processes including for adaptation and resilience.
Related Organizations: New York City Mayor's Office of Operations, City of New York, New York, New York City Economic Development Corporation
Resource Category: Data and tools
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New York State Climate Smart Community Coordinators
May 2021
Beginning in 2021, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) initiated the New York State Climate Leadership Coordinator Services. In 2022, the program name was updated to Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Coordinators. The program is a $3. 5-million initiative to select relevant organizations to serve as contractors to provide technical assistance to local municipalities on climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. Selected contractors will work in one of three territories in New York 一 Western, Eastern, and Downstate territories 一 and will help local governments and communities with “outreach, education, planning, capacity-building, and assistance with project implementation.
Related Organizations: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Resource Category: Education and Outreach
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New York Community Risk and Resiliency Act Implementation Guidance
November 4, 2020
In November 2020, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released a series of four guidance documents to implement part of the New York Community Risk and Resiliency Act (CRRA), as amended by the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The CRRA requires that state agencies consider future climate impacts as a part of certain planning, permitting, and funding actions. The CRRA also requires that the DEC issue guidance for state agencies and other audiences to implement the CRRA. In accordance with that requirement, DEC issued four guidance documents: (1) Using Natural Measures to Reduce the Risk of Flooding and Erosion, which describes natural resilience measures and their uses for reducing risks associated with erosion and flooding; (2) New York State Flood Risk Management Guidance, which presents recommendations to state agencies on considering flood risk in planning and project implementation; (3) a guide on Estimating Guideline Elevations, which presents the principles introduced in the New York State Flood Risk Management Guidance to assist planners, engineers, designers, and architects in flood mitigation project design; and (4) Guidance for Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Assessment, which provides general principles of climate risk mitigation that state agencies should follow when undertaking "smart growth assessments" required by the CRRA and other state statutes. While these guidance documents were developed by DEC to facilitate implementation of the New York Community Risk and Resiliency Act, much of the information presented is applicable to other jurisdictions that seek to manage floodplains in accordance with climate risks.
Related Organizations: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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New York State Resilient NY Flood Mitigation Studies, Buyouts, and Floodplain Restoration Projects
2018
Multiple serious flood events, hurricanes, and storms have prompted New York State’s (NYS) Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to develop a range of mitigation and adaptation initiatives to address future flood hazards and improve community resilience. The state is completing a series of Flood and Ice Jam Mitigation Studies within 48 high-priority watersheds across New York State - as a part of an initiative called Resilient NY - to identify the causes of flooding and ice jams and to evaluate priority mitigation projects, like buyouts, to reduce risks. New York’s example is noteworthy for selecting buyouts as part of a comprehensive flood-risk mitigation analysis as a result of Flood and Ice Jam Mitigation Studies, compared to other buyout programs that utilize standalone eligibility criteria based on existing floodplain maps (e.g., a property is eligible for buyouts based on flood zones). Where buyouts are identified as a priority option to mitigate future flood risk, DEC can work with local governments through a unique partnership to remove structures from vulnerable areas and restore floodplains. Specifically, the state can oversee and provide support for locally led and administered buyout programs that can be applied across the state’s watersheds. This data-driven, state-local approach to buyouts can serve as a model for other jurisdictions considering buyouts and floodplain restoration as managed retreat strategies at the community level that would benefit from statewide consistency, assistance, and resources.
Related Organizations: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Resource Category: Solutions
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Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas — Staten Island, New York: Oakwood Beach Buyout Committee and Program
July 15, 2020
Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Oakwood Beach on Staten Island in New York City became the first community to take advantage of New York State’s post-Sandy buyout program to plan for retreat in a model that could be replicated in other vulnerable coastal locations. The members of the small community formed the Oakwood Beach Buyout Committee, and petitioned the state government to buy out entire neighborhoods, which resulted in large-scale risk reduction and cost-saving benefits compared to individual buyouts. Less than three months after Sandy, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a state-funded buyout program, pledging upwards of $200 million in funding and financial incentives to relocate families in high flood risk areas in places like Oakwood Beach. One year later, 184 out of 185 homeowners applied to the program — and by 2015, 180 of those homeowners were accepted to participate in the state’s voluntary buyout program. This process can serve as an example of a successful, community-led voluntary buyout effort that can be supported by state and local government retreat programs or projects in other jurisdictions. This case study is one of 17 case studies featured in a report written by the Georgetown Climate Center, Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas: Lessons and Tools from 17 Case Studies.
Resource Category: Solutions
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Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas — New York City, New York: Land Acquisition and Flood Buyout Programs
July 15, 2020
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) offers flood mitigation buyouts within the NYC watershed, in cooperation with the state, through a Flood Buyout Program that can serve as a model for other coastal and riverine jurisdictions considering retreat. These buyouts are part of a comprehensive flood hazard mitigation program that relies on scientific studies termed Local Flood Analyses (LFA). LFA enable NYC DEP to identify solutions to reduce flooding, which may involve buyouts, and then to fund and implement recommended projects. NYC DEP’s buyouts are primarily funded by local sewer and water bills and may be supplemented by grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Notably, NYC DEP administers a Land Acquisition Program — in addition to its Flood Buyout Program — with a focus on conserving land within the NYC watershed to protect water quality. This dual approach to both buyouts to mitigate flood risk and open space acquisitions to enhance water quality is a unique model that other state and local governments can replicate to achieve co-benefits through land acquisitions. Collectively, NYC’s multiple programs and projects can provide an example for other land-use planners and decisionmakers on how managed retreat through buyouts can be supported through a science-based, comprehensive approach that aims to maximize floodplain hazard mitigation and community resilience. This case study is one of 17 case studies featured in a report written by the Georgetown Climate Center, Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas: Lessons and Tools from 17 Case Studies.
Resource Category: Solutions
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Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas — Queens, New York: Resilient Edgemere Community Plan
July 15, 2020
After Hurricane Sandy, New York City (NYC) engaged in a community-driven planning process and implemented multiple voluntary relocation projects in the Edgemere neighborhood of Queens to reduce flood risks and move people out of harm’s way after Hurricane Sandy. The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) launched the Resilient Edgemere Community Planning Initiative in October 2015 as a collaboration between city agencies, community members, elected officials, and local organizations. The Resilient Edgemere Community Plan lays out a long-term vision for achieving a more resilient neighborhood with improved housing, transportation access, and neighborhood amenities. One of the 65 distinct projects included in the plan was a “land swap” pilot project to provide buyout and relocation assistance to residents within a “Hazard Mitigation Zone” (HMZ), an area of Edgemere at risk of destructive wave action during storms. Through the land swap pilot project, Edgemere residents within a HMZ were eligible to receive a newly built, elevated home on safer ground. In exchange, residents would transfer title of their damaged, original homes to the city. The plan is notable for being developed through an 18-month public engagement process that placed residents, who best understand their community, at the center of an open and transparent neighborhood planning process. Resilient Edgemere can provide an example of how local governments can transition affected residents away from vulnerable areas by helping people relocate nearby and simultaneously build community resilience and help to maintain community cohesion and local tax bases. This case study is one of 17 case studies featured in a report written by the Georgetown Climate Center, Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas: Lessons and Tools from 17 Case Studies.
Resource Category: Solutions
