View this email in your browser

City on the Edge: Climate Change and New York City

‘Predictable Emergencies’: NYC Flash Floods Spur Renewed Calls for Basement Legalization

The extreme weather, housing advocates say, is a reminder of the risks climate change poses to tenants in the estimated tens of thousands of unregulated basement or cellar apartments across the city. And while it’s been more than two years since Ida killed 13 residents, tenants who live in New York’s subgrade homes have yet to see legalization or significant safety improvements, advocates charged.

“I haven’t slept at all, I panic every time it pours hard rain,” one basement tenant in Sunset Park told City Limits in Spanish on Friday. The apartment began to flood early that morning, she said, with water coming through the back door where the basement connects to the yard.

Read the story.

More climate & environmental coverage:

At City Limits, we're on a mission to expose the challenges New York faces from climate change, as well as highlight opportunities for how local leaders can better prepare our region for the future.

Please support our local independent journalism that reports on local environmental news.

Donate Now

Share us!

If you liked this newsletter, feel free to pass it along to a friend or colleague.

Want more in-depth news about New York City and beyond?

Have any feedback on this newsletter?

We want to hear from you. Get in touch.