Have you seen the forecast lately, John?
For the seventh weekend in a row, more heavy rain is expected in New York City. As they say, “When it rains, (sometimes) it pours.” According to the Weather Channel, we could get “drenched.”
I sincerely hope this one won’t cause flash-flooding. But, alas, storms that do are part of our new climate reality. So we must get better prepared for extreme rainfall than we were when Tropical Storm Ophelia clobbered us a few weeks back. That's why my office is officially launching an investigation into the City government’s ability to manage extreme rainfall.
The goal of this fair, thorough, and independent investigation is to help us prepare for future extreme rainfall events. We will review whether the city has followed through on extreme weather preparedness plans made after Hurricane Ida hit two years ago, including questions like:
Have we gotten better at clearing catch-basins?
Did our emergency warning notification systems work as planned?
How are we doing on long-term floodproofing projects?
As the New York Times reported on our new investigation: “It remains unclear how many of the steps contained in those two plans the city has taken.” We’ll get the answers – and make recommendations to get the city on the strongest possible path to keep New Yorkers safe.
As you well know, Tropical Storm Ophelia nearly brought New York City to a halt last month. Mass transit was suspended, already-crumbling subway stations became waterfalls, and basement apartments became lagoons (we had water in my house, and I know many of yours). Two years ago, of course, it was even worse: Hurricane Ida flooded all five boroughs and killed 13 New Yorkers.
Those aren’t the first extreme climate events to disrupt our city. And they certainly won’t be the last. From rain storms to toxic wildfire smoke to extreme heat waves, everyday people are directly affected by climate change — and our most vulnerable New Yorkers bear the brunt of the disasters it causes.
To face future environmental crises, we need compassionate, competent city leadership working to make New York City climate resilient. We must work together to ensure that our city is prepared as possible to mitigate climate crises ahead.
John, I know New Yorkers will pull themselves together every extreme weather event because we are resilient. But before the next emergency, we need to make sure the City has effectively adopted all the lessons we’ve learned from these storms. Lack of preparedness "precipitates” disaster.
I’ll never stop working to improve New York City so that we can deliver effective services, mitigate the climate risks we face, and prepare our city for the climate disasters ahead.
If you’re with me, will you please consider chipping in $5 or whatever you can today?
Thank you so very much for your support, and stay safe – and as dry as you can.
In solidarity (but hopefully not in bailing out water),
Brad
