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Following Deadly Flooding From Ida, Eric Adams Proposes Warning System For Storms
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 24, 2021
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Courtesy of Eric Adams campaign
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 24, 2021
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Following New York City's deadliest storm since Sandy, Eric Adams is proposing a range of precautions to address extreme weather, including a multi-language public warning system and the appointment of a "climate resiliency czar" within the city's Planning Department.
The Brooklyn borough president and Democratic mayoral nominee said that in the worst case scenarios, the city should employ emergency sirens, an old-school technology that he says could be more effective than cell phones. He proposed classifying climate events on a scale of 1 to 3, and coming up with an appropriate list of government actions for each level.
"We have been inundated with notifications on our phones," Adams told reporters Friday at a press event in Coney Island. "We can build those sirens on every precinct. When you have a storm, it brings attention to people to what we are facing. And when we do mess up with the education, we'll have the public response that we need."
Adams, who is the heavy favorite to win November's mayoral election, announced his set of proposals days before Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to release recommendations from his own task force on how the city should respond to the growing crisis around extreme weather.
On September 1st, the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped more than 7 inches of rain in parts of New York City, killing 13 residents, 11 of whom drowned in flooded basement apartments. Hundreds of thousands of residents have suffered damages. The federal government has received at least 31,000 applications for relief aid from city residents, according to the mayor.
Calling the intensity of the downfall unprecedented, de Blasio previously said the city would use travel bans, door-to-door evacuations, and specially directed phone alerts as emergency measures.
But as many experts pointed out, one of the challenges is in reaching the hundreds of thousands of residents who live in basements, many of which are illegal and occupied by non-English-speaking immigrants. The city has no database of basement residents and building one could prove to be difficult.
There is also the question of how the city can make basement apartments safe. A pilot program launched by de Blasio to provide funding and low-interest loans for 40 homeowners to bring their basements to code did not receive much interest. After the pandemic hit, the city cut funding to the initiative.
Read More: How To Stop Basement Apartments From Becoming "Death Traps" During Flash Floods
On Friday, Adams vowed to bring such apartments into compliance. His plan would also offer amnesty for homeowners who made improvements without a building permit.
Although billed as his resiliency plan, Adams did not introduce any new sweeping ideas to combat the growing crisis around climate change. Instead, he offered his list of recommendations on Friday as urgently needed "intervention" measures.
"Mother Nature is not going to wait for us to build out a 20-year plan," he said.
He said he will release a longer term plan based on what experts have already laid out in terms of greener and more resilient infrastructure. Speaking in front of a senior New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) development in Coney Island that was battered by Hurricane Sandy, the Brooklyn borough president pledged to make critical infrastructure investments in public housing.
Adams also said he intended to pay a visit to the Netherlands, which is considered a pioneer in managing climate change.
He was joined at the event by Julie Tighe, the president of the New York League of Conservation Voters. During the primary, the environmental advocacy group backed Kathryn Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner. It is now endorsing Adams for the general election.
But on Friday, Tighe urged city voters to rally around Adams, who she commended for highlighting the problems of climate change, something she said Adams's Republican rival Curtis Sliwa had not done.
"We think this is a really good starting point," she told Gothamist in a phone interview. "Not everything needs to be earth-shattering to be important."
Tagged
climate change
eric adams
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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