Climate Resilience Plan Would Extend Manhattan

An article written by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in the pages of New York Magazine lays out an ambitious new plan to prepare for sea level rise by extending the shoreline of Manhattan.

To address one of the biggest gaps in the city's climate change defenses, according to Mayor de Blasio, "We’re going to protect Lower Manhattan, which includes the Financial District, home to a half-million jobs, 90,000 residents, and the nexus of almost all our subway lines."

More specifically: "South Street Seaport and the Financial District, along the eastern edge of Lower Manhattan, sit so close to sea level — just eight feet above the waterline — and are so crowded with utilities, sewers, and subway lines that we can’t build flood protection on the land. So we’ll have to build more land itself."

Manhattan could eventually be as much as 500 feet longer at its southern end if that plan is implemented.

In addition to describing the plan in more detail, Mayor de Blasio also makes an appeal for federal support in funding the project. "I don’t expect deniers like President Trump to come to the table on this," writes the mayor. "The coalescing agenda represented by the Green New Deal is our best shot."

Additional analysis of Mayor de Blasio's pitch is available from an article by Jonathan Hilburg and another by Annie McDonough.