City Council: New York Must Plan for Resilience at the Local Level

The city of New York has a new mandate for resilience planning.

2 minute read

October 12, 2021, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


A sign indicates closures on the New York Subway as the result of heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

Ameer Mussard-Afcari / Shutterstock

The New York City Council responded to the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Ida by requiring the city to make a comprehensive plan for climate resilience.

The City Council's vote will "step up pressure" on the city's government to honor promises made after Superstorm Sandy that failed to protect the city from the ravages of a storm that made landfall on the Gulf Coast in an around New Orleans, according to an article by Anne Barnard.

As noted by Barnard, the new legislation shifts the focus of previous resilience planning programs on Lower Manhattan to prioritize resilience at the neighborhood level: "The legislation also seeks to remedy years of concerns that slow-moving plans to protect Lower Manhattan’s Financial District have eclipsed equally urgent needs in working-class neighborhoods, like those in Queens and Brooklyn where people died in last month’s flash floods caused by remnants of Hurricane Ida."

"The Big U" plan approved after Sandy would have built a 10-mile U-shaped barrier from 57th Street on the west side, down the battery and up the east side to 42nd Street, according to an article picked up by Planetizen in October 2017, but quickly ran out of momentum.

Since then, the city did draft and approve a zoning rewrite to build more resilience measures into the built environment along the city's 520 miles of coastline.

The source article linked below includes numerous soundbites from local experts and advocates discussing the benefits and shortcomings of the new bill.

Thursday, October 7, 2021 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight