Since the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act was signed into law in 2019, laying out aggressive benchmarks for NY to reduce its carbon emissions, advocates have pushed for a funding mechanism to ensure it will be implemented.
The nearly 300-page report is the first waterfront plan since Superstorm Sandy, and comes at the end of a year in which the city was rocked by multiple severe weather events.
‘Acknowledging the inequitable distribution of climate change’s damage is an important step, but we must do better. Those with the fewest resources should not have to shoulder the full burden of the damages primarily caused by the wealthy. Climate attribution systems are the step forward.’
As of Dec. 13, 501 applications for the $27 million fund have been completed and signed by a caseworker, 145 have been approved, 66 have received the aid and 79 are in the process of receiving it.
Last week, the city started curbside pick-ups in additional districts in Manhattan, Brooklyn and one in The Bronx. The service, which was put on hold throughout the pandemic, resumed this fall based on areas that saw the most residents sign up for it.
The newly-created Youth Sustainability Corps will expand the 200,000 square feet of green roofs overseen by the Parks Dept. — rooftops outfitted with features like native plants, hydroponic towers and bee hives — by 50,000 square feet.
Meet activists from across the five boroughs, from oyster keepers in The Bronx to environmental justice advocates in Brooklyn, interviewed by student reporters enrolled in the City Limits Accountability Reporting Initiative for Youth.
“We already have large-scale natural areas across the city,” said Annel Hernandez, associate director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. “But there is a mismatch with that and the number of jobs that are focused on this sector.”
So far, 85 undocumented applicants have been approved to receive the city and state joint relief assistance funds; another 33,000 survivors have been approved for FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program as of Nov. 21. Both relief programs are set to close on Dec. 6.
Nine years after Superstorm Sandy flooded homes and tore the neon lobster from the town’s iconic Lobster House, residents see lack of city intervention as an opportunity.
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