By Michael V. Cusenza
“Last fall, just a few days after Tropical Storm Ophelia smacked the five boroughs, my office launched an investigation into how prepared the Adams administration was to manage the storm – and what the City needs to do before future extreme weather events,” City Comptroller Brad Lander said.
Today, we report our findings from the investigation:
“While New York City made some improvements after Hurricane Ida, Tropical Storm Ophelia revealed big gaps in our storm readiness. Stronger emergency management is required to ensure our city is storm resilient,” Lander said.
In September 2023, Ophelia made for one of the city’s wettest days in decades, with 8.65 inches of rainfall falling during a 24-hour period. It knocked out subways, flooded basements, stranded drivers on highways, and even closed down a terminal at LaGuardia Airport. Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams declared a state of emergency and issued a travel advisory.
Thankfully, Tropical Storm Ophelia wasn’t fatal – but New Yorkers also remember Hurricane Ida, which took 13 lives in 2021 and laid bare the City’s lack of preparedness for flash flooding.
After Ida, the City put forward several plans to address extreme weather. Then in 2022, the Adams Administration released Rainfall Ready, which outlines actions for the City to take to address intense storms. Our investigation evaluated progress of these long-term projects and plans to manage stormwater.
In some areas, we found progress. For example, the City proactively improved its network of sensors, and activated the Flash Flood Emergency Plan the day before the storm arrived. And for the first time, NYCEM paid community networks to amplify emergency notifications to hard-to-reach populations.
But the report also identifies several severe shortcomings:
- 63 percent of the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) 51 catch basin cleaning trucks were out of service during the storm, leaving only 19 trucks to cover all five boroughs.
- At the time of the storm, Mayor Adams had not appointed an Extreme Weather Coordinator. The administration’s high-level and targeted communications with the public came late, well after heavy rain was already wreaking havoc.
- Only 2.7 percent of New Yorkers over 16 years old received NotifyNYC emergency alerts for the flash flooding.
- DEP has developed a cost-effective plan (just $22.5 million) to modernize many of the city’s priority catch basins so they are less likely to clog; but unfortunately, the plan has not yet been funded or greenlighted for implementation.
- A majority of DEP’s stormwater infrastructure projects are delayed and over-budget.
New York City was not as prepared as we should have been for Tropical Storm Ophelia.
Perhaps that’s part of why New Yorkers report feeling dissatisfied with the City’s emergency preparedness generally, and specifically with stormwater and sewer maintenance, according to a recent Citizens Budget Commission survey. With extreme weather now a regular part of New York’s climate reality, that’s something we have to change.
So where do we go from here?
First, the City should get all those trucks fixed – budget cuts eliminating mechanic positions at DEP and DSNY sure aren’t helping – and promptly fund and implement catch-basin upgrades before the next storm hits.
The City should improve and expand emergency communication beyond the limited number of New Yorkers who currently receive NotifyNYC, and communicate flood risks to more diverse, at-risk communities earlier on.
We can’t let capital projects drag on forever. The State Legislature should swiftly approve legislation allowing the City to flexibility to utilize “design-build” approaches for stormwater and climate resiliency projects.
