A free monthly discussion series with experts and local leaders
from across NYC neighborhoods.» Series: lots of sub-topics » Style: conversational » Public: open to all
What should the Mayor and City Council know about climate solutions?
There is debate, but where is there any alignment?
How can we get some quick wins in the next 4 years?
From Rebuild By Design, Waterfront Alliance, The City Sponge, and Con Edison
1 hour. Virtual. 12-1pm: grab your lunch and join the discussion!
Topics:
1: How Do We Build Climate Strong Communities? (summary)
2: NYC Is Expensive: Will Climate Exacerbate Costs? (summary)
3: Small Business: Flood, Recover, Repeat (summary)
4: Building Local Wealth In Face of Climate Change (summary)
(Most recent up top)
Building Local Wealth In Face of Climate Change
Featuring:
Zakhia Grant, ReAL Edgemere CLT
Matthew Shore, South Bronx Unite
Deyanira Del Río, New Economy Project
Jinean Robinson, RETI Center
Sarah Ludwig, New York University (Moderator)
» Click below to watch discussion on YouTube
SUMMARY OF TOPIC 4 DISCUSSION
"WHAT WE HEARD"
Top 3 Signals:
Community Wealth Building is a place-based economic model centered on local ownership and democratic control of assets. By prioritizing shared decision-making, this framework empowers residents to manage resources—such as energy, land, and finance—to build collective economic and political power. The goal is a "just transition" that transforms local economies to foster long-term stability and mutualism.
Community Land Trusts (CLTs) enact these principles by serving as permanent stewards of land held in community ownership. Through ground leases with resale restrictions, CLTs maintain permanent affordability and ensure that development primarily serves the needs of established residents. This model provides a foundation for neighborhoods to lead their own climate adaptation efforts, such as implementing nature-based flood protection and green workforce hubs.
Hyper-local energy systems like Community Solar provide financial relief and workforce pathways: Programs like these allow residents to receive direct utility bill savings while participating in democratic governance. By moving community members "up the pipeline" of development, these projects create green workforce opportunities and ensure that the wealth generated from clean energy remains within the neighborhood.
Emerging Themes:
Theme 1: Land as a Foundation for Power and Resilience
What we heard: CLTs are growing across New York City as a strategy to bring land, housing, and climate infrastructure into community ownership. By removing land from the speculative market, communities can prioritize flood protection and open spaces over-development. In Edgemere, the CLT model is being used to manage land for the benefit of both current and future residents.
"It’s a strategy to bring land into community ownership so that community members have the chance to make decisions about how that land is managed and developed for the benefit of the community... not just the benefit of the community today, but the benefit of the community into the future.”
Theme 2: Energy Sovereignty and Local Power
What we heard: In neighborhoods facing high energy insecurity and extreme heat, community-led solar projects offer a tool for self-determination. These initiatives rely on intensive one-on-one education to shift cultural perceptions of energy development and ensure that financial benefits reach low-to-moderate-income residents.
"The Clean Energy Project is an opportunity for the development of a new system... there's a really real opportunity for us to be conscious about how we're going into these projects, to be able to shift culture and basically spread the wealth.”
Theme 3: Redressing Environmental Racism through Public Assets
What we heard: Communities in "Asthma Alley" and other frontline areas are organizing to reclaim neglected public assets, such as waterfronts and vacant buildings, for public benefit. Projects like the HEArts Center, in the South Bronx, demonstrate how grassroots organizing can transform a former detox center into a hub for green workforce development, health equity, and youth programming.
"Let’s look at the public assets in our neighborhood, let’s see what can we organize and reclaim, as we like to say in the community land trust movement. For community benefit."
Theme 4: Policy and Capital for Systems Change
What we heard: Expanding these models requires supportive policy—such as the "Public Land for Public Good" bill—and dedicated capital from Public Banks and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). These financial tools are essential for channeling resources into climate solutions and community-owned commercial spaces rather than extractive private interests.
"Community wealth building focuses on transforming the economy, not reforming the economy. It’s about systems change."
“These are models through which communities can build economic and political power to create these affirmative, forward-looking solutions and housing and development, but also to organize and challenge the existing root causes of inequality of the climate crisis.”
Sites and Resources Mentioned:
RETI Center New World Prep Wealth Building Solar Project VideoNYC Community Land Initiative (NYCCLI)
Affordability and Climate Series web page
Small Business: Flood, Recover, Repeat
Featuring:
Nadia Adam, Staten Island Industrial Alliance (Community Leader)
Mark Caserta, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (Small Businesses Org)
Charles Yu, Long Island City Partnership (BID)
Valeen Bhat, Private Picassos (Small Biz Owner)
Daniela Sancu, NYC Small Business Services (CIty Agency)
Nick Nyhan, The City Sponge / FloodLine (Moderator)
» Click below to watch discussion on YouTube
SUMMARY OF TOPIC 3 DISCUSSION
"WHAT WE HEARD"
Top 3 Signals:
Small businesses are absorbing climate costs silently and unevenly: Flooding impacts are frequent, expensive, and very time-consuming, but largely undocumented and rarely captured in risk maps. In NYC there is 311, but small business owners are so busy in general (and more so when flooded) that they may not have time to report nor see the benefits.
It’s not so much about risk awareness as it is about ability to act: Small business owners often know their flood risk and maybe even what could reduce flooding…but they face structural barriers: lack of building control, lease limitations, cost uncertainty, and even fear of retaliation from the landlord. Existing programs like NYC Small Business Services and SBA disaster loans do make some help available but so much paperwork is required that many forego it altogether.
There is no clear “owner” of the problem and so action stalls: Responsibility is fragmented across tenants, landlords, and the city. While NYC DEP invest in many types of solutions, from green to grey, they are long-term infrastructure and take many many years. In the meantime, there is no clear pathway to micro-mitigation leading to delays and repeated losses.
Emerging Themes:
Theme 1: Hidden and compounding costs of flooding
What we heard: Flooding costs include physical damage but also lost inventory, downtime, labor for cleanup, mold prevention, and lost customers. These costs accumulate over repeated events. Because getting financial assistance is a lot of additional work, many small businesses feel they have to eat the costs, move on and get back to being open for business.
“I can’t fix the building…
and the person who CAN doesn’t feel the urgency I do.”
Theme 3: Fear and “lack of time” shapes decision-making
What we heard: Business owners hesitate to push landlords or report issues due to fear of rent increases, lease non-renewal, or eviction. Yes tenant protections exist under NYC commercial lease norms, but there is little awareness of any protections specifically tied to flooding and small businesses, nor is their appetite to “pick a fight” with the landlord and make things worse.
Theme 4: Insurance is inconsistent and not a clear fit
What we heard: Many small businesses either lack flood insurance or discover too late that policies don’t cover their specific type of flooding (e.g., sewer backup vs. coastal flooding, seepage). Programs like the National Flood Insurance Program don't seem to fit the realities for small commercial tenants, especially for non-coastal, stormwater flooding. And even if there was, what is the ROI on that vs other potential actions like getting 4 sump pumps? One small business owner said her landlord HAD flood insurance but didn’t want to make the claim as it would raise their deductible by $50K. So the tenant had to eat some costs that the landlord could have claimed.
Theme 5: Solutions exist but are hard to navigate
What we heard: There are viable mitigation strategies (barriers, backflow preventers, operational protocols), but no clear, trusted pathway for small businesses to assess, prioritize, and implement them. Existing city resources (e.g., NYC SBS guidance or NYC DEP green infrastructure programs) are not packaged in a way that is actionable at the storefront level.
“There is a lot of information out there—
but no one is really connecting the dots for us.”
Theme 6: Strong appetite for collective and local approaches
What we heard: Positive response to ideas that “pool risk”, share resources, or operate at the neighborhood level, particularly through groups like Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). Models that combine financing (e.g., retrofit funds, CDFI-led programs like Spring Bank) with local coordination were seen as more viable than individual action alone.
Top 6 Tips for Small Business:
1) Barriers for stopping or diverting
Water-activated barriers (measure length) or flood gate
Focus on low openings: front and back doors, basement grate
Have extra to direct water to pumps
2) Address drain and sewer backup
Install a backflow valves where needed with landlord approval
In unused drains, install plugs or “balloons”
3) Elevate critical inventory and equipment
Store inventory, appliances, and electronics at least 2 feet above floor level
Get EV batteries, delivery bikes up or can explode when turned on after wet
Get toxic chemicals up so they not spilling into flood water
4) Create a simple “3-hour storm plan”
“MOVE HERE” SPACES: Where will you move expensive inventory?
BARRIERS SETUP: Deploy barriers to “seal” or direct water to pumps
ELECTRIC UP: Electric cords unplugged or off ground
PUMP TEST: Can you send water to green area vs street?
WHO BESIDES YOU: Does your team know what to do?
5) Pics and Vids
Take BEFORE, DURING, AFTER photos/videos (doors, drains, basement)
Track cleanup costs, damaged inventory, and lost business days
6) Submit
Damage from sewer back up or flooding may be eligible for a claim to NYC Comptroller form
Gov't funds for recovery: recovery portal (opens after flood event)
311 and your BID / Merchant Assoc
Sites and Resources Mentioned:
NYC is Expensive: Will Climate Risks Exacerbate Costs?
Featuring:
Carlos Martin, Resources for the Future
Firas Saleh, Moody’s
Aaron Sturm, Center for NYC Neighborhoods
Tess Williams, Fifth Avenue Committee (Moderator)
Amy Chester, Rebuild By Design (Moderator)
» Click below to watch discussion on YouTube
SUMMARY OF TOPIC 2 DISCUSSION
"WHAT WE HEARD"
Top 3 Signals:
Climate is already compounding NYC’s affordability crisis across multiple systems: housing, energy, insurance, and water costs are all rising simultaneously, with climate acting as a multiplier across each. Over 50% of renters are already housing cost-burdened, and rising insurance (+18–32%) and utility costs are layering on top.
The biggest financial risk is NOT catastrophic events — it’s repeated, under-supported “medium” events. Smaller, frequent disasters often don’t trigger federal aid, yet create deeper long-term financial damage (credit score declines, debt, foreclosure risk).
Climate adaptation is creating a new inequality divide: “those who can afford to adapt” vs. those who cannot - The strongest predictor of taking protective action (insurance, mitigation, relocation) is ability to pay. This creates a structural split between “climate adaptation haves and have-nots,”
Emerging Themes:
Theme 1: Affordability is a system, not a single cost
What we heard: Climate impacts are embedded across housing, insurance, utilities, and infrastructure—not just rent. A “cheap” home that floods or overheats is not truly affordable.
Theme 2: The real cost of climate is post-disaster financial decline
What we heard: Flooding triggers cascading financial effects—credit damage, debt accumulation, foreclosure risk—that persist for years and worsen inequality.
“Households with limited to no housing options can’t really act
on the risks that they’re being exposed to.”
Theme 3: Insurance gaps are one of the biggest hidden risks
What we heard: Many households—especially outside official flood zones—are effectively self-insuring without realizing it, leaving them exposed to catastrophic out-of-pocket losses.
Theme 4: Information alone does not change outcomes
What we heard: Even with “gold standard” disclosures, many people don’t use or can’t act on information due to limited housing options or financial constraints.
Theme 5: NYC’s housing reality (renters + aging buildings) reshapes the problem
What we heard: With ~70% renters and many older, inefficient buildings in risk-prone areas, climate costs are mediated through landlords, policy, and building systems—not individual choice.
Theme 6: The core policy tension — build housing vs. avoid risk
What we heard: NYC must continue building affordable housing, often in vulnerable areas, but without sufficient infrastructure investment this locks in long-term risk and cost.
Theme 7: Must think multi-scale (property + neighborhood + regional)
What we heard: No single intervention works—success requires combining household mitigation, neighborhood infrastructure, and regional systems, alongside financing and policy alignment.
Sites and Resources Mentioned:
How Do We Build Climate Strong Communities?
Featuring:
Saul Porter, Northfield Community LDC (Staten Island)
Lisa Goren, LIC Coalition / Hunters Point Community Coalition (Queens)
Chauncy Young, New Settlement (Bronx)
Samantha Maldonado, The City (Moderator)
SUMMARY OF TOPIC 1 DISCUSSION
"WHAT WE HEARD"
Top 3 Signals:
Speed matters more than perfection - Repeated urgency about 10-year timelines being too slow
Don't reinvent the wheel - Community knowledge exists; tap it rather than start from scratch
Equity concerns about resilience itself - Fear that flood protection could displace vulnerable communities
Emerging Themes:
Theme 1: Tap Into Existing Community Knowledge
What we heard: Communities are already doing resilience work—the city needs to recognize and support this rather than starting from scratch. As one attendee put it: "communities are engaged and already doing the work - take advantage of this vast wealth of knowledge."
Notable examples shared:
LA's 99 Neighborhood Councils with active Sustainability Committees
Sydney's community reference groups for neighborhood planning
Philadelphia's stormwater bumpouts and tree planting in row house neighborhoods
Theme 2: Stop Building in Flood Zones And Retrofit Those At Risk
What we heard: Clear, repeated message—new housing shouldn't be built in flood-prone areas. Questions raised about Red Hook's Brooklyn Marine Terminal and concerns about the Jewel Streets where "the Jamaica Bay runs under this neighborhood."
Key concern: Are we "prolonging the risk to housing tenants or other low income communities by going on with this project?"
Theme 3: Speed Up Implementation
What we heard: 10-year timelines for infrastructure (like sewers in Jewel Streets) don't match the urgency of the climate crisis. We need to expedite capital projects.
“We do not have time to start from scratch!”
Theme 4: Resilience WITH Equity, Not Against It
What we heard: Concern that resilience projects like floodwalls could push flooding to lower-income communities. The city must address both climate risk AND displacement risk simultaneously."How do we build climate resilience without displacing communities?"
Theme 5: Better Cross-Agency Coordination on Solutions
What we heard: At a city level, make DEP, Sanitation, NYCEM work together vs asking citizens to piece it all together. Multiple city agencies needed to provide climate adaptation solutions. Yearly inspection and maintenance is critical (Green infrastructure, and NYCHA complexes have "missing parts").
Theme 6: Compensate & Resource Communities Properly
What we heard: It takes too long for non-profits to get paid for work city asked us to do. Request to "pay community members to participate, to compensate for their time, just as consultants and experts are paid." Communities need resources, not just requests for input.
Sites and Resources Mentioned:
A free monthly discussion series with experts and local leaders
from across NYC neighborhoods.
» Series: lots of sub-topics » Style: conversational » Public: open to all
What should the Mayor and City Council know about climate solutions?
There is debate, but where is there any alignment?
How can we get some quick wins in the next 4 years?
From Rebuild By Design, Waterfront Alliance, The City Sponge, and Con Edison
1 hour. Virtual. 12-1pm: grab your lunch and join the discussion!
Topics:
1: How Do We Build Climate Strong Communities? (summary)
2: NYC Is Expensive: Will Climate Exacerbate Costs? (summary)
3: Small Business: Flood, Recover, Repeat (summary)
4: Building Local Wealth In Face of Climate Change (register)
(Most recent up top)
Building Local Wealth In Face of Climate Change
Featuring:
Zakhia Grant, ReAL Edgemere CLT
Matthew Shore, South Bronx Unite
Deyanira Del Río, New Economy Project
Jinean Robinson, RETI Center
Sarah Ludwig, New York University (Moderator)
» Click below to watch discussion on YouTube
SUMMARY OF TOPIC 4 DISCUSSION
"WHAT WE HEARD"
Top 3 Signals:
Community Wealth Building is a place-based economic model centered on local ownership and democratic control of assets. By prioritizing shared decision-making, this framework empowers residents to manage resources—such as energy, land, and finance—to build collective economic and political power. The goal is a "just transition" that transforms local economies to foster long-term stability and mutualism.
Community Land Trusts (CLTs) enact these principles by serving as permanent stewards of land held in community ownership. Through ground leases with resale restrictions, CLTs maintain permanent affordability and ensure that development primarily serves the needs of established residents. This model provides a foundation for neighborhoods to lead their own climate adaptation efforts, such as implementing nature-based flood protection and green workforce hubs.
Hyper-local energy systems like Community Solar provide financial relief and workforce pathways: Programs like these allow residents to receive direct utility bill savings while participating in democratic governance. By moving community members "up the pipeline" of development, these projects create green workforce opportunities and ensure that the wealth generated from clean energy remains within the neighborhood.
Emerging Themes:
Theme 1: Land as a Foundation for Power and Resilience
What we heard: CLTs are growing across New York City as a strategy to bring land, housing, and climate infrastructure into community ownership. By removing land from the speculative market, communities can prioritize flood protection and open spaces over-development. In Edgemere, the CLT model is being used to manage land for the benefit of both current and future residents.
"It’s a strategy to bring land into community ownership so that community members have the chance to make decisions about how that land is managed and developed for the benefit of the community... not just the benefit of the community today, but the benefit of the community into the future.”
Theme 2: Energy Sovereignty and Local Power
What we heard: In neighborhoods facing high energy insecurity and extreme heat, community-led solar projects offer a tool for self-determination. These initiatives rely on intensive one-on-one education to shift cultural perceptions of energy development and ensure that financial benefits reach low-to-moderate-income residents.
"The Clean Energy Project is an opportunity for the development of a new system... there's a really real opportunity for us to be conscious about how we're going into these projects, to be able to shift culture and basically spread the wealth.”
Theme 3: Redressing Environmental Racism through Public Assets
What we heard: In neighborhoods facing high energy insecurity and extreme heat, community-led solar projects offer a tool for self-determination. These initiatives rely on intensive one-on-one education to shift cultural perceptions of energy development and ensure that financial benefits reach low-to-moderate-income residents.
"The Clean Energy Project is an opportunity for the development of a new system... there's a really real opportunity for us to be conscious about how we're going into these projects, to be able to shift culture and basically spread the wealth.”
Small Business: Flood, Recover, Repeat
Featuring:
Nadia Adam, Staten Island Industrial Alliance (Community Leader)
Mark Caserta, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (Small Businesses Org)
Charles Yu, Long Island City Partnership (BID)
Valeen Bhat, Private Picassos (Small Biz Owner)
Daniela Sancu, NYC Small Business Services (CIty Agency)
Nick Nyhan, The City Sponge / FloodLine (Moderator)
» Click below to watch discussion on YouTube
SUMMARY OF TOPIC 3 DISCUSSION
"WHAT WE HEARD"
Top 3 Signals:
Small businesses are absorbing climate costs silently and unevenly: Flooding impacts are frequent, expensive, and very time-consuming, but largely undocumented and rarely captured in risk maps. In NYC there is 311, but small business owners are so busy in general (and more so when flooded) that they may not have time to report nor see the benefits.
It’s not so much about risk awareness as it is about ability to act: Small business owners often know their flood risk and maybe even what could reduce flooding…but they face structural barriers: lack of building control, lease limitations, cost uncertainty, and even fear of retaliation from the landlord. Existing programs like NYC Small Business Services and SBA disaster loans do make some help available but so much paperwork is required that many forego it altogether.
There is no clear “owner” of the problem and so action stalls: Responsibility is fragmented across tenants, landlords, and the city. While NYC DEP invest in many types of solutions, from green to grey, they are long-term infrastructure and take many many years. In the meantime, there is no clear pathway to micro-mitigation leading to delays and repeated losses.
Emerging Themes:
Theme 1: Hidden and compounding costs of flooding
What we heard: Flooding costs include physical damage but also lost inventory, downtime, labor for cleanup, mold prevention, and lost customers. These costs accumulate over repeated events. Because getting financial assistance is a lot of additional work, many small businesses feel they have to eat the costs, move on and get back to being open for business.
“I can’t fix the building…
and the person who CAN doesn’t feel the urgency I do.”
Theme 3: Fear and “lack of time” shapes decision-making
What we heard: Business owners hesitate to push landlords or report issues due to fear of rent increases, lease non-renewal, or eviction. Yes tenant protections exist under NYC commercial lease norms, but there is little awareness of any protections specifically tied to flooding and small businesses, nor is their appetite to “pick a fight” with the landlord and make things worse.
Theme 4: Insurance is inconsistent and not a clear fit
What we heard: Many small businesses either lack flood insurance or discover too late that policies don’t cover their specific type of flooding (e.g., sewer backup vs. coastal flooding, seepage). Programs like the National Flood Insurance Program don't seem to fit the realities for small commercial tenants, especially for non-coastal, stormwater flooding. And even if there was, what is the ROI on that vs other potential actions like getting 4 sump pumps? One small business owner said her landlord HAD flood insurance but didn’t want to make the claim as it would raise their deductible by $50K. So the tenant had to eat some costs that the landlord could have claimed.
Theme 5: Solutions exist but are hard to navigate
What we heard: There are viable mitigation strategies (barriers, backflow preventers, operational protocols), but no clear, trusted pathway for small businesses to assess, prioritize, and implement them. Existing city resources (e.g., NYC SBS guidance or NYC DEP green infrastructure programs) are not packaged in a way that is actionable at the storefront level.
“There is a lot of information out there—
but no one is really connecting the dots for us.”
Theme 6: Strong appetite for collective and local approaches
What we heard: Positive response to ideas that “pool risk”, share resources, or operate at the neighborhood level, particularly through groups like Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). Models that combine financing (e.g., retrofit funds, CDFI-led programs like Spring Bank) with local coordination were seen as more viable than individual action alone.
Top 6 Tips for Small Business:
1) Barriers for stopping or diverting
Water-activated barriers (measure length) or flood gate
Focus on low openings: front and back doors, basement grate
Have extra to direct water to pumps
2) Address drain and sewer backup
Install a backflow valves where needed with landlord approval
In unused drains, install plugs or “balloons”
3) Elevate critical inventory and equipment
Store inventory, appliances, and electronics at least 2 feet above floor level
Get EV batteries, delivery bikes up or can explode when turned on after wet
Get toxic chemicals up so they not spilling into flood water
4) Create a simple “3-hour storm plan”
“MOVE HERE” SPACES: Where will you move expensive inventory?
BARRIERS SETUP: Deploy barriers to “seal” or direct water to pumps
ELECTRIC UP: Electric cords unplugged or off ground
PUMP TEST: Can you send water to green area vs street?
WHO BESIDES YOU: Does your team know what to do?
5) Pics and Vids
Take BEFORE, DURING, AFTER photos/videos (doors, drains, basement)
Track cleanup costs, damaged inventory, and lost business days
6) Submit
Damage from sewer back up or flooding may be eligible for a claim to NYC Comptroller form
Gov't funds for recovery: recovery portal (opens after flood event)
311 and your BID / Merchant Assoc
Sites and Resources Mentioned:
NYC is Expensive: Will Climate Risks Exacerbate Costs?
Featuring:
Carlos Martin, Resources for the Future
Firas Saleh, Moody’s
Aaron Sturm, Center for NYC Neighborhoods
Tess Williams, Fifth Avenue Committee (Moderator)
Amy Chester, Rebuild By Design (Moderator)
» Click below to watch discussion on YouTube
SUMMARY OF TOPIC 2 DISCUSSION
"WHAT WE HEARD"
Top 3 Signals:
Climate is already compounding NYC’s affordability crisis across multiple systems: housing, energy, insurance, and water costs are all rising simultaneously, with climate acting as a multiplier across each. Over 50% of renters are already housing cost-burdened, and rising insurance (+18–32%) and utility costs are layering on top.
The biggest financial risk is NOT catastrophic events — it’s repeated, under-supported “medium” events. Smaller, frequent disasters often don’t trigger federal aid, yet create deeper long-term financial damage (credit score declines, debt, foreclosure risk).
Climate adaptation is creating a new inequality divide: “those who can afford to adapt” vs. those who cannot - The strongest predictor of taking protective action (insurance, mitigation, relocation) is ability to pay. This creates a structural split between “climate adaptation haves and have-nots,”
Emerging Themes:
Theme 1: Affordability is a system, not a single cost
What we heard: Climate impacts are embedded across housing, insurance, utilities, and infrastructure—not just rent. A “cheap” home that floods or overheats is not truly affordable.
Theme 2: The real cost of climate is post-disaster financial decline
What we heard: Flooding triggers cascading financial effects—credit damage, debt accumulation, foreclosure risk—that persist for years and worsen inequality.
“Households with limited to no housing options can’t really act
on the risks that they’re being exposed to.”
Theme 3: Insurance gaps are one of the biggest hidden risks
What we heard: Many households—especially outside official flood zones—are effectively self-insuring without realizing it, leaving them exposed to catastrophic out-of-pocket losses.
Theme 4: Information alone does not change outcomes
What we heard: Even with “gold standard” disclosures, many people don’t use or can’t act on information due to limited housing options or financial constraints.
Theme 5: NYC’s housing reality (renters + aging buildings) reshapes the problem
What we heard: With ~70% renters and many older, inefficient buildings in risk-prone areas, climate costs are mediated through landlords, policy, and building systems—not individual choice.
Theme 6: The core policy tension — build housing vs. avoid risk
What we heard: NYC must continue building affordable housing, often in vulnerable areas, but without sufficient infrastructure investment this locks in long-term risk and cost.
Theme 7: Must think multi-scale (property + neighborhood + regional)
What we heard: No single intervention works—success requires combining household mitigation, neighborhood infrastructure, and regional systems, alongside financing and policy alignment.
Sites and Resources Mentioned:
How Do We Build Climate Strong Communities?
Featuring:
Saul Porter, Northfield Community LDC (Staten Island)
Lisa Goren, LIC Coalition / Hunters Point Community Coalition (Queens)
Chauncy Young, New Settlement (Bronx)
Samantha Maldonado, The City (Moderator)
SUMMARY OF TOPIC 1 DISCUSSION
"WHAT WE HEARD"
Top 3 Signals:
Speed matters more than perfection - Repeated urgency about 10-year timelines being too slow
Don't reinvent the wheel - Community knowledge exists; tap it rather than start from scratch
Equity concerns about resilience itself - Fear that flood protection could displace vulnerable communities
Emerging Themes:
Theme 1: Tap Into Existing Community Knowledge
What we heard: Communities are already doing resilience work—the city needs to recognize and support this rather than starting from scratch. As one attendee put it: "communities are engaged and already doing the work - take advantage of this vast wealth of knowledge."
Notable examples shared:
LA's 99 Neighborhood Councils with active Sustainability Committees
Sydney's community reference groups for neighborhood planning
Philadelphia's stormwater bumpouts and tree planting in row house neighborhoods
Theme 2: Stop Building in Flood Zones And Retrofit Those At Risk
What we heard: Clear, repeated message—new housing shouldn't be built in flood-prone areas. Questions raised about Red Hook's Brooklyn Marine Terminal and concerns about the Jewel Streets where "the Jamaica Bay runs under this neighborhood."
Key concern: Are we "prolonging the risk to housing tenants or other low income communities by going on with this project?"
Theme 3: Speed Up Implementation
What we heard: 10-year timelines for infrastructure (like sewers in Jewel Streets) don't match the urgency of the climate crisis. We need to expedite capital projects.
“We do not have time to start from scratch!”
Theme 4: Resilience WITH Equity, Not Against It
What we heard: Concern that resilience projects like floodwalls could push flooding to lower-income communities. The city must address both climate risk AND displacement risk simultaneously."How do we build climate resilience without displacing communities?"
Theme 5: Better Cross-Agency Coordination on Solutions
What we heard: At a city level, make DEP, Sanitation, NYCEM work together vs asking citizens to piece it all together. Multiple city agencies needed to provide climate adaptation solutions. Yearly inspection and maintenance is critical (Green infrastructure, and NYCHA complexes have "missing parts").
Theme 6: Compensate & Resource Communities Properly
What we heard: It takes too long for non-profits to get paid for work city asked us to do. Request to "pay community members to participate, to compensate for their time, just as consultants and experts are paid." Communities need resources, not just requests for input.
