Given the recent election in NYC…and the major flooding event a week before…it felt like a good time to check in with local experts from across the city who are on the frontlines of urban flooding and have experience working with renters, homeowners, small businesses, community leaders, policy experts and elected officials.

Here is the one simple question we asked:

And here are their answers (note: they could say much more… but we asked them to keep it very short and focus on first steps).

👀 Take a look…and at the bottom tell us what you think ✅ 

“If I were the new mayor, I would walk the entire floodplain. Get to see all the neighborhoods who are affected and hear their stories.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would launch a citywide blitz to inspect and clean every catch basin and pipe so the system runs at full capacity, with ongoing maintenance in flood hot spots. Then fast‑track drainage plan updates and the Newtown Creek CSO Storage Tunnel to add storage and cut overflows.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would reframe our thinking around flooding and other climate change issues. Treat flood prevention as part of housing justice.  When water enters a home it’s not just a drainage issue — it’s a displacement issue. Flooding damages foundations, raises repair costs, and can push seniors and long-time homeowners into foreclosure or forced sale. Recognize that protecting homes from water is protecting families from being priced out of their neighborhoods.”

“If I were the new mayor, I’d create a NYC Stormwater Agency to help residents and businesses affected by flooding. The agency would work with the mayor's office, DEP, and the community to plan, fund, and maintain small-scale flood prevention measures targeting the most at-risk New Yorkers.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would request that DEP have a town hall in each borough to provide information on what there plans are to address flooding in the borough and to get feedback from the community as to existing flood conditions. The follow up from that series would be to create a task-force of stakeholders in each borough to work with DEP on solutions and timelines.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would overhaul the City's Green Infrastructure Program to effectively construct more GI on both city owned and private buildings and lots.  Per the 2024 DEP report…to date, they have committed more than $13 million for 32 private property owners to build green infrastructure through the Green Infrastructure Grant Program. 32 properties in 14 years is awfully low...”

“If I were new mayor, I would convene an interagency group dedicated to implementing community-envisioned plans led by environmental justice organizations, especially those that offer robust nature-based solutions. For too long, such plans have been stalled for various reasons (OMB, looking at you), not prioritized, or hit with various bureaucratic hurdles. Opening this line of communication is essential. Maintaining meaningful communication throughout the new mayoralty with frontline communities? More so.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would prioritize bolstering and further funding the citywide flood preparedness program that equips residents with clear, accessible resources and emergency plans. This includes expanding flood risk education, pre-disaster communication systems, and community-based resilience hubs so people know how to protect themselves and their property before a storm hits.”

"If I were the new mayor, I would enact a stormwater fee in order to incentivize stormwater management on private property across the City, and invest raised funds in maintenance of public green infrastructure, across all agency jurisdictions - though maintenance of DEP right-of-way rain gardens is key, larger scale projects on DPR and NYCHA properties can be transformative but need maintenance to succeed.  At the same time, turbo-charge green infrastructure on private property, by providing support and resources for existing building retrofits to mitigate flooding and manage stormwater, and by investing in DEP capacity to effectively administer the Unified Stormwater Rule for all new construction.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would be focusing on our dated infrastructure, and the city's extensive low-lying waterfront and geography. I also believe we should be educating basement dwellers about the increasing risk they have as flood risks rise both inland and in coastal areas.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would tie flooding into housing and affordability. The areas most impacted by flooding in NYC tend to be lower income, and I believe many of the infrastructure solutions needed to combat flooding will not gain steam until there is greater awareness and momentum.”

“If I were the new mayor, would focus on assessing both gray and green infrastructure spaces across New York and see where it is feasible to grow that infrastructure to be more environmentally friendly and flood proof. Our first line of defense is our infrastructure, having green spaces is a key to that defense.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would ensure that the DEP was fully funded to implement programs like the Unified Stormwater Rule and the Stormwater Masterplan, ensuring that we are thoughtfully managing storm and floodwaters on public and private property. I would also create an interagency task force to expand green infrastructure development citywide across our parks, schools, streets, and public lands to ensure that all across the city we are working together to adapt to future storms.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would include the growing costs of flooding in the affordability agenda. Rising insurance rates, pressures on housing, and physical, social and economic damages will start costing New Yorkers more and more if we don’t get ahead of things.”

“If I were the new mayor, I would invest in efforts to create better local data. Stormwater flooding often hits neighborhoods that don’t appear on official flood maps -an opportunity to engage residents as it happens. Citizen science helps build community power. And better ways to report flooding to city agencies can strengthen the connection between decision-makers and New Yorkers.”

“Go beyond 311 and scattered web sites and create a better user experience so it’s easier for people to go on the journey from flood risk to solutions…quickly. Renters, homeowners, small businesses, landlords all need to answer the same question: “what can I do?” and the many questions that follow. Provide way for them to ask their questions, get good answers, find funding options…and also report on their conditions. If someone proves repeated flooding, that should be incorporated on updated risk maps and enable city help. Town halls are great, but we also need scale, so empower community groups with digital platforms to enable that dialogue in many languages and hyper-local context.”

NOTE: We know managing NYC is not easy and there are many issues to address. But flooding can quickly jump to the top of the list when it hits. As we saw one week before election day, only a few inches can create major issues in NYC. So this is offered to be helpful. 😅

What do you think?