Res. No. 709
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to reintroduce, and the Governor to sign, S8110/A9015, which would reconvene the New York State sea level rise task force.
By Council Members Menin, Louis and Schulman
Whereas, Sea level rise caused by climate change poses an acute threat to New York City, which has 520 miles of coastline and approximately $101.5 billion in property value located within its 100-year floodplain map; and
Whereas, The New York City Panel on Climate Change (“NPCC”) has projected that sea levels in New York City will rise between 7 to 11 inches in the 2030s, 14 to 19 inches in the 2050s, and 25 to 39 inches in the 2080s, and that the Northeast U.S. coastline will experience faster rates of sea level rise than the global average; and
Whereas, Sea level rise exacerbates tidal flooding, which occurs when high-tides inundate low-lying coastal areas, by increasing the height of high-tide levels; and
Whereas, Tidal flooding negatively impacts several New York City neighborhoods today, particularly those around Jamaica Bay, which flood as many as 60 times a year, leading to road closures and basement flooding; and
Whereas, As sea levels rise, these neighborhoods will likely experience more frequent tidal flooding, as the Mayor’s Office for Climate and Environmental Justice (“MOCEJ”) has stated that some coastal New York City neighborhoods could flood more than every other week on average by the 2080s; and
Whereas, Rising sea levels also worsen flooding from coastal storm surge by increasing surge heights and flooding from groundwater by raising water table levels; and
Whereas, In 2012, Superstorm Sandy hit New York City with nearly 14 feet of storm surge that inundated 17% of its landmass and contributed to the deaths of at least 43 New York City residents; and
Whereas, According to A Stronger, More Resilient New York, a plan to increase resiliency to extreme weather published by New York City in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, approximately 1 foot of Sandy’s storm surge was attributable to sea level rise since 1900; and
Whereas, Many neighborhoods in New York City, but particularly those in Southeast Queens, are susceptible to groundwater flooding, which may regularly damage basements and underground infrastructure; and
Whereas, In 2007 the New York State Legislature established the New York State sea level rise task force (“Task Force”) to recommend ways of protecting New York’s coastal ecosystems and increasing resilience to sea level rise; and
Whereas, The Task Force was led by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) and included representatives of state and local government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and affected communities, and held 6 meetings, a focus group, and 5 public comment sessions between August, 2007 and January, 2009; and
Whereas, These meetings led to the publication of a report in December, 2010, which provided 14 recommendations, including the development of maps projecting areas impacted by sea level rise and the solicitation of federal funding and technical assistance to help implement adaptation measures; and
Whereas, Although the Task Force has not convened since the publication of the 2010 report, recent sea level rise projections suggest that water levels are rising faster than previously estimated; and
Whereas, Between 2009 and 2024, NPCC increased the height of its sea level rise projections by 7 inches for the 2050s and 14.5 inches for the 2080s because of mounting glacier and ice sheet losses, as well as new developments in modeling technologies; and
Whereas, Since the Task Force last met, multiple resilience projects aiming to mitigate sea level rise and other coastal resilience issues have been proposed in the New York City region, including the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Project and the New York and New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Focus Area Feasibility Study (“NY/NJHATS”), which are collectively estimated to cost tens of billions of dollars; and
Whereas, S8110, introduced by State Senator Monica R. Martinez, and companion bill A9015, introduced by Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, would reconvene the Task Force and require it to produce by 2025 an updated report of present and anticipated impacts related to sea level rise; and
Whereas, The 2025 report would assess the progress made in effectuating the recommendations of the previous Task Force report, update the methodology for evaluating potential sea level rise mitigation strategies, and potentially recommend new strategies for increasing resilience to sea level rise; and
Whereas, Although the State Senate passed S8110 in February, 2024, with 58 votes in the affirmative and zero votes in the negative, and the State Assembly passed A9015 in June, 2024, the Governor vetoed the bill in November, 2024; and
Whereas, The reintroduction and enactment of S8110/A9015 could facilitate the mitigation of flooding in New York City from high tides, groundwater, and storm surge, and could also produce analysis to support ongoing coastal resilience projects; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to reintroduce, and the Governor to sign, S8110/A9015, which would reconvene the New York State sea level rise task force.
LS #17911
12/13/2024
AGB