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A bipartisan group of Councilors who have pushed the measure for two years have long expressed disappointment that the administrations of Mr. de Blasio and his predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg, did not act more quickly to protect New Yorkers living in less affluent countries. working class neighborhoods.
City officials and lawmakers have taken a number of steps to bring their post-Sandy plans to life, including retirement fund divestments from fossil fuel companies, measures to curb the city’s planet-warming gas emissions, and efforts to support parts of Lower Manhattan. , Staten Island and Queens storm surges.
But by 2019, the city had spent only 54 percent of the $15 billion allocated by the federal government after Sandy attacked in 2012 to guard against climate-related hazards, and daily climate policies still in the hands of the alphabet soup of city, state, and federal agencies.
That year, Mr. Brannan’s predecessor, Costa Constantinides, who heads the Council’s resilience committee, and other city lawmakers presented the first version of the bill.
He didn’t receive immediate support from the mayor or Council leaders, but the deaths of 15 New York City residents, many of whom died while flooding their basements, changed the calculus, according to proponents of the measure. Since Ida, Mr. de Blasio has released an updated climate resilience plan that has committed $2.7 billion in new financing and highlights the urgency of problems like basement overflow. But by the end of his term, most of the business will fall to his successor.
Eric Adams, the Democratic candidate and possibly the next mayor, has released a new climate plan after the Ida floods that is much more detailed than the one he presented during the primary campaign.
The council measure has been expanded from previous versions to cover a wider range of climate impacts: not just coastal flooding, but extreme precipitation, heat, wind and even wildfires. It requires the mayor to submit the initial plan by September 30, 2022.
“The extent of what climate change means for this town in particular is finally coming into people’s minds,” Mr. Bautista said.
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