Abstract

In December 2012, Mayor Bloomberg delivered a speech announcing a major new effort to ready the city for the future. A Stronger, More Resilient New York is the response to the Mayor’s call to action. The nearly $20 billion plan contained in this report (towards which the City will contribute up to $1 billion in new funding) includes over 250 initiatives. Together these initiatives will further protect the coastline—our first defense against storms and rising sea levels—as well as strengthen the buildings in which New Yorkers live and work, and all the vital systems that support the life of the city, including our energy grid, transportation systems, parks, telecommunications networks, healthcare system, and water and food supplies. Meanwhile, for the areas of New York that Sandy hit especially hard, this plan proposes local rebuilding initiatives that will help these communities emerge safer, stronger, and better than ever.

The underlying goal of this report is resiliency. That is, to adapt our city to the impacts of climate change and to seek to ensure that, when nature overwhelms our defenses from time to time, we are able to recover more quickly.