Mayor Vows More Travel Bans, Warnings In Future NYC Storms

NEW YORK, NY — Calling this week's catastrophic flooding a "new normal" in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that the city would take steps to revamp its notification system, especially for residents of basement apartments.

Two days after the remnants of Hurricane Ida inundated the city and killed at least 13 people, the mayor said New Yorkers should expect "a different kind of warning" as future storms grow more common due to climate change.

In particular, he said, travel bans like the one issued early Thursday may be used "much more frequently" and issued earlier in the day, forcing New Yorkers off the streets and subways and into their homes.

"The idea of flooding being related to coastal areas is now antiquated," de Blasio said, noting that more inland neighborhoods of the city also saw severe damage.

The city will also work more aggressively to warn residents of basement apartments through cellphone alerts and door-to-door visits, the mayor said, though that plan was light on details. A majority of the New Yorkers who died this week were trapped in below-ground homes.

At least 100,000 people live in more than 50,000 illegally-built basement homes across the city, de Blasio said. Though the city launched a program in 2019 to legalize many of those units, the program stalled after de Blasio cut much of its funding.

Acknowledging that many basement residents are undocumented immigrants, de Blasio stressed Friday that people at risk of flooding should call 911, regardless of their immigration status.

"It's just about protecting you and your family and nothing else," he said.

More coverage of Hurricane Ida in New York City:

• 'Expect The Very, Very Worst': NYC Faces Future Ida-Scale Threats
• At Least 9 Dead After Hurricane Ida Remnants Flood NYC
• Central Park Again Records Wettest Hour In NYC History
• Woodside Toddler Among At Least 9 Dead After Historic Flooding
• 'We Need It Today:' Queens Leaders Demand Help After Major Storm
• Ida Brings 'Unbelievable' Flooding To Central Brooklyn, BP Says
• FDR Drive Flooding Tops Upper East Side's Rainstorm Woes
• Retaining Wall Collapses In Inwood: Upper Manhattan Storm Recap
• Forest Hills Woman Among At Least 9 Dead After Historic Flooding