Looking Ahead: How Will NYC Prepare For The Next Ida-Level Flood?

NEW YORK, NY — It is no secret that devastation brought on by the remnants of Hurricane Ida last week exposed just how unprepared New York City infrastructure might be to handle what officials say is a "new normal" of severe weather caused by climate change.

Record-breaking rainfall from the tropical storm killed at least 13 people, all but shut down the city's subway system and sent New Yorkers scrambling for dry ground as "unbelievable" levels of flooding spread across the boroughs.

And while families and businesses work to clear the wreckage, the question for officials has quickly become how to make the long-term changes needed to reduce the level of damage in the next deadly storm — which, they warn, is likely not far behind.

"We have to change everything," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday. "We're learning about a whole new kind of challenge that's going to need massive — tens of billions of dollars, ultimately hundreds of billions of dollars — in infrastructure investment."

Here's a look at what officials say needs to happen next:

"Niagara Falls" On The Subway

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who holds control of the MTA, said Friday that fixing public transit infrastructure that essentially halted New York City's subways during the storm will be at the top of the list as she moves from cleanup to long-term solutions.

"I don’t ever want again to see Niagara Falls rushing down the stairs in the New York City subways," the governor said Friday, pointing to the need to build up resiliency in the subway's drainage system.

In terms of making those changes, lawmakers have said the $3.5 trillion infrastructure legislation before Congress can help. The bill includes $66 billion for rail, though some have pointed out that only a small slice of that would go to the MTA, according to reports.

Experts interviewed by NPR said fixing the subways might mean taking clues from transit systems around the world, particularly in flood-prone parts of Asia.

Raised entrances to keep water out, simulations of escalators in flash floods and flood warning systems like those in Taipei, Japan and Bangkok are among potential innovations, according to the outlet.

De Blasio has pointed in the short term to updating the ways New Yorkers are notified about problems on mass transit. He said Friday that 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.

Fatal Floods At Home

Perhaps one of the most urgent matters facing the city will be how to prevent the human toll of last week's floods.

A majority of the 13 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, according to de Blasio. 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.

The mayor said Friday that in future storms, evacuating residents who live in basement apartments might be possible, though he was vague on details about when that would occur.

He said the city would also work more aggressively to warn residents of basement apartments through cell phone alerts and door-to-door visits.

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

Incomplete Infrastructure

Many elected officials pointed in the wake of the storm to infrastructure projects that are already underway in New York City that could be accelerated or altered, given alarm bells from last week's flooding.

In Queens, the borough hardest-hit by the storm, Borough President Donovan Richards called on the federal and state governments to fulfill their promises on a project to protect the Rockaway Peninsula from long-term erosion or a plan to reconstruct parts of Howard Beach after devastation from Superstorm Sandy.

In Manhattan, Council Member Ben Kallos told Patch that unprecedented flooding on the long-vulnerable FDR Drive could signal the need to "rethink" the highway's design, which snakes along the side of the island and is topped by the East River Esplanade.

The city's ambitious East Side Coastal Resiliency project only protects lower portions of the FDR, well south of the Upper East Side stretch that shut down Wednesday.

Patch reporters Nick Garber, Kayla Levy, Gus Saltonstall and Matt Troutman contributed to this report.