Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 1 p.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 2
Committee: Committee on Environmental Protection and Waterfronts
Chair James F. Gennaro led an oversight hearing on coastal resiliency together with three bills: Intro. 343 (Nurse) waiving crane permit fees for solar installations, Intro. 931 (Epstein) requiring a mobile drinking fountain program, and Intro. 936 (Gennaro) creating a Department of Coastal Protection. DEP Deputy Commissioner Beth DeFalco testified that the Bureau of Coastal Resilience, created in 2023, is growing from 6 to 75 employees under a $43.2 million investment, oversees 16 active projects, and that full coastal protection will require investments measured in tens of billions of dollars. DEP urged caution on Intro. 936 to avoid fragmenting the bureau's work and raised cost and staffing concerns about Intro. 931, while DOB said it supports the intent of Intro. 343 and reported a steep drop in solar filings after federal tax credits expired. Riverkeeper, the New York League of Conservation Voters and the Waterfront Alliance urged that the bill codify the existing bureau within DEP rather than create a separate department, and a public health student supported Intro. 931 with a funded implementation plan. No votes were taken; the bills were heard and discussed.
2:58 Thank you.
2:58 Good afternoon welcome t
2:59 othe committee on environmental
3:01 protection and waterfronts at
3:02 this time we ask that you
3:04 please silence or electronics
3:06 if you wish to testify please
3:08 see one of the sergeant at
3:09 arms in the back and at no
3:11 point please do not approach
3:14 the dais chair you begin
3:16 . Thank you thank you for
3:16 reminding me to silence my
3:17 the arco's I'll just put it
3:39 need it good good a council
3:58 member jim Gennaro chair of
3:59 the committee on environmental
4:02 protection and waterfronts
4:03 today we'll be we will hold an
4:05 oversight hearing on coastal
4:07 resiliency as well as well as
4:10 the following legislation into
4:12 number 343 sponsored by
4:14 Council Member Sandy Nurse in
4:16 relation to waiving fees for
4:19 st crane permits related to
4:23 solar installations and intro
4:26 931 sponsored by council
4:27 member Harvey Epstein in
4:28 relation to dep I in relation
4:33 to requiring to a mobile
4:36 drinking fountain program in
4:38 show number 9 36 sponsored by
4:41 myself in relation to the
4:43 creation of a department of
4:46 coastal protection which would
4:50 be tasked with designing and
4:52 the city's shoreline and coast
4:57 from storm's erosion and the
4:59 effects of climate change we
5:00 are just about a month away
5:02 from the fourteent
5:03 hanniversary of superstorm
5:05 Sandy and this past weekend
5:08 the City was hit with a
5:09 nor'easter which brought
5:11 coastal flooding strong winds
5:13 and heavy rains which
5:16 unfortunately led to the
5:17 passing of newyorker and nyc
5:20 agh employees lleyton braun a
5:23 maintenance supervisor who was
5:24 tragically struck and killed
5:26 by a falling tree during the
5:27 storm I would like to offer my
5:30 sincerest condolences t
5:32 omister brown's family and
5:35 friends.
5:35 Uh the weekend storm
5:36 coincided with a full moon and
5:38 high tide and his confluence
5:40 of factors led to significant
5:41 coastal flooding and low lying
5:44 waterfront neighborhoods while
5:45 the City was spared the worst
5:47 of these effects our neighbors
5:48 in New jersey were not so
5:51 lucky across the state the
5:53 combination of severe storm
5:54 surge and higher than average
5:56 tide washed away and stretches
5:58 of beach creating a
5:59 significant economic damage
6:01 and undoing millions of
6:03 dollars in recent recent beach
6:06 re nourishment as some of you
6:08 know back in 2012 well I don't
6:11 think anybody knows this but I
6:13 know it as some of you as a as
6:17 you probably don't know back
6:18 in 2012 I introduced a bill
6:21 that would go on to become
6:23 local law 42 of 2012 um
6:27 codifying the New York City
6:29 panel on climate change and
6:31 the climate adaptation task
6:35 force according to
6:37 . The panels 20 24 report that
6:39 is the n pcc local c levels
6:42 are projected to rise between
6:45 six inches these are their
6:46 projections not
6:48 . Mine to rise between six
6:52 inches but local sea levels
6:53 are projected to rise between
6:55 six inches and approximately
6:56 12 inches by the 2000 thirty's
6:59 1 2 2 feet by the 2000 fifty's
7:02 and 2 2 5.5 feet bye 2100 I
7:08 think those estimates are a
7:11 little high and going to go
7:12 off on a tangent for a minute
7:15 and therein lies you know some
7:16 of the people who criticize
7:20 climate change and don't
7:21 believe in it don't you no
7:23 they don't know you know there
7:25 aren't confidence in it back
7:26 when I was working for the
7:27 state as the d e p as a the
7:33 state deputy commissioner um
7:35 we were for our purposes in
7:40 using um numbers for sea level
7:43 projections that were uh
7:47 projected by columbia um and
7:52 uh um and the office and the
7:54 governor's office of storm
7:57 recovery were using numbers
7:59 that were generated by my alma
8:02 mater stony brook university
8:05 there department of you know
8:07 marine oh god signor moment
8:09 the department of uh so much
8:14 school of marine and
8:16 atmospheric sciences and um
8:17 you know there ah they're high
8:22 end estimates for sea level
8:24 rise by ex state whatever it
8:27 was or half of what the
8:31 columbia projections were and
8:32 so I raised a point with the
8:36 commissioner of and state
8:38 government at large people see
8:39 state government as kind of
8:41 like one entity and we have t
8:43 osets of books for see level
8:46 rise so if you're at the
8:49 governor's office of storm
8:50 recovery you're seeing the
8:51 high end estimate of like x
8:54 and if you look at colombia's
8:56 number the high end exit high
8:58 end estimate was two x and so
9:01 we shouldn't have to sets of
9:02 books and this is why people
9:05 lose confidence and you know
9:08 climate forecasting and see
9:11 level rise projections
9:13 . Because there are like
9:16 personalities of you know the
9:17 one who was doing it at
9:19 stonybrook was a he was a
9:22 nobel laureate.
9:22 And it was very very in
9:24 terms of we don't know
9:25 something until we know it and
9:28 so if we don't know it it's
9:30 not going in the calculus for
9:32 the projections
9:33 . We could be wrong we could
9:35 end up there could be things
9:36 that we don't know factors
9:39 that we don't really that we
9:40 think are out there but we
9:42 haven't really started them
9:43 enough that like they're not
9:45 going into the projections
9:46 we're going to be conservative r
9:50 entity is all like well you
9:51 have to build in a little
9:52 little bit of a fudge factor
9:53 because his nature always has
9:55 something out there that we
9:56 don't yet know so let's use
9:58 the wheel dj aboard and try t
10:01 ofitted in somehow and still
10:03 account in our current
10:05 projections that which we
10:07 don't fully know yet and so as
10:09 a scientist it's always like
10:10 kind of annoyed me and so
10:13 that's two minutes of your
10:13 life you can't get back sorry
10:16 but hopefully he was enriching
10:19 about climate science and why
10:21 people sometimes
10:22 . Poke at it because that's
10:24 exactly the thing people would
10:26 say New York state's got to
10:27 sets of books on like what
10:30 climate you on what you see
10:32 level rise projections are you
10:34 know one of them has got to be
10:35 wrong probably both of them
10:37 and so that doesn't mean we
10:38 shouldn't endeavor to figur
10:39 eit out doesn't mean we
10:39 shouldn't try to prepare for
10:41 it but these are some of the
10:43 frustrations when you're
10:45 dealing with people who don't
10:46 want to even recognize climate
10:48 change with sea level rise as
10:49 a thing this is fodder for
10:51 them to throw in her face and
10:52 I don't like to serve up
10:53 things that are people going
10:54 throw in her face that's three
10:55 minutes you can't get back and
10:59 so where were we ah um hi I
11:02 have a high end for annual
11:05 precipitation project any this
11:07 is pieces two c project an
11:09 increase of up to the 200
11:13 0thirty's
11:13 . 14% By the 2050 second and
11:15 30% by 2100 stronger and more
11:19 severe storms like this one
11:21 like the one this past weekend
11:23 are likely to become
11:25 increasingly common as time
11:25 goes on we all know that.
11:28 This a this ongoing threat
11:30 requires a City agency or in
11:32 this case an agency bureau
11:34 right there
11:35 . To holistically plan and
11:37 manage the city's response at
11:39 this hearing I'm looking
11:40 forward to learning about the
11:43 bureau's burgeoning role in
11:44 costa resents though so that
11:46 we codify their important work
11:49 and.
11:49 You know it's important to
11:51 understand that you know the
11:53 dexists but it's not yet
11:59 codified in law and so we
12:00 think it's important to codify
12:02 it in law so that successive
12:05 administrations will have no
12:07 you know we'll have no ability
12:09 to um ah not continue the work
12:11 of this important bureau.
12:15 Ah
12:16 . I am also looking forward t
12:17 ohearing feedback on the other
12:19 legislation so that we can
12:19 ensure that these bills are
12:21 the best and most effective
12:23 they can be I would like t
12:25 othank the committee staff
12:26 senior legislative councils
12:28 natasha bynum to my right and
12:31 sierra townsend who is not
12:32 here at the moment senior
12:35 policy analyst ricky chala
12:37 financial analyst 10 verse ing
12:38 as well as my legislative
12:40 director josh gasquet who was
12:42 in the gallery and there he is m
12:51 what yeah yeah and and uh yeah l
12:56 members um Sanchez a member of
12:57 this committee and the council
13:01 member Council Member Avilés
13:02 not a member of the committee
13:03 but always a you know a real
13:07 environmental partner mine
13:07 great colleague good friend
13:09 and we're a pleasure it's our
13:10 pleasure to have her and okay
13:14 all right now I will turn it
13:15 over to the committee counsel
13:17 to give the affirmation to the
13:22 witnesses.
13:22 Hello also diab folks if you
13:23 want to do it from over there
13:26 please raise your right hand
13:28 everyone you guys too
13:30 . Thanks do you for him t
13:31 otell the the whole truth and
13:33 nothing but the truth before
13:34 this committee and to respond
13:35 honestly to Council Member
13:38 questions great um when you
13:39 speak if you could just state
13:41 your name and title for the
13:42 . Record and let me just get
13:50 my pen
13:50 . As the statement is being
13:51 read I make adaptations
13:54 about it oh yeah I could have
14:15 just asked for a pen right I
14:22 can't find anything in this
14:26 bag what's that no I have a
14:28 lot of stuff fine okay uh I
14:38 thanked his panel they're all
14:40 sworn in I have a copy of your
14:41 statement please proceed with
14:42 your good testimony ah
14:45 terrific good afternoon
14:47 Gennaro and members of the of
14:49 the committee my name is beth
14:51 De falco I'm the deputy
14:51 commissioner for public
14:52 affairs at the New York City
14:54 department of environmental
14:56 protection I'm joined today by
14:57 my colleague catherine
14:58 probably ski the assistant
15:00 commissioner of engineering in
15:01 the bureau of coastal
15:02 resilience as well as jill her
15:03 becky assistant commissioner
15:05 of engineering services and
15:07 wendi wann borough
15:07 commissioner of central
15:08 development programs from the
15:10 department of buildings
15:11 they're here today to just
15:12 we're here today to discuss
15:14 the city's coastal resilience
15:15 work and then the other
15:16 legislation as well before the
15:18 committee uh I'd like to begin
15:19 by speaking about this past
15:22 weekend's nor'easter the storm
15:23 brought high winds rain and
15:25 coastal storm
15:26 . Surge particularly in the
15:27 communities surrounding
15:28 jamaica bay hamilton and
15:29 howard beach areas and staten
15:31 island's south beach on City
15:32 island in my neighborhood of
15:34 red hook surging high tides
15:37 tides overtopped the
15:37 coastlines repeatedly over
15:39 three
15:39 . Days inundating some low
15:41 lying communities hundreds of
15:42 trees were downed primarily in
15:43 brooklyn and queens and
15:45 tragically as you mentioned
15:47 chair we lost the life of the
15:48 night maintenance worker brown
15:51 . As tides were seated crews
15:53 responded across the City to
15:54 pump out low lying areas that
15:55 could not drain naturally in
15:57 partnership with New York City
15:58 emergency management we
15:59 continue this response as the
16:01 storm.
16:01 Withdrew from the area on
16:02 Monday it's important t
16:03 ounderstand that pumping only
16:04 works once the tides go down
16:06 in other words what otherwise
16:08 whatever we've pumped out is
16:09 just re flooded with the high
16:12 tide
16:12 . D e p also responded to help
16:14 with the removal of fallen
16:16 trees our forestry crews from
16:18 upstate from the water upstate
16:19 came down to the City to help
16:20 parks department cut up and
16:22 remove downed trees across
16:24 across streets and parks and
16:25 while the storm brought
16:27 significant damages to storm
16:27 from storms storm surge and
16:29 high winds the rainfall was
16:32 moderate and steady so we saw
16:34 only very minor inland storm
16:36 water flooding now coastal
16:38 resilience which is obviously
16:39 one of the reasons why we're
16:41 here today
16:41 . As the weekend storm
16:43 reminded us New York City is a
16:44 coastal City we have 520 of
16:47 shoreline millions of New
16:48 yorkers living and working
16:49 near the water and changing
16:51 changing climate that is
16:52 making the risks that we face
16:52 more urgent.
16:53 For two long cities like New
16:54 York have largely followed the
16:56 same cycle a major storm hits
16:58 we recover we rebuild and we
17:01 move on but that can't be our
17:02 long term strategy we need t
17:04 oget ahead of the risk just as
17:05 importantly we need a
17:08 coordinated citywide approach
17:11 to coastal resilience not a
17:12 collection of individual
17:12 projects that are planned
17:13 built and maintained in
17:15 isolation for us to be
17:16 successful we need strong
17:18 institutional capacity
17:20 technical capacity and
17:21 financial capacity which must
17:22 include state and federal
17:24 partners and sustained
17:25 political support
17:26 . That work is under way right
17:27 now at d e p in 23 3 created
17:30 the bureau of coastal
17:32 resilience or bcr as we often
17:33 call it to bring greater focus
17:35 and accountability to this
17:38 enormous challenge
17:39 . Is responsible for planning
17:40 the future of our coastline
17:40 and for the operation and
17:42 maintenance of the cities
17:43 growing network of coastal
17:45 flood protection
17:46 infrastructure this is truly a
17:47 City wide effort works closely
17:50 with parks ed d o b ddc dot
17:55 City planning m o c e j and
17:56 many other partners to move
17:58 critical cosign resilience
18:00 projects forward across all
18:02 five boroughs but dp isn't
18:04 simply building coastline
18:05 resilience we're building the
18:07 work the the expertise
18:09 operating procedures.
18:09 And the maintenance systems
18:11 necessary to make sure this
18:12 infrastructure actually works
18:12 when New yorkers need it
18:14 earlier this year Mayor
18:15 mamdani made a significant
18:16 commitment to this work he
18:18 invested 43.2 million to
18:20 dramatically expand the bureau
18:21 of coastal resilience.
18:23 That investment will grow
18:23 the bureau from just six
18:26 employees to 75 we're adding
18:28 engineers planners field crews
18:29 and other flood resilience
18:31 experts.
18:32 That matters because the
18:33 City is entering a New phase
18:35 of coastal
18:35 . Resilience we're no longer
18:37 simply talking about with
18:38 these projects could look like