Bloomberg: NYC Flooding Renews Calls for Safer Basement Apartments
September 29, 2023 In September, residents in New York dealt with a hazardous storm that flooded many basement units across the city. The storm came on the heels of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which killed 44 residents, many of them in basements. Also, the eleven people who died in basement homes during Hurricane Ida in 2021. The increasingly frequent nature of the storms has been induced by climate change. The destructive flooding that is happening is projected to only get worse. By 2050, one out of three basements and cellars in New York will be at high risk of flooding, according to a report released in 2022 by the city’s controller. The city and advocacy organizations are looking for the best solutions to mitigate risk and provide safe living conditions. In addition, they want to keep units available in a city dealing with a severe housing shortage.