Almost a week after the remnants of tropical storm Ophelia flooded the five boroughs, questions and concerns still remain over the Adams administration’s response and the city’s ability to handle extreme weather events.
City Comptroller Brad Lander says an investigation is needed in order to improve future responses.
What You Need To Know
- City comptroller will assess the city’s response to tropical storm Ophelia
- In a letter sent to the mayor on Friday, the comptroller will review things like the city’s notification protocol, emergency preparedness and infrastructure upgrades the city has made to prepare for extreme weather events
- The new investigation comes as the City Council plans to hold their own hearing reviewing the city’s response in November
- Last Friday, the city experienced intense rain that shut down some subway lines and major traffic delays on city streets
“Extreme weather is a matter of life and death for New Yorkers,” said Lander in a press conference announcing the probe. “We must make sure we are doing everything we can to implement the plans we’ve already made and everything we reasonably can to accelerate action.”
Lander noted that in the last three years, the city has laid out specific action plans and commitments for preparing for major weather events.
The first plan was under former Mayor de Blasio in 2021 in a report titled “The New Normal,” and a second plan from Mayor Eric Adams last year called “Rainfall Ready.”
In his letter, announcing the investigation, Lander said he plans to follow up on the commitments detailed in the reports.
“We will review whether near-term actions were completed and evaluate how those actions have been incorporated into the city’s emergency response protocols. For longer term initiatives, such as capital infrastructure improvement, we will seek to assess whether projects are on track and explore recommendations to improve implementation,” said Lander in his letter.
The rainfall during the storm was so intense, it was the city’s wettest day in more than 100 years.
The comptroller noted that the city was given federal funds in the wake of Hurricane Ida to improve infrastructure like $188 million for recovery and resiliency.
Officials in the comptroller’s office said they will also be reviewing a host of agencies and measures the city should have taken and didn’t take last Friday.
“As part of what we will be looking at in our investigation, there are already a number of commitments the city has already made including cleaning catch basins, enhancing early warning notifications, and making sure that our critical infrastructure agencies are prepared to handle extreme rainfall,” said Louise Yeung, chief climate officer at the comptroller’s office.
The investigation comes as Adams has faced criticism for his administration’s response.
He has defended the response, forcibly pushing back.
“You had to be living under a rock if you didn’t know this storm was coming,” said Adams in an interview on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” last Friday.
But on Thursday, Adams seemed to welcome the investigation, saying, in a statement: “We look forward to working with the comptroller on a fair, thorough, and balanced review to ensure our city is equipped as these storms become increasingly frequent and severe.”
There were no fatalities amid the storm, but at least 18 people were rescued.
Meanwhile, the City Council is preparing its own investigation, with an oversight hearing happening in November.
