Published on: 2026-10-30
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Authors: Charlotte Dawson, Mashail Shah
October 30, 2026 Climate and Environment
Fourteen years ago, on October 29, 2012, New York was hit by the catastrophic hurricane Sandy. It brought a devastating storm that flooded homes, subway stations, and tunnels. Within 48 hours, 44 people died, nearly two million city residents were left without power, and 6,500 patients were evacuated from hospitals and nursing homes.
Then New York made a promise to itself: this will not happen again.
As climate change increases the risk of extreme weather events and dangerous sea level rise around New York, the need to build large-scale climate resilience infrastructure along the city’s entire coastline is becoming increasingly clear.
Fourteen years after Hurricane Sandy, UN News Service reporters visited one of the sites of the multi-billion-dollar East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project on the east shore of Manhattan.
What is hidden underground
North of the Williamsburg Bridge, a white crane lifts tons of soil from a barge and loads it into excavator buckets. Layer by layer, the territory of East River Park is being raised to a height of three meters.
This park is one of the links in a chain of flood protection structures stretching over five kilometers along the Manhattan waterfront. The ESCR project, as well as a more modest partner project to the south of it, costing about two billion dollars, were developed after Sandy flooded this area in 2012. Their purpose is to protect more than 110,000 local residents from natural disasters.
“That entire area was underwater at the time,” says Bobby Isak, assistant commissioner for resilience facility construction at the New York City Department of Design and Construction. According to him, during Hurricane Sandy, the ground floors of public housing buildings in the borough were flooded, and residents could neither leave their homes nor get inside.
© NYCDDC The ESCR Project was developed after Hurricane Sandy flooded this area in 2012.
Most of the currently under-construction protective system remains invisible. A hidden flood protection wall runs through the center of the renovated park. At the very edge of the water, reinforced concrete piles extend about 30 meters into the reclaimed soil, beneath which lie the remnants of the old pier and possibly even the hulls of ships that once sank.
“What you see on the surface constitutes only a third of what has been built,” says Isaac.
In the event of an approaching storm, no relocations will be required within the park itself. In other parts of the embankment, special teams will be able to close or move 18 sluices, and nearly 100 retractable barriers will be raised further south. The project takes into account a possible sea level rise of approximately 76 centimeters.
According to Isaac, about 90 percent of the system is already complete. Before construction is finished in 2027, any remaining vulnerable sections can be temporarily blocked by mobile barriers a few days before the expected storm.
After “Sandy”
The consequences of “Sandy” caused approximately $19 billion in damage to the city, reminds Katherine Prybylski, assistant commissioner of the New York Bureau of Coastal Resilience.
“The projects currently being implemented across the city are mostly a reaction to ‘Sandy’,” she says. “But now it is time to look ahead.”
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the rate of global sea level rise has nearly doubled since 1993, when satellite measurements began. Ocean warming contributes to the intensification of tropical storms.
For a city with an 840-kilometer coastline, the danger is not only from a potential next devastating hurricane but also from regular tides. Without protective measures, Prybylski warns, many areas of New York will regularly face flooding in the coming decades.
“By the word ‘regularly,’ we mean that in some places it can happen once a month, twice a month, or even ten times,” she explained.
Over time, Prybylski adds, some streets will be partially flooded by the tide almost daily, which will change the routes people take to get to work and send their children to school.
© Adobe Stock/Solepsizm Many areas of southern Manhattan were flooded during Hurricane Sandy.
Just the tip of the iceberg
New York is far from the only city facing such a threat. According to a recent UN report, nearly 10 percent of the world’s population, about 770 million people, live in coastal areas less than five meters above the highest tide level, and are therefore especially vulnerable to sea level rise.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that “megacities on every continent will face serious consequences” of rising sea levels, mentioning New York among them.
“The New York flood protection project deserves the highest praise and serves as an excellent example for all major cities around the world,” Navid Hanif from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs said in an interview with the UN News Service. “What New York is doing should be properly recognized and replicated in other parts of the world.”
For wealthy cities such as New York, Miami, or China’s Guangzhou, sea-level rise primarily threatens infrastructure, but for low-lying megacities in South Asia, including Kolkata, Mumbai, and Dhaka, it poses an existential threat.
Due to the impending flooding of territories, more than 14 million residents of South Asia risk permanently losing their homes. Separate communities in Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and other low-lying Pacific islands have already been forced to relocate.
Adaptation, adaptation, and adaptation again
The UN, whose headquarters is located less than three kilometers north of the ESCR project, is actively involved in supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation measures worldwide.
At a recent General Assembly meeting dedicated to sea level rise, UN member states adopted the Declaration on the issue of sea level rise. This was the first time in history that all member states of the organization agreed on a single joint document on this topic.
The declaration pays special attention to the need for more predictable and accessible financing of adaptation and resilience-building programs, especially for small island developing states and least developed countries.
The East Coast Resilience Project in New York clearly demonstrates the benefits such investments can bring to local communities.
UN News Service / D. Dickinson Catherine Prybilsky, Assistant Commissioner of the New York Coastal Resilience Bureau.
In the literally elevated East River Park, locals stroll along the waterfronts with views of the Brooklyn panorama, relax on well-maintained green lawns, sports fields, playgrounds for children, and campgrounds designated for picnics.
“We come to this park twice a day, every day. We really like it here. It is a great example of how climate resilience measures help people enjoy life,” says Liz, a local resident who walks her dog here every day.
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