Katelyn Villatoro testifies for NYLCV on climate adaptation and bills
Villatoro says climate change amplifies environmental injustice and supports the $43 million BCR investment. She supports Intro 936 intent but wants BCR permanently within DEP, supports Intro 931 with a cost-benefit analysis, and urges funding for MOCEJ and DEP.
Hello, my name is Caitlin Vietoro, and I'm the New York City Policy Fellow at the New York League of Conservation Voters.
Thank you, Chair Gennaro and members of the Committee on Environmental Protection for the opportunity to testify, and we will be submitting longer testimony.
New Yorkers face increasingly frequent and severe rainfall, coastal flooding, storm surge, groundwater flooding, and sea level rise.
Climate change also amplifies the impacts of environmental injustice.
Pre-existing socioeconomic challenges combined with disproportionate climate change impacts leave low-income and communities of color more vulnerable than others.
And we appreciate the leadership of the City Council on investments reaching these communities.
We also strongly support the Mamdani administration's FY27 investment in the Bureau of Coastal Resilience to establish critical in-house capacity to manage the city's growing portfolio of shoreline protection assets.
As a member of the Rise to Resilience Coalition, we strongly supported Local Law 122 of 2021, establishing a five-borough climate adaptation plan.
We had hoped to see more progress on this plan by now, but we look forward to working with MOCEJ to develop a
and equitable and long-term climate adaptation plan in 2021.
This plan should work off of previous neighborhood-led plans and include recommendations to protect residents, property, and infrastructure throughout the city.
It should identify climate vulnerable areas to determine where adaptation measures should first be implemented.
Lastly, NYLCV strongly supports allocating more funding for MOCEJ and DEP staffing and long-term funding for capital projects concerning coastal resilience, green infrastructure, cloudburst management, and blue belt programs.
And regarding today's bills, we appreciate the intent of Intro 936.
However, we believe a Bureau of Coastal Resilience should be permanently established within the DEP, especially given the funding already taking place.
We also support the intent of Intro 931.
Access to clean drinking water is essential.
We recommend a cost-benefit analysis be conducted to compare costs of a mobile drinking fleet with increased permanent water fountains throughout the city.
And we look forward to working with the Council and Mumdani administration to prepare for the risks of climate change.