Nine years after Hurricane Sandy, as the New York and New Jersey region suffers from the COVID-19 catastrophe, we have been tragically reminded yet again of our vulnerability to crisis—and how disasters like these have too often been borne unequally by those with the fewest resources. Now is the moment to address the greatest threat to our region’s future: our vulnerability to the climate crisis.
We have the solutions.
Now we must take action.
The future of our communities, jobs, safety, health, infrastructure, and wildlife and natural habitats are at risk from flooding and other impacts associated with climate change. Since the coalition launch, R2R has moved policy at every level of government: from impacting how the US Army Corps incorporates climate hazards into projects to climate design guidelines at the local level to flood disclosure provisions for homeowners. We continue to call for bold, inclusive, community- and evidence-based action from policymakers at every level of government. We’re building a movement to make it happen.
Photo courtesy of the artist, Robert Stolarik.
What Unites Us
We believe to improve the health of our region’s people and environment, we must have clear leadership, approach the problem holistically, and fund and finance community- and science-based solutions in a way that is transparent, and prioritizes equity and justice in everything we do.
For us, this means:
- 1
Infrastructure and housing must be safe and resilient to future conditions.
- 2
Information needs to be transparent and accessible—we all have the right to know our climate risk.
- 3
Adaptation strategies must be based in science and community-driven.
- 4
Public and private investments in resilience must flow to all, but especially those at greatest risk: low income communities and communities of color.
- 5
Well-paying, locally-hired, long-term green jobs are the basis of a resilient economy for all.
- 6
Solutions need to address both human needs and protect and restore wildlife and their habitats.
- Photo courtesy of the artist, Nathan Kensinger.
Our Coalition
In 2019, the Waterfront Alliance convened a Resilience Task Force of more than 400 leaders in New York and New Jersey. The goal: to build consensus on a comprehensive set of policies and investments needed to build regional resilience. Rise to Resilience was born out of this effort, to sound an urgent call to reduce the risks we face from the climate crisis and ensure our region is resilient for future generations.
