Yisroel R.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced a major expansion of New York City’s Bureau of Coastal Resilience aimed at strengthening protections against storm surges, rising sea levels, and future coastal flooding.

The city is investing $43.2 million across its financial plan, including $10.6 million during the current fiscal year, to hire 69 additional employees for the bureau. The new positions will include engineers, city planners, field crews, inspectors, and other flooding experts. 

The Bureau of Coastal Resilience coordinates the planning, operation, and maintenance of the city’s growing network of coastal flood-protection projects. Until now, the bureau has operated with six permanent employees while relying on additional workers from other divisions within the Department of Environmental Protection.

The expanded bureau will oversee 15 active infrastructure projects, including the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project, which includes raised parkland, floodwalls, and 18 floodgates. The system is expected to begin operating next year and protect more than 110,000 residents on the Lower East Side. 

The funding will also support several long-term studies, including the development of a plan for protecting all 520 miles of New York City’s coastline. Other major coastal protection systems are expected to become operational during the next four years in Lower Manhattan, Red Hook, and other waterfront communities.

Mayor Mamdani said the expansion will provide the staff and expertise needed to operate the billions of dollars in flood-protection infrastructure being developed across the city and better prepare communities for increasingly severe storms.