When It Comes to Protecting New York From the Next Hurricane, Mayor Bloomberg Suggests You Fend for Yourself
Mayor Bloomberg made it clear before Superstorm Sandy hit New York that he believed there was little that could be done to protect the city, at least in terms of stronger infrastructure. This was before half of Manhattan lost power, before the subways were flooded, before Breezy Point burned to the ground and not a little bit of chaos set in on the city.
Sure, life goes on, and many New Yorkers are making due, some quite well. Still, in the future, something ought to be done, right? The Observer has since talked with numerous planners who believe so, and some of whom have even proposed novel solutions to reinforce the city. And yet the mayor has thrown up his hands again, calling such proposals impractical even as Governor Andrew Cuomo talks of the need to redesign much of our physical infrastructure.
“In terms of our infrastructure, Bob Steele and I have talked about it,” Mayor Bloomberg said during a press briefing earlier this afternoon (Bob Steele is his deputy mayor for economic development). “Some of it is just a practical matter that you live on an island, you live very concentrated, there are economics involved, there are risks when you have those kinds of factors that you don’t have if you lived in a different place. Some cities have more risks from tornadoes and rivers that flood, they’re very different in the suburbs and upstate, they have a very different set of problems than we have today.”
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