City Planning Commission approves NYC coastal resiliency plan

The City Planning Commission passed a citywide rezoning plan to protect coastal homes Wednesday. Photo via nyc.gov

By Rachel Vick

The City Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a major citywide rezoning plan intended to shore up coastal communities as sea levels rise and flooding increases.

The Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency, or ZCFR, will increase protections for low-lying Queens neighborhoods by making it easier for residents to raise their homes and keep generators in their yards while still adhering to neighborhood zoning rules. A home in Rockaway Beach, for example, would be able to exceed established height restrictions in order to raise the building or store certain pieces of equipment infrastructure on the roof. 

“ZCFR is a game-changer for the residents and businesses who call New York City’s floodplain their home,” said City Planning Commission Chair Marisa Lago. “it will be one of several essential tools that can help us protect our city’s immense floodplain by ensuring that new and reconstructed buildings are resilient to climate change.” 

The new plan also applies the zoning changes to a larger number of New Yorkers. The ZCFR covers communities in the city’s 500-year floodplain — where there is 0.2-percent chance of Superstorm Sandy-type flooding based on current sea-level rise projections — rather than the smaller 100-year floodplain, where there is a 1 percent chance.

In addition, the plan limits the construction of new nursing homes in areas at the greatest risk of flooding.

The “sweeping, citywide, forward-looking proposal” will be an essential part of protecting low-lying neighborhoods, Lago said.

There is still more the city needs to do to mitigate the risk of flooding and brace for future Sandy-level disasters, she added.

Sea level rise threatens more than 500 miles of coastline in New York City, with neighborhoods like Broad Channel, Howard Beach and communities around Flushing Bay that are expected to fall below the high tide line — the site furthest inland covered by water at high tide — by 2050. 

The Planning Commission also approved proposed zoning changes that would limit the construction of attached houses in Old Howard Beach.

Both applications will go to a City Council vote for approval. 

The measures have been hailed by advocates, who have pushed for stronger resiliency rules for years.

"Now more than ever, we need land use rules and tools that allow for retrofits and development that reduce climate risks faced by communities and homeowners,” said Waterfront Alliance President and CEO Cortney Worrall. “By creating Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency, New York City is taking an important step in ensuring New York City is more resilient to the effects of climate change.”