Hurricane Sandy 10 Years On

It’s been 10 years now since the remnants of Hurricane Sandy slammed into the New York area, killing dozens and causing billions of dollars in property damage. Only now, though, are major projects getting underway to protect New York City’s coastline from such storms. Also, plans for congestion pricing in Manhattan — or charging most vehicles to drive into the borough’s main business districts on most days — are advancing behind the support of the commercial real estate industry.

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— Tom Acitelli, Co-Deputy Editor

NYC Flood Protection Projects Just Getting Underway — 10 Years After Sandy

To date, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has spent $14.1 billion to rebuild public infrastructure and issued just over $1 billion in grants to individual households in New York state, according to the organization. Up until Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Sandy was the costliest disaster in FEMA’s history, in terms of the federal funds spent on the recovery effort, Donald Caetano, FEMA’s director of external affairs, said. In the two years that followed the storm, the city studied ways to protect southern Manhattan, awarded more than $54 million in grants to businesses across the city, and, though it was criticized for a slow start, helped rebuild damaged homes, particularly in Queens, to be better prepared for the next storm. But the rush to action that immediately followed Sandy is in stark contrast with what the city has accomplished since. A decade after Sandy hit the Big Apple, New York City has not started construction on many of its infrastructure projects. And it has yet to even spend all of its recovery funds, according to an October report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.

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Real Estate Interests Drive Congestion Pricing in Manhattan to the Finish Line

New York’s ambitious plan to toll drivers who enter Manhattan below 60th Street is on track to launch by the end of next year with heavy support from the real estate community blunting complaints from political leaders and motorists. State and federal agencies are this fall determining the environmental impact of the congestion pricing law after several weeks of contentious public hearings. During those hearings, drivers often whined about the cost of proposed tolls, which could range between $9 and $23 per day, while demanding discounts and exemptions. Several public officials have joined the pileup against the measure. Transportation advocates aren’t worried that congestion pricing will get derailed this close to going into effect, however.

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